A follower of Christ, born in the 80s, I’m a wife, mother, full time caregiver and aspiring real estate investor. I have been married to my best friend, John, for 9 years now. We have one son, Jack, who is 5 years old. I grew up in a loving home with my parents and one brother. My parents were married for 34 years until my dad’s passing when I was 24.
I’ve called many places home: Ohio, New Jersey, Maryland, back to New Jersey, with a few years in Virginia for college thrown in the mix. After we got married, John and I moved to Delaware for a short stint before taking the big leap to California for a promising job offer. In short, California didn’t work for us for many reasons, and COVID made it even worse. The South, Georgia specifically, beckoned with family and a major airport nearby. So am I a Jersey girl? a California wannabe? a Southern Belle?… I like to think I’m a little bit of everything.
I grew up in a Christian home, with my parents working for Christian organizations and our family active in a local church. I remember my dad kept his Bible on the kitchen table reading it with his Daily Bread devotional. In the first grade, I prayed the sinner’s prayer but I did not truly understand grace until college. At Liberty University, it became my desire to know my faith on a deeper level so I studied Religion. There I learned so much about evangelism, the book of Genesis and Romans. I studied Bible theology and church history.
After college, I went home to work with my family in our restaurant called Soupy’s. Shortly after the restaurant closed, my dad had a brain bleed requiring emergency surgery. Sadly, he remained immobile for 11 weeks as we cared for him in and out of various hospitals and rehab facilities. After a difficult three months, he passed away.
After losing my dad, I found employment working at a hospital in the ER. Hospitals had become familiar over the course of my life, so they weren’t as intimidating as they once were. I worked at several hospitals and eventually took a position in population health at a primary care doctor’s office until I met my husband.
Through all the storms of life, I know my faith in Jesus has been the unshakable source of peace and strength to sustain me through it all. Christ died for me. As perfect as I thought I was, I am reminded daily that I am a sinner in need of grace. Grace is God’s kindness to the undeserving. Romans 5:8 says, “but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” I’m thankful for His grace to me!
In the mornings we read the Bible with Jack and a children’s book that says,
“His Grace is Enough,
Its so big and so free,
His Grace is Enough,
For both you and for me”
Over the course of my life, I’ve helped care for my grandfather who had Parkinson’s Dementia. While in high school, we lived with my grandmother who also had dementia. After getting married, I discovered that my mother in law, Barbie, had progressive memory loss from a traumatic brain injury, and I cared for her until her passing last year. Now my mom has been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s Dementia. I’ve been walking with memory loss for what feels like my whole life, so I know it all too well.
As I walk through the weeds of Alzheimer’s disease with my mother, I am constant in prayer as I need to lean on Christ to get us through. Please be praying for my mom as she has to battle this disease. Pray for our young family as we all walk through the storm of Alzheimer’s together.