Deliverance Series 2: Breaking the Cycle

Pam's perspective.

Pam always said she didn’t care what people thought of her. She wore her brother’s hoodies, kept her curls tucked under a beanie, and skated everywhere like she owned the sidewalks. If anyone had asked, she’d shrug and say, “It’s just more comfortable to be tough.”

But inside, Pam lived with a fear she never named. A quiet ache she covered with speed, sarcasm, and scraped knees.

Today should’ve been a normal afternoon. The sun hung low over the rooftops, the neighborhood buzzing with the usual sounds—kids tossing footballs, bikes rolling across cracked pavement, dogs barking at absolutely nothing. Pam skated toward David’s house like she always did, her board clicking over the familiar bumps in the sidewalk.

David was her safe spot. Her one friend who didn’t treat her like she was weird for not being “girly” enough—or for being too lonely, too quiet, too much.

But today… he wasn’t himself.

She rolled to a stop in front of him, smiling.“Hey D—”

He didn’t even look at her. He just snapped,

“I don’t need to hang out with a wannabe boy anyway.”

The words hit her so hard her breath caught. David shrugged like he hadn’t just sliced something open inside her.

Pam felt her face burn. She kicked her board back under her feet and spat out, “Whatever, loser,” before skating away so fast her wheels hummed angrily over the pavement.

But distance didn’t help.

The words followed her like shadows.

Wannabe boy.

See? They all think you’re a freak.

You’ll never be enough.

You’ll never be safe.

They weren’t David’s voice. They were older. Darker. Words she’d been hearing for years.

At Home – The Curse That Stalked Her

Her house felt like a museum of sadness the moment she walked in. Dim lights. Outdated wallpaper peeling at the corners. The smell of reheated food and tired air.

Her mom, Ms. Terry, sat at the kitchen table sorting bills, her shoulders curled inward like they were holding the weight of the whole world.

“Hey baby,” her mother murmured, not fully looking up.

Pam walked past without responding. She didn’t have the emotional space to pretend everything was fine. Not when her heart felt like it was splitting open.

She paused at the hallway wall—the one lined with photos of the women who came before her. Great-grandma. Grandma. Her mom when she was sixteen.All women who looked too young to be carrying babies on their hips.

Pam stared at the faces. Same eyes. Same tired smiles. Same sadness hiding behind them.

And each one?

Each had their first child out of wedlock.

Each struggled paycheck to paycheck.

Each died far too young.

Her chest tightened. You’re next, the whisper hissed.

“You’re exactly like them.”

“You can’t escape what runs in your blood.”

Pam clenched her fists. “No,” she whispered, but her voice shook.

She wasn’t tough enough to outrun this. Not anymore.

The Dream – The Warning

That night, sleep pulled her under faster than usual. But peace never came.

She dreamed she was walking through her house—but everything was wrong. The hallways stretched too long. The wallpaper peeled off like burnt skin. Shadows clung to the corners. And figures—women—moved silently through the halls, their faces familiar and empty.

They were the women from the photographs. Only now their eyes were hollow. Their hands reached out as if to warn her… or claim her.

Pam backed away. But every turn led to the same scene: A young woman crying over bills. A baby on her hip. A man walking out the door. A tombstone with her family name carved into stone far too soon.

The cycle. The curse. Her future.

“NO!” Pam screamed, running down a hallway that kept circling back to the same destiny.

When she jolted awake, her shirt was soaked with sweat and her chest throbbed painfully.

She sat up in the darkness, shaking. For the first time, she admitted it:

Something was happening to her. Something she couldn’t fight alone.

A Lifeline at School

The next day at school, Pam moved like a ghost through the hallways. She didn’t talk to anyone. Didn’t want to.

But in gym class, while everyone played dodgeball, Mrs. Anthony watched her. Really watched her.

“Pam,” she called after class.“You have real talent. You’re fast. Focused. Strong. You could go far.”

Pam stopped.

Compliments felt foreign… like someone speaking a language she’d forgotten.

“Uh… thanks,” she muttered.

Mrs. Anthony smiled gently. “Come to track practice. I want to see what you can do.”

Pam shrugged. “Maybe.”

But something inside her—something bruised and hungry—whispered, Yes.

The Invitation

After school, as she cooled down from track practice, Natalie's voice cut through her swirling thoughts.

“Hey! We’re going to youth group tonight. You should come.”

Church? Pam almost said no immediately.

But there was something in Natalie’s eyes.

Something hopeful.

Something peaceful.

Something Pam desperately wanted but had never touched.

“Okay,” she said quietly. “I’ll go.”

The Church Encounter

The church was warmer than she expected. Not in temperature—something else.Something that wrapped around her like a blanket she didn’t know she needed.

As they walked down the hallway, Pam noticed an open door—women praying, crying, interceding.

“What are they doing?” she whispered.

Natalie smiled.“They’re warring in the spirit.”

“For what?”

“For everything. For families. For healing. For people who don’t even know they’re under attack.”

Pam stared. And suddenly —without warning—she saw her family. The women from the photos.Kneeling. Crying out. Praying for her.

She blinked and the vision disappeared. But the warmth stayed.

Belonging

Inside the youth room, the worship team played. David stood on stage, guitar in hand, eyes closed. Pam felt a lump rise in her throat—the wound from yesterday still stinging.

But something in the music tugged at her. She lifted her hands—shyly, awkwardly—just a few inches. And the warmth hit her again. Stronger.Deeper.

For the first time in her life, she felt… safe.Seen.Held.

Not because she was tough. Or ran fast. Or invisible.

But because she was His.

She didn’t understand it fully. She only knew she never wanted to lose it.

The Shift

That night at home, Pam walked into the kitchen and saw her mom at the table, sorting bills like always.

But instead of brushing past her, Pam walked over, leaned down, and kissed her forehead.

“Thanks for everything you do, Mom.”

Ms. Terry looked up in surprise, her tired eyes softening.“Baby… it’s all for you.”

Pam nodded, swallowing the sudden sting of tears.

“One day,” she whispered, “I’m going to break this cycle.”

As she walked away, she felt it—Something snapping.

Something loosening.

Something breaking off her family line.

She didn’t know what was coming next.

She only knew she wouldn’t face it alone.

BUT GOD....TO BE CONTINUED.