You were never given the space to just be a child.

You had to be the calm one. The responsible one. The one who held it all together while no one asked how you were doing.

You didn’t grow up — you adapted. You learned to read the room before you learned to read. You learned to apologise for your existence before you learned to ask for what you needed.

So it makes sense that now…

You fall for people who feel familiar.

You confuse love with tension.

You chase after crumbs and call it connection.

That’s not love. That’s your nervous system chasing a childhood it never got to finish.

Beloved, God saw every moment you were forced to grow up too soon. He knows the child within you who longed to laugh without fear, to rest without shame, and to receive love without conditions. In His presence, you are safe to lay down the burdens you carried and pick up the joy that was once stolen.

It’s not too late to finish what was interrupted. The Father’s love can restore the years you lost, wrapping you in the safety and gentleness you always needed. You are free now to be both the grown soul you are and the child you were meant to be — whole, cherished, and unafraid.

Prayer:

Lord, thank You for seeing the hidden places in my heart where childhood still aches. Heal what was broken, restore what was stolen, and teach me to live in the freedom of Your love. Let my nervous system find its rest in You, not in old patterns. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.