“I was tired of the fast lane, the parties, and the men. After holding on for dear life to a complete set of emotional baggage, I finally had to surrender it ALL.”

‘If only he’d ask me to dance!’ He was addicted to drugs, and I was addicted to him.’: Woman marries after divorce, ‘Love is ALL that matters’

‘Foster care? HA, no! That would be WAY too hard.’ We had our plan to become parents. Then I had a dream like no other.’: Couple pursues foster care after ‘lifelike’ dream, ‘It’s so worth it’
“I get what you might be thinking. ‘Oh gosh, another one of those dream stories.’ But hear me out! I knew I couldn’t just let that dream pass me by. It felt right.”

‘I heard the words no momma wants to hear, ‘We couldn’t find a heartbeat.’ It felt like too much to bear.’: Woman suffers miscarriage, gives birth to rainbow baby, ‘The future is bright’
“She wanted me to come into the office as soon as I could. I didn’t make it to that appointment, though. The bleeding started a day later. The rest was a blur.”

‘This can’t be happening. They can’t take our baby!’ We couldn’t just have ‘normal.’ Only 200 people in the WORLD have this.’: Special needs mom shares daughter’s journey, ‘Love is strong’
“I let myself live in the land of denial for quite a long time. I allowed myself to live under the ‘she’s a preemie’ excuse as we began to notice delays. Surely she’d catch up.”

‘We made eye contact and I immediately knew something was wrong. ‘Let me get the doctor.’ The doctor said six words no parent EVER wants to hear.’: Mom grievously recounts miscarriage, ‘We find comfort in knowing she’s with Jesus’
“‘I’m sorry, but there’s no heartbeat.’ She told me I had to deliver her, but I didn’t want to. I thought if I could keep her inside of me, if I could just keep carrying her, then maybe she’d be okay. Part of me thought they got it wrong, she’d come out crying. But she didn’t.”

‘You’re a survivor, not a victim.’ BOTH CAN BE TRUE. The mixed messages surrounding this are dizzying.’: Woman advocates for mental health awareness, ‘It took YEARS to rebuild my trust’
“Before Casey left the state with me, before he promised me forever and before we said ‘I do,’ I explained the mental weight I carried. Somehow I knew it would be an added challenge. I wasn’t wrong.”

‘It’s back and growing rapidly.’ We had a feeling this would be our last trip together, but we prayed it wasn’t so. NOTHING brought him relief of any kind.’: Widow recounts loss of husband, healing through nonprofit missionary work, ‘There is PURPOSE in the pain’
“The photo on this post is of my late husband and me. It was our last trip to Africa together. He looks a bit tired and haggard in the photo because, well, unknown to us when we set out on the trip, his cancer was back with a vengeance.”

‘What you see is what you get. If you only see the world’s problems, THAT’S what you’ll get.’: Woman urges ‘focus on what gives you peace’
“And nothing has been harder than having to try to stay in your lane, live purposefully, mindfully, and with lasting gratitude, during the seemingly never-ending (and, perhaps, disastrous?) year that is 2020.”

‘My child would NEVER act like that, and if they did they wouldn’t get away with it.’ He is NOT misbehaving in these situations, he is trying to COPE.’: Mom shares reality of having a son with autism, ‘His brain just works differently’
“‘He doesn’t have autism, it’s all in your head.’ Please don’t tell me ‘he’s not THAT bad, it’s hardly noticeable, it’s very mild.’ I wouldn’t be surprised if someone suggests an exorcism!”

‘He flailed around like a salted earthworm. ‘SIT DOWN. GO TO TIME OUT.’ I felt nothing but resentment. He widened his eyes and said, ‘Mommy, I’m scared.’: Mom shares moment of lost temper, ‘I’m terrified of screwing things up’
“His sweet little cherub curls and fat tears streaming down his face, and all I could think was WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS TO ME??? My son was scared. Of me.”