Week 1 - Exploring the Journey Amidst Pain and Triumph in The Impossible Life

Elizabeth Ford
May 1
3 min read

Updated: Jun 1

Week 1: Living the Impossible — My First Step into the Storm

By Elizabeth M. Ford

💔 When “Normal” Disappeared

I was just seven when I learned that life doesn’t always keep its promises. My world once filled with bedtime songs from my mom, family dinners, and the security of a dual parent life began to fracture. I watched the people who once tucked me in at night become strangers to each other, and worse, to me. One night changed everything. My parents argued like never before as I woke in the middle of the night and saw my mother holding a pan up to throw at my dad, and the next morning, my father was gone.

There are moments in childhood when you realize: no one is coming to fix this. That moment came early for me.

And yet… I survived.

🌪 Hunger, Eviction, and Pain… but Never Defeat

After my dad left, life hit fast and hard. My mother, overwhelmed and depressed, couldn’t care for us the way she once had. We lost our home. We lost stability. We lost hot meals. Some days, I had to save half a bowl of cereal on the table before school just to make it through the day so I could eat that afternoon. It was warm milk and probably not healthy .

at all but it was food.

But deeper than the physical hunger was the ache of feeling unseen. I didn’t wear the right clothes. I didn’t have the right look. I didn’t fit in. And I carried a silent shame that screamed louder than any hunger pain ever could.

🙏🏾 God Was There—Even Before I Knew Him

I didn’t grow up in church, and I didn’t know how to pray. But in my soul, I whispered words of hope. Looking back, I know now that God was with me even when I didn’t know His name.

“The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.” — Psalm 34:18

That verse is a mirror to my life. He was close, even in the silence. Even in the chaos. Even in the darkness when I cried myself to sleep.

🕯 This Week’s Reminder for You

Maybe you’re facing your own impossible right now; divorce, loss, poverty, trauma, shame. Maybe you’re walking through a storm that no one else can see.

I want you to know something deeply true:

You don’t have to be perfect to overcome. You just have to keep showing up.

I showed up hungry. I showed up angry. I showed up bruised and broken. But I kept showing up. And you can too.

You are not defined by what you’ve been through.

You are refined by how you choose to rise from it.

🔥 Overcomer Challenge:

This week, take these 3 steps:

Write down one area of your life that feels “too far gone.”
Next to it, write down one small, courageous thing you could do today to take your power back.
Pray or journal about it. Be honest. Don’t edit your pain. Write it somewhere that you know it will not be seen by anyone so you can truly be honest. We hide details when we think someone will see it and judge us.

Remember: healing starts small. I was a hungry little 7 year old girl who believed there was more somewhere, if only in my day dreams. And step by step, I found it. So can you.

💌 Want to go deeper?

Subscribe to this blog. Share this with someone who needs hope. Tag a friend who needs to be reminded that impossible doesn’t mean done—it just means different.