Stories through the Wilderness

The Invisible Burden of Growing Up in Two Worlds
Faith Story Series Jessica Pavelko Faith Story Series Jessica Pavelko

The Invisible Burden of Growing Up in Two Worlds

Growing up between two worlds — one built on faith and structure, the other marked by addiction and chaos — left me carrying invisible burdens I couldn’t name. I learned to read every room, please everyone, and survive by adapting. What I once thought was rebellion was really a child trying to feel safe. Years later, God revealed how those survival patterns could be transformed into empathy, compassion, and purpose. Healing hasn’t meant erasing the past — it’s meant letting Him redeem it, one tender layer at a time.

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The Red-Headed Stepchild
Faith Story Series Jessica Pavelko Faith Story Series Jessica Pavelko

The Red-Headed Stepchild

Growing up between two homes — one built on faith and structure, the other on chaos and survival — I learned early what it meant to live in the tension of love and brokenness. Yet even in those divided spaces, God was quietly planting seeds of faith that would one day take root. The Red-Headed Stepchild is the first chapter of my Faith Story Series — a story of belonging, redemption, and the God who never stopped pursuing me, even when I felt lost between two worlds.

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