A THANKSGIVING STORY - A HEART THAT LEARNED TO RISE AGAIN...
Jacob Mascarenhas
Dear Readers,
Today, on the 27th of November, 2025, as the world celebrates Thanksgiving, I find myself reflecting on a journey that has tested every part of me, my faith, my strength, my hope, my very will to live.
Five years ago, life was not what it is today. I was buried in a darkness that seemed endless, drowning in a misery that refused to let me breathe. My heart was tired, my mind was exhausted, and every morning felt like the same nightmare waking up again. I carried scars that no one could see, wounds that cut far deeper than flesh, and a loneliness that rattled inside my bones.
But where I saw the end, God saw a new beginning. Where I believed I had been abandoned, grace quietly waited for me to rise.
There were days when the hurt was so heavy that I questioned why I was still here. People around me assumed I was fine because I smiled, because I walked, because I still tried to show strength… but inside, I was shattered. Every breath felt like a negotiation between giving up and holding on.
The emotional pain was fierce, betrayal from people I trusted, the collapse of dreams I once held close, a life that had turned unfamiliar and cold. I thought I had lost everything. I thought I had lost myself.
Yet, in that broken state, something unexpected began, a whisper in my soul, a call to rise, a gentle nudge from God telling me: Write. Speak. Tell your story. Let your pain become your purpose. And so, trembling with fear but holding on to the faintest thread of hope, I opened a blank page, and that one page became a door.
Writing became the candle in my darkness. At first, my own hand felt foreign to me, my own words seemed fragile and uncertain. But the more I wrote, the more the pain began to transform. Tears turned into paragraphs. Silent screams turned into sentences. Nightmares turned into lessons. And slowly, God stitched me back together, not as I was before, but stronger, wiser, softer and braver.
Through writing, I discovered my calling. Through storytelling, I found my voice again. Today, I am the author of five books, each one a testament that even a shattered heart can still create beauty. I thank God for giving me courage when I had none left. I thank Him for lifting me when I couldn’t stand on my own. I thank Him for teaching me that broken people can still be chosen.
One of my books, “The Vigil of Hope”, was born from the same deep place of hurt where I once thought I had no future. It became a book not only for myself but for the world. A book written to help others pray for each other, especially those who feel forgotten, because I know what it means to feel unseen. That book carries the message that no matter how dark life gets, a single prayer can be the spark that saves a soul. If that book can comfort even one person in their darkest hour, then all the suffering I endured becomes a seed that grew into hope.
But God didn’t send me on this road alone.
Even in moments where loneliness surrounded me like walls, He placed important people in my life, some to lift me, some to challenge me, some to teach me, and yes, some to hurt me so deeply that I would be forced to grow. I am grateful to every single one of them, to the ones who supported me and to the ones who broke me, because both shaped my transformation.
People like Yuko Deneuville, whose presence and influence made me rethink many things, people who helped me see life with new clarity. People who opened my eyes in ways I never expected.
And even those who judged me, misunderstood me, or turned away, today, I hold no resentment. Instead, I thank them, because they unknowingly contributed to the man I am becoming.
I am thankful for every voice that encouraged me, every reader who believed in my words when I was still learning to believe in them myself, every Instagram, Substack & LinkedIn subscriber, every fellow writer who cheered me on during days when my confidence collapsed.
You have been my unexpected special family, a community that knows how to embrace one another’s hearts through words alone. When I thought nobody cared, you proved that souls connect in ways far deeper than geography. Your support has been a blessing I never saw coming.
I am especially grateful for my children, Evan & Ivanka, the stars in my sky, the life within my life, and the love that keeps my heart beating. They have seen me struggle, yet they continue to hold my hand, reminding me that a father’s love must always rise regardless of the storms.
I pray that God blesses them always with success, happiness, and protection. May they always know how proud I am of them, and may they never forget that they are the reason I choose to keep moving forward.
Yesterday, something powerful happened, something I did not expect, but everything within me needed. I attended a talk, a webinar organised by two remarkable individuals, Yuko Deneuville & Laetitia Martos, whose words did not just reach my mind, but went straight to the depths of my heart.
They spoke about living a life where we boldly declare, “My Freedom is My Gold Mine”, a freedom from fear, from limitations, from the chains of the past. They spoke about living a “Life with No Regrets”, stepping into our greatness without apology, without guilt, without allowing the world to silence the spark God has placed within us.
