Never a Child, Always Cherished: Shattering the Silence of Sexual Abuse

Victoria Fink was born in a Salvation Army home for unwed mothers. Weeks later, she was sent to live with her aunt's family of six. Before she turned three, her newly married mother abruptly took her back from her aunt's stable home. A few years later, her mother was divorced and preparing to marry yet again. When Victoria was seven, she and her emotionally distant mother moved to a farm to live with her new stepfather. He began sexually abusing her almost immediately. Victoria built an emotional wall around herself to survive nine years of abuse. Even after she was married and physically free from her stepfather's abuse, the wall remained. In the years to come, God dismantled this wall brick by brick, exchanging her rejection, anger, and confusion for hope, compassion, and understanding. Victoria's wall is gone, and her voice is free. Now, she tells her story to encourage others who have survived the pain and shame of sexual abuse. She shares how God redeemed her pain and made her whole again, and she encourages other survivors to trust the Father's heart, because in Christ, they too can find not only healing, but abundant life.