Like many, our last two years were isolating and filled with loss.

My favorite thing in life is how our brokenness can become a place of greatest treasure and hope.

I’m a Licensed Clinical Social Worker with a passion for children struggling with trauma. My eyes were wide open to the challenges of loving broken hearts. Yet, as my husband David and I grew our family through adoption, we were blindsided. In an effort to survive, we took the skills we had through our education and experience and dove into further training. In desperation I acquired further licensing and became a TBRI (Trust Based Relational Intervention) Practitioner through Texas Christian University. Shortly after, we lost David’s father and each of my parents tragically. That same year as Covid-shutdowns isolated many, David had a stroke that changed his abilities and behavior.

Days followed that felt impossible. Depression and complicated grief crippled my strength and perspective as I parented our struggling children alone in that season. Seriously, I did not know if this seemingly “upside-down parenting” could work. It felt impossible to endure our children’s often violent and insanely long tantrums multiple times each day. Some days I wanted to give up. Yet. By God’s strength, somehow I managed to clumsily employ Trust-based parenting methods. More than a few times I ran out of the front door crying “I am not cut out for this!!!!”

Friends, I am impassioned to tell you this works. Our children are radically different than they were one year ago. The changes are beautiful and seem miraculous. We are still healing and learning. Yet, I am impassioned to tell you that even when your children seem past the point of no return, that their hearts can be reached and behaviors will then change. Their violence can be calmed and your children’s deepest scars can become areas of God’s greatest purpose.

I am a simple mom of 7 with a broken heart. I pray that through the broken cracks in my heart, the comfort and hope I have found can spill out into your hearts too. There is great purpose and hope awaiting. Someday, you too can look back at the valley you will have climbed out of in exceeding gratefulness for the treasures found there.