Abandoned. Rejected. Never enough.
Those were the thoughts of young Joanna Sedol when her father left their family for another woman.
At first, her young mind couldn’t understand why she had to grow up in a broken family and why she suffered because of her father’s mistakes.
It was unfair.
But as she grew to become a young adult woman, she concluded that every man on the planet was like her father—irresponsible, had no sense of commitment, and would always leave her alone in the end.
Joanna’s bitterness toward her father led her to find a sense of belonging and completeness in her friends and to turn to alcohol to escape the pain.
However, life always finds a way to force you to confront your reality.
Joanna was unable to avoid the reality of poverty. She realized this after graduating from high school—she was unsure if she could finish her studies because her family could not afford it.
But God works in mysterious ways, indeed.
When she was ready to accept that someone with a broken family and a poor background would never succeed, a friend invited her to a youth camp.
There, she heard for the first time that she wasn’t fatherless. Instead of being abandoned, she was chosen. Instead of being rejected, she was accepted wholeheartedly. And instead of not being enough, she realized that she had been made complete.
All because of Jesus, who died for her sins.
“I realized that all along, I was not alone. God was with me,” she said.
Because of her newfound faith and having received God’s unconditional love, Joanna chose to forgive her father and initiate contact with him. She was surprised when her father asked her forgiveness, too.
With her heart free from anger and bitterness, God awakened a strong passion in her to continue her studies and teach people God’s Word.
With the help of Operation Blessing’s Back to School Program, Joanna graduated Cum Laude with her bachelor’s degree.
“I’m so thankful for Operation Blessing for helping someone like me without asking anything in return,” Joanna said.
If you know someone who is like Joanna—a child who felt hindered due to broken family situations and poverty—know that you can help change their lives for the better, too.
