As I approached my 40’s, I began to notice shifts in my life and perspective, a constant tug on my heart. I had spent years climbing the corporate ladder, creating a career based on “spinning” the perfect story, releasing the next bestseller. All the while, living my own.

I quit my job as a VP at one of the top book publishing companies, opting to leave it all behind and venture into the unknown. It was a well-intended attempt to pour into my marriage and give my children an experience that would forever impact their perspective on humanity. We sold our home, packed up our life, and made our way to Australia.

Two years later, I found myself boarding a flight back to America with my children in tow. A journey that began as a family of four, returning home as three. I was faced with one of the hardest decisions of my life as my husband was in the midst of his battle with alcohol. I could stay and lose myself in the process, allowing the chaos of addiction to dictate my life and the lives of our children, or walk away from the life we were building in Australia. It was heartbreaking but I knew it was the only way to potentially change any of it. To let go and let God.

It was single-handedly the most difficult thing I have ever had to do, but I also knew it was the right thing to do. For all of us.

Scared and not knowing what came next, I had no other choice but to simply put one foot in front of the other. I could have crumbled from the weight of it all, but something kept pushing me to move forward and create a life that would allow for both the space and freedom I needed to walk my children through our next chapter.

In doing so and letting this idea of my perfectly “spun” life unravel, I stepped into a place of trust and realized that while life is messy, it is in those moments that God calls us to grow, to learn, to heal, and to rise above. Life doesn’t always turn out the way you expect. And that’s okay.

My entire life had to become undone so I could truly start living again.

After returning, I focused on my business and loving my children. Little by little, life began to take shape. With each new challenge, we learned to find our silver lining, never allowing life or circumstances to keep us down for long.

I learned to accept that everything can change in an instant and to embrace the here and now. Change as life changes. Allow yourself to get unstuck from the idea of what you thought your life was supposed to look like.

The time spent as a single mom brought some of the most amazing memories for the kids and I, even in the midst of a global pandemic and all the uncertainty. And while we were busy healing and living life, my husband was busy doing the same and focusing on the work he needed to do for himself.

It was through those challenges that we learned to do our best to love well. We learned to take things day by day and live in the moments, even when they are messy and uncertain. We learned to trust and to embrace a life grounded in freedom as opposed to fear.

It was that freedom that allowed me to not only accept the path we were on when all was uncertain, but to realize God’s plan for my life didn’t end there and that miracles truly can happen. My life and my family, reunited, healthy, and whole, is living proof.

This is our Life, UnSpun.