“The most powerful weapon on earth is the human soul on fire.” Ferdinand Foch

When I think about survivors shaping the world through advocacy, this quote feels less like poetry and more like truth lived out in real time.

A survivor’s soul on fire is not fueled by anger alone…though anger has its place. It is fueled by truth. By clarity. By a refusal to let what tried to silence us have the final word. Survivors know what systems overlook, what policies ignore, and what harm looks like when it hides behind legality, normalization, or convenience. When survivors step into advocacy, they don’t speak in theory. They speak from the scars that healed into wisdom.

That is power.

Survivors don’t just demand change…we shape it. We bring lived experience into rooms where decisions are made without us. We reframe narratives that once blamed us. We expose injustice not because we studied it, but because we survived it. And when one survivor stands up, it ignites courage in others. Fire spreads that way.
What the world often misunderstands is this: survivor advocacy is not about being stuck in the past. It is about redeeming it. It is about refusing to let pain be wasted. It is about transforming suffering into something that protects, educates, and liberates others.

And here is the teaching I carry in my heart:
Pain will either imprison you or propel you, but purpose is what determines the direction.
Turning pain into purpose does not mean rushing healing or pretending wounds didn’t hurt. It means listening for what your story is trying to teach you. It means asking, “How can this serve someone else?” It means allowing God to take what was meant to destroy you and repurpose it for good…just as Scripture promises.

We are told that what the enemy meant for harm, God will use for our good. Not just despite it, but through it.

And joy? Joy is not denial. Joy is defiance. Joy is choosing to live fully, love deeply, and advocate boldly without bitterness chaining your future to your past. Joy is the evidence that healing has taken root.

When survivors lead with truth, with purpose, and with joy, the fire becomes unstoppable.
Nothing is wasted. Not the pain. Not the tears. Not the long nights. Not the survival.
A human soul on fire: refined, redeemed, and rooted in purpose…can change the world.