UNITED STATES
Renew America
By Matt C. Abbott
On July 9, Catholic author, speaker and blogger Dawn Eden will be giving her testimony to the women-graduates of the Project Dawn treatment court in Philadelphia. (Click here to read about Project Dawn.)
The following is the text of her testimony, which had to be approved in advance by the court’s administrators.
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It is a joy and an honor for me to be here with you today as the City of Philadelphia honors your great achievement. I have attended several graduation ceremonies in my life, but I don’t believe I have ever been present at one where the graduates worked so hard, gave so much, sacrificed so much to see their graduation day.
As the author of a book on spiritual healing, I’ve been asked to give you a few words to help put your journey in perspective. Because graduation is not really an ending. Every graduation is a new beginning. And today you can now face the future with confidence and hope. Your achievements in this court show that you have within you the God-given power to face whatever challenges may come, with the strength that comes from within.
I can speak confidently about the power that we have from God to overcome personal challenges, because I have experienced that power in my own life. I was born into a Jewish family, my parents split up when I was five, and my sister and I were raised by my mother. It was during that time, when my father was no longer present to protect me, that I began to suffer sexual abuse. My first abuse was committed outside the home – by a janitor at the temple my family attended. When I told my mother what had happened, she said, “You let him do that to you.” I was five years old.
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