As I learned how to think deeply about my feelings I was able to identify their roots. Coming to the realization about my feelings are not facts was quite the shift for me. I had spent decades listening to my feelings and allowing them to lead me.

Today, I don’t have to think through the steps of how to filter, I just do it. I have a thought, and I quickly compare it to what is true. I am still a work in progress and have bad days, but now I have the tools to be able to shift my focus from me to the Truth.

During my healing journey, I have learned that my worth, value, or love is not defined by what I do or how hard I try…It even isn’t defined by what others have done to me. Instead, I know I am defined by the One who created me.

All of us have busy days and as women especially, we often take better care of others than we do ourselves. Sooner or later, the stress of daily living catches up with us and impacts our physical, mental and spiritual health.

There is always something to be thankful for, even when life throws a curveball. Having an attitude of gratitude will help you manage and cope with whatever difficulty you’re facing.

Finding strength to get through some days is exhausting. As time goes on, those days get farther apart. You have to give yourself grace and just breathe. Always remember it's a marathon and not a sprint.

Today we would have been 20 days away from meeting our baby. July has a lot of emotions tangled up in there — I know that this month we would have been able to hold our baby in our arms.

As I write, I am cutting open a vein, bleeding, and sharing the torment of losing an adult child to suicide. I cannot share the heartache without entering back into it. And it hurts. The agony still lingers—so many unanswered questions.

I am wired to be selfish. In some ways, we all are, but with my beginnings and the anger I had about my childhood, I couldn’t be who I wanted to be. In my heart, I wanted to be generous, but I was afraid, not a little afraid, a lot afraid.