“Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified… for the Lord your God goes with you; He will never leave you nor forsake you.”
Deuteronomy 31:6
I feel like at a very young age, I always leaned into God. Even when life didn’t make sense, I somehow knew I was loved. Not just loved by people—but by God. It was a quiet knowing that I was held, seen, and cared for, even in moments where nothing around me felt steady.
But as I got older and life began to unfold in more complicated ways, abandonment became a deep and painful thread in my story. The kind of wound that doesn’t leave a scar you can see, but one you carry in your heart.
I experienced the “primal wound” of being separated from my biological parents. My parents divorced when I was eight, and I think most of us kids felt like second picks to their new spouses. Then, when I was seventeen—my senior year of high school—my mom moved out of our home to follow her husband’s job transfer. She wanted me to come, but I didn’t. I couldn’t. It felt like she chose him over me, and the message I internalized was: You’re not worth staying for.
I moved in with my dad and stepmom. And then, after high school, my dad—“in the nicest way”—told me it was time to move out. He helped me get set up with school and paid for my apartment, which I’m thankful for. But the emotional part of it still hurt. Deeply.
As I became a mother myself, I found that old wounds resurfaced in new ways. I couldn’t understand how some of the choices my parents made were even possible once I knew the depth of love I had for my own kids.
These layered experiences of being left or feeling replaceable shaped my thoughts in relationships. When someone got close, I would think, It’s just a matter of time before they leave… or choose someone over me.
But even in all that pain—even when I questioned people—I kept leaning on God. I kept coming back to His promises. His love. His Word.
Deuteronomy 31:6 says He will never leave you nor forsake you. And I believe that. It’s the one relationship in my life that has never felt conditional. I trust God in a way I struggle to trust others, because He has never walked away. He has never picked someone else over me. He doesn’t move on or get tired or lose interest.
So I return to Him. Again and again. Not because I’m perfect—but because I know He is.
If you’ve ever felt left behind, replaced, or like you had to earn your place in someone’s life… please know this:
God doesn’t leave. He walks with you through every ache, every misunderstanding, every broken piece. And He whispers, “You are mine. You are loved. I will never let go.”
The Wild Gems 