Posts by: Colin Balfe

Colin Balfe is the Founder and Chief Content Officer of Love What Matters. Colin was inspired to start Love What Matters after his mother passed from Ovarian cancer. Through his grieving process, he saw the need to connect a like minded community around a deeply personal storytelling platform. He's proudest of the communities within LWM, strangers united by powerful and impactful experiences, underserved people connecting around mutual challenges, hopes and dreams. These communities include Adoption, Mental Health, Infertility, Addiction, Grief, Special Needs Parenting, LGBTQ+ and many more.

‘My marriage ended. I was forced to move back into my parent’s house with my daughter. I felt embarrassed being a single mom and divorcee. My happily ever after was gone.’

“I felt guilty. I felt worthless. I felt shattered. I skipped meals, lost my friends. I blamed myself for everything that happened. Then, one day I woke up and stopped feeling sorry for myself.”

Colin Balfe - Jun 06, 2019

‘I woke up to his friend’s girlfriend dragging me across the garden, screaming. But why? Whatever she’d seen had terrified her.’: Woman escapes abuser to finally marry ‘amazing man’

“She dragged me to the front door and I can remember feeling panicked. Where was the key? We were locked in, slipping on the blood pouring from my face on the laminate floor.”

Colin Balfe - Jun 05, 2019

‘I got pregnant on my 21st birthday. I was a sophomore in college and my family was 400 miles away. I had to create an exit plan. Things took a turn for the worst.’

“I moved in with family members I didn’t have contact with growing up. It was the the beginning of a harsh series of months. I remember one person telling me, ‘The reason this is happening to you is because you’re always chasing money.’ I knew there had to be something better coming.”

Colin Balfe - Jun 05, 2019

‘I was the ‘closet Diet Mountain Dew drinker.’ I was MAD he left me. To be honest, I was a HOT MESS. I fought back.’

“He often told me, ‘You are too damn feisty.’ Well, I knew I had to stand up for myself. For almost 19 years I picked my battles.”

Colin Balfe - Jun 04, 2019

‘If I did good at work, I felt like I was failing at home. Fighting between the two worlds broke my heart. I put on a mask of perfection. I felt like I was drowning and couldn’t come up for air.’

“So, I did the only thing I knew how to do. I wish I could tell you everything was fine the next day. That my feelings resolved themselves or my prayers were magically delivered to my doorstep. In fact, it was quite the opposite.”

Colin Balfe - May 31, 2019

‘She started breaking into my room, forcing her way in, terrifying me. I was yelling at her to leave me alone, asking her, ‘haven’t I been through enough?’ I saw no way out.’

“He is biting me again!’ She turned around and pushed him and yelled, ‘YOU CAN’T BITE HER!”

Colin Balfe - May 30, 2019

‘Where is she?!’ There was no time to call for help. With one forceful kick, the lock snapped. I ran around the house, my mind racing. Then, I opened her bedroom door.’

“My body was in complete panic. A high-pitched ring pierced my ears. I held her in my arms. This wasn’t part of the plan. This was supposed to be her fresh start.”

Colin Balfe - May 30, 2019

‘I stayed in a destroyed marriage for a year, convinced we could make it through. It didn’t matter he was in love with another woman; I KNEW he would come to his senses.’

“I would hide in vain in my closet. ‘Get up!’ I would tell myself, ‘Get up!’ I wanted to get up; I didn’t want my son to find me like this- to see me like this. But he would and it started to become a regular occurrence.”

Colin Balfe - May 28, 2019

‘I spent my whole life wanting time to speed up, wanting to be somewhere else. Now, here I am. Laying in my 2-year-old’s room, staring at him with tears rolling down my face.’

“In high school, I couldn’t wait to get to college. When I got to college I couldn’t wait to be a working adult. When I fell In love, I couldn’t wait to get married. When all of that happened, I couldn’t wait to start a family. Now, it’s just my baby in my arms. I rock him for ME.”

Colin Balfe - May 24, 2019

‘The second I held him, I was madly in love.’: Mom says despite what she was told about Down syndrome diagnosis, ‘this boy was going to be a blessing’

”When Joshua was born, there was no cry. His umbilical cord was wrapped around his neck and the doctor had to pry it off piece by piece. The second I saw him, I knew. At that moment, everything changed.”

Colin Balfe - May 22, 2019

Colin Balfe