my story.
I grew up a preacher’s kid in a growing area of Columbus, Ohio. Being the oldest of four, I quickly learned to take the lead, and our home nurtured my innate leadership qualities. At a young age, my dad took over a small organization which provided food and clothing to people trapped in poverty. Although our family never went hungry, we also went through seasons where people dropped groceries off on our doorstep. My shoes never had holes in them, but my dad’s sure did. For almost forty years now, this small little food pantry has expanded into a multifaceted center which provides critically-needed services (across Central Ohio), but the best part is that it creates hope.
My upbringing shaped a strong desire in me to want to help people. For nearly two decades I threw myself into vocational pastoral ministry. Investing in people, especially students, was one of the greatest joys of my early years. Throughout different seasons, the motivation to help people never changed, but the hours of work demanded of me grew exponentially. Fulfilling the vision of the church became my personal calling and soon working endlessly on an equally endless to-do list was my new normal. I wore the workaholic label proudly as the job officially took over my life.
The symptoms had been there for some time, but slowly surfaced to significance. Depression, anxiety and sleepless nights became my new normal. The hardest part was losing closeness with my reasons. My husband and I had become total strangers and I struggled to be still long enough to play with my children. The work was robbing me of my true identity.
When what you do becomes more important than who you are, it’s time for a change.
My journey toward the new involved a long season of self-discovery and developing healthy habits. The compound effect of consistently applying small changes over time truly does produce significant results - micro changes, macro results. Counseling, journaling, meditation, devouring personal growth books, finding my Orange Theory Fitness community and surrounding myself with people who showed grace instead of criticism all contributed to helping me move forward. Fast forward to today? Still tempted to work too much, still fighting the urge to throw myself deep into producing, however showing up for myself and my family looks different now. My story, your story, they’re all imperfect, but that’s what makes the ride worth living.
unfiltered.
Being a strong, high capacity, always vocal female human has taught me that sometimes the best version of myself is the “unfiltered” one. Discovering who I truly was, accepting myself, and then working on my strengths has been a journey worth pursuing. Fully embracing my Enneagram 8, Type A, recovering workaholic, production oriented brain, experience chaser, tight hugger, loyal-to-the-end, slightly dramatic, intensely passionate, cause-driven, quick forgiving heart has helped me to love myself and others more deeply and fully.
my reasons.
The unfiltered version of my family is: Over two decades ago, I married my high school best friend. We have lived through enough seasons together now that it feels as if they were different lifetimes. Through the ups and downs we believed our marriage was worth investing in. We're still growing and learning but it's worth it!
Currently, my six foot high school son, Caden loves academics way more than I ever did and has fallen even harder for volleyball. My daughter, Aliya inspires me to be a softer version of myself and brightens up your day with one look. #thescottsadventure
