My Pain Became My Strength!: The Survival Story of Martene Devar Lundy-Best (Hardcover) (ISBN-13: 9781636922164)

My Pain Became My Strength was written as the start of the healing process for me. While attending counseling sessions, I was unaware of how my childhood was still affecting me as an adult, how it affected my decisions, communication, and last but not least, how I interacted with others. I had never expressed myself, nor did I allow myself to deal with all the emotions or feelings from past experiences. Until I started writing, I wasn't even aware of how much I had gone through. Through this process, I was able to express, acknowledge the problems, and most importantly, allow myself to feel and deal with every emotion in order to start my healing process.

When I took these steps, I was finally able to see the real me. I was also able to finally love myself, which I was not able to do for years. This is what inspired me to tell and share my story. There are many elements to my story. I survived being molested by a family member. I was also abused sexually, physically, and verbally. I also had to deal with mental illness that separated me from my mom at a very early age. All these obstacles caused me a lot of pain. But in the end, every obstacle made me stronger and became my strength because of my faith in God.

During my journey, God had also placed very important people in my path. They were very instrumental in my view on life and of people. Each person that God had placed in my life provided me with something different, but it was very vital to my well-being. I felt very blessed to have them in my life and very grateful for the role they each played.

While writing my story, I was able to see my life come full circle. My happiness comes from helping others. Despite my past, if sharing my story encourages others to find their purpose in life, as well as find salvation in Jesus Christ, it brings my heart so much joy. I would like for that little girl, little boy, young lady, young man, woman, or man to know that despite how grim or dark things may be, there is light and happiness on the other side, to never give up on your aspirations, and most importantly, never to give up on yourself. I was able to find peace, love, and happiness as an adult that I did not have as a child by growing spiritually. I found my purpose in life, so I want to inspire others that they, too, have a purpose in this life!