Elizabeth Smart recently posted to Facebook on the anniversary of her being rescued.
“I have always believed in Miracles but today marks the 19 year anniversary of the biggest miracle I ever experienced. I just wanted to briefly say thank you to everyone who helped rescue me,” Smart began the post.
“Thank you to those of you who prayed for me, searched for me, and supported me all those years ago through today. I will forever be grateful. I am happy today, and feel so lucky to have found my husband and best friend, and to be the mother to my three babies,” Smart shared.
“For a while this dream felt far out of reach in fact completely unreachable. So today I want to say to those still searching you will always remain in my prayers and I refuse to lose hope that your loved ones will be found, and to those still missing don’t give up miracles happen, you deserve to be found, rescued, and to have happiness, and finally to those who are struggling along the way; no matter what point you find yourself, don’t give up.”
“You never deserved to be hurt. You deserve to be believed, supported, loved, and happy. Everyone has a story and challenges, you are not alone. God bless all of you.”
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In 2002 when Elizabeth was just 14, she was kidnapped from her Utah home.
And nine months later, she returned to her family. She now runs the Elizabeth Smart Foundation, a nonprofit devoted to the prevention of sexual abuse.
Elizabeth goes on to say she believes her trauma has made her a far more cautious parent.
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Both she and husband Matthew Gilmour married in 2012 and share 3-year-old James and 2-year-old Olivia, in addition to Chloé.
“I’m probably more into helicopter parents than I would have imagined,” she admits.
“And it also makes me think that I’ll never regret checking on my children or spending that extra time to look after them or watch them. I’ll never regret it. I might regret not spending time with them or not looking after them for that moment. So, I think it’s probably made me a more conscious parent.”
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