Breaking the Fear of Inheritance: What Healing Taught Me

There was a time in my life when I lived in quiet fear — a fear that my mother’s mental illness would one day show up in me. I didn’t know then that healing would lead me toward breaking generational cycles instead of repeating them.

I didn’t have the language for it back then, but I carried a silent burden:
If anything went wrong… would people think I was broken too?
Would they look at me the way they looked at her?

So I learned early how to stay in control, how to appear “fine,” how to manage chaos without letting anyone see the toll it took. I became vigilant, careful, and hyper-aware — not because I was weak, but because I was a child trying to protect herself in the only ways she knew.

What I Actually Inherited

For years, I believed I was running from something inside me. This journey has been part of breaking generational cycles — releasing fear, embracing truth, and letting God rewrite the story that shaped me.
But healing has revealed a truth I never expected:

I did not inherit her illness.
I inherited her sensitivity, her empathy, her discernment,
and the incredible ability to navigate storms with grace and resilience.

In addition those qualities were gifts — not warnings.

Blessing the Little Girl I Used to Be

However, as an adult, healing has given me the courage to look back at that younger version of myself and speak life into her:

I bless the vigilant little girl who learned to watch for danger so early.
You can rest now — the cycle is broken.
What you feared was never inside you.
What’s inside you is healing, legacy, and light.

Those words are not just comfort — they are a declaration.
A reminder that God restores even the tender places we once hid in silence.

God Restores the Places Fear Used to Live

Because of this journey, I no longer carry the fear of becoming what scared me.
Instead, I carry honor for the woman who birthed me and compassion for the little girl who survived what she didn’t understand.

God has a way of taking what we were afraid to look at and turning it into the very thing that breaks generational cycles.
He heals, He restores, and He rewrites the narrative with tenderness.

My story is proof of that.

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Tags:

#WhoGodSaysIAm #LeslieWallace #HealingHiddenWounds #BreakingTheCycle #Faith #Family #Restoration #MentalHealthAwareness

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My story is proof of that.

You can explore more reflections like this on my
<a href=”/blog”>blog page</a>.

One scripture that helped me in this journey is
<a href=”https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Romans+8%3A28&version=KJV” target=”_blank”>Romans 8:28</a>.