From Brokenness to Restoration
Updated: Aug 3
Part III: Advocacy Is My Rebirth
Turning Healing into Service
By Esther Lucia
Healing changed more than my life.
It changed what I care about.
As I began rebuilding my relationship with God, rediscovering my identity, and learning to extend compassion to myself, I realized that my story was never meant to end with my own restoration.
Healing naturally creates a desire to help others heal.
Today, my advocacy is rooted in four values that have emerged from my own journey. They are not abstract ideas or political talking points. They are lessons born from pain, growth, and the people who chose to love me through some of the darkest seasons of my life.
These four pillars now guide not only my advocacy, but also the artwork I create and the life I choose to live.
Love Your Neighbor as Yourself
For years, I believed that loving others meant giving everything away while asking nothing for myself.
I could extend compassion to almost everyone except the person who needed it most: me.
When shame becomes your identity, it is difficult to believe you are worthy of grace. And when you struggle to receive love yourself, it becomes harder to offer healthy, life-giving love to others.
One of the greatest lessons I have learned is that loving your neighbor begins with learning how to receive God's love for yourself.
Self-compassion is not selfishness.
It is the foundation from which forgiveness, generosity, and genuine service can grow.
Our past does not have to become our permanent identity. We all make mistakes. We all carry wounds. But healing begins when we believe we are more than the worst thing that has happened to us—or the worst thing we have done.
Love Lives in the Middle
Growing up between different worldviews taught me how easy it is for people to misunderstand one another.
Too often, we are encouraged to choose sides before we choose understanding.
My own life has shown me that people are rarely defined by a single belief, decision, or label. Every person carries a story. Every family carries complexity. Every human being deserves dignity.
I believe real progress is built on truth, humility, and compassion.
We can hold convictions without dehumanizing those who disagree with us.
We can advocate for justice without abandoning grace.
We can honor the sacrifices of previous generations while continuing to build a more hopeful future.
Love is not found at the loudest extremes.
More often, it is found in the difficult work of listening, understanding, and choosing compassion.
Mental Health Deserves Compassion
Mental health is deeply personal to me.
There were seasons when I struggled with anxiety, depression, bipolar disorder, and schizophrenia. Those experiences changed the way I see people who are suffering.
I know what it feels like to need accountability and compassion at the same time.
I also know how life-changing it can be when someone refuses to give up on you.
My father remained present during seasons when I struggled to believe in myself. His support did not remove responsibility from my life, but it gave me a foundation from which healing became possible.
Not everyone has that kind of support.
That is why I believe we need communities, families, and systems that recognize the difference between someone who is unwilling and someone who is truly unable.
Compassion and responsibility are not opposites.
When they work together, they create the conditions where people can heal, rebuild, and contribute their gifts to the world.
Empowerment Through Education
As I rebuilt my life, I began to understand something that had never been fully taught to me: knowledge creates freedom.
Financial literacy, communication, and practical life skills are forms of empowerment.
Too many young people enter adulthood without understanding how to manage money, communicate effectively, or make informed decisions about their future.
Education does more than improve careers.
It strengthens families.
It builds confidence.
It develops leaders.
When people are given practical tools alongside encouragement, they are better equipped to build stable, meaningful lives and to create opportunities for others.
Living What I Believe
My advocacy is not separate from my art.
It is the reason I create.
Every portrait I paint, every conversation I have, and every opportunity I receive is another chance to remind someone that they are seen, valued, and capable of becoming more than their past.
I do not want my life to be remembered simply for the paintings I created.
I hope it is remembered for the people those paintings encouraged, the conversations they inspired, and the hope they helped restore.
If my story has taught me anything, it is this:
Brokenness does not have to be the end of the story.
When we allow love, truth, and grace to shape us, our deepest wounds can become the places where purpose begins.
That is the kind of life—and the kind of legacy—I hope to leave behind.
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