Holding Onto Hope This Thanksgiving: Even Through the Storm

No one ever thinks they’ll be walking this path.

You don’t imagine hearing the words that your child has been sexually abused. You don’t prepare for the interviews, the therapy sessions, or the sleepless nights wondering if your child will ever feel whole again. And you certainly don’t expect to wrestle so deeply with your own pain, the kind of pain that lodges in your chest and doesn’t seem to let go.

But here we are.

And in the middle of it all, somehow…there’s still hope.

Hope, Not Because It's Easy. But Because It's True

This Thanksgiving, we’ve been reflecting on what it means to live with the paradigm of hope and grief all at the same time. Not a shallow optimism that doesn't look reality in the face, but a rooted hope that clings to truth even when the storm rages. We’ve learned that hope doesn't erase pain, though we wish it could, but it can carry us through it.

We’ve seen glimpses of healing in small, sacred moments, moments like watching our child freely give hugs again, laugh again, and feel safe again. And we hold tightly to those moments because they point to something deeper: the possibility of redemption.

“Nothing is wasted.”

That phrase, printed on a sweatshirt from Nothing is Wasted Ministries, sparked something in our home, something that will break chains for generations to come. It led to a conversation about what it means to forgive as Jesus forgives us, and how God can redeem the parts of our story that seem unredeemable and use them for good. And ultimately, whether it's even possible to forgive someone who has done the unthinkable.

That sweatshirt planted a seed. And that seed led to one of the most beautiful, sincere prayers we have ever heard: a child asking Jesus to help him forgive someone whom he should have been able to trust, who hurt him in a way no adult should ever hurt a child.

Forgiveness like that doesn't come from us. It comes from Jesus.

Romans 12:21 says, “Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.”

And that’s what we’re trying to do, though the journey seems impossible. We may falter on our way, but we continue to move towards this choice of overcoming evil with good, one step at a time.

To be honest, it’s messy. Healing never happens in straight lines. But when we choose to walk this journey, hand in hand with Jesus, we find strength we didn’t know we had. And we find that we are never alone.

You’re Not Alone Either

If you're in this place too, navigating trauma, parenting through pain, trying to find solid ground, we want you to know: Project Light is here for you. We are a community of survivors, of parents, of advocates. And we believe that light still shines in the darkness (John 1:5).

This Thanksgiving, we’re thankful for hope. We’re thankful for healing. We’re thankful for Jesus, who wastes nothing.

And we’re thankful for you.

With Hope,

The Project Light Team