Their voices carried truth with such passion and conviction that for a moment, time itself seemed to pause. I sat there, completely taken by surprise, overwhelmed by the rush of emotions I felt: gratitude, hope, excitement, and a sense of awakening. I was genuinely lost for words, but my heart… my heart expanded, as though it had suddenly grown four or five times larger, filled with courage and possibility again.
That session reminded me that I am allowed to believe in myself, allowed to dream again, allowed to rise into the fullness of who I am destined to be. It made me feel unique again, special again, chosen again. And I am deeply thankful to those two individuals, whose names I will mention with honour, Yuko Deneuville and Laetitia Martos, because their message came at the perfect time, right when I needed that push, that reminder that life is still waiting for me to truly live it. Their heartfelt, overwhelming words will stay with me for a long, long time. For in that moment, I truly felt it, freedom is mine, and I refuse to live with regrets anymore.
And as I look back, I realise something powerful: sometimes God hides His blessings in heartbreak. If those painful years had not happened, I would have never discovered the writer inside me. I would have never awakened this voice that now refuses to stay silent. I would have never known how strong I could be until being strong was no longer a choice.
What I thought was punishment became preparation. What I thought was the end became the foundation of a new beginning. When everyone expected me to disappear into that silence forever, God was crafting a comeback, one that I myself never saw coming.
I remember nights when I sat alone in the dark, staring at the ceiling, asking God, “Why me?” Why was everything falling apart? Why did people I trusted hurt me? Why did life become a battlefield? And in those silent moments, God did not answer me with words; He answered with survival. With breath. With mornings that still arrived. With chances to keep moving. With ideas that visited my mind whispering that the world still needed my voice. And every time I wrote a chapter, every time I shaped a story, every time I filled that next blank page, it was another victory over the pain that once controlled me.
This year, especially, I have learned that healing is not a straight line. It is messy, unpredictable, and filled with days where progress feels invisible. But slowly, the heart learns to trust again, to love again, to dream again. Today, I can finally say that I am not the same man I was five years ago. I am no longer the man who feared tomorrow. I am the man who fights for tomorrow, who builds it, who writes it, who believes in it. The boy inside me who once felt abandoned by life has now become a man guided by purpose.
So on this Thanksgiving, I am not only celebrating where I am today, but who I have become along the way. I celebrate the strength I never knew I had. I celebrate the tears that taught me what courage is. I celebrate the rise after every fall.
Some people may look at success as fame or luxury, but for me, success is this:
To wake up each morning with hope.
To continue my work, no matter who supports it or who doubts it.
To leave behind a legacy of stories that might touch someone’s life.
And to my children, to say, “Dada didn’t give up.”
Because today, I am grateful not only for life, but for hope.
And even though in reality I may spend many days of my life alone, my heart has never stopped loving. My table may be quiet, but my prayers are loud, lifted for every family, every friend, every stranger who needs a touch of God’s comfort. I may sit alone in my room, but I will never stop praying for the world. Because love does not need a crowd, it only needs a willing heart.
Not only for what I have, but for who I am becoming.
Not only for the journey, but for God who walked beside me the whole way.
A CHRISTMAS WELCOME
As Thanksgiving gently folds into the quiet wonder of Advent, I feel a different kind of gratitude stirring inside my heart, a gratitude not just for what has been, but for what is coming. Advent is a season of waiting, yes, but also a season of believing. It is a time when hope becomes a light that flickers stronger each day, reminding us that God’s greatest miracles often arrive quietly, like a whisper in the night.
Just as a single star once guided the world to a humble manger, I pray that the light of this season guides each of us to peace, to joy, and to deeper love. Christmas is not only a celebration of a birth… it is the celebration of new beginnings, of promises fulfilled, of hearts healed and made whole again.
This year, more than ever, I want to walk into Christmas with a heart full of thankfulness, for every breath, every lesson, every blessing that has carried me to this moment. As we step into Advent, may we carry forward the spirit of gratitude from Thanksgiving, transforming it into kindness, compassion, generosity, and love.
May our homes glow a little brighter, may our prayers reach a little deeper, and may our hearts open a little wider, ready to welcome joy, ready to welcome grace, ready to welcome Christ.
With a grateful heart,
God Bless Us All.
Jacob Mascarenhas
Author | Storyteller | Founder of AWritersTip
