I never wanted to be a mother.

Leader? Yes. World-changer? Yes. Missionary? Yes. Pastor? Yes. Friend? Yes. Even wife? Yes.

But mother? I really didn’t see it. I couldn’t imagine it. My life was devoted to helping others become whole, heal, and find their true strength and destiny. But I couldn’t imagine being a mother.

We stepped out of convention and moved into an impoverished community in South Africa to pursue our dreams and help others find hope and the love of God. We launched a soccer non-profit to raise up the next leaders in Africa and inspire transformational and exponential change in people and communities.

I never wanted to be a mother of my own, but my heart slowly changed. We brought our first-born baby daughter to Africa to launch our adventures and I was hilariously persuaded into having our second; a beautiful boy. He instantly made our world spin with happiness but eventually we began to see that something was off. Something wasn’t right. We didn’t even know what autism was when we got the shocking and devastating diagnosis of special needs.

We shakily started a new chapter of our lives that we never saw coming. Mad at God and wanting to hide away in misery, we precariously launched in a new world of special needs. Slowly, crawling at first, wrestling for hope, I started to refuse to accept what was given and we charted our own destiny. Miracles happened. Through our extraordinarily unique community, Keller started to break the odds and surprise us all. In the midst of our own fight we fought for young men in Africa and began to watch them rise as well

This is the story for every restless woman who is evolving to find purpose and hope in her life. In my unlikely journey I found significance and purpose; not in the wilds of Africa, but within my own home and heart. We overcame every obstacle… and what if you could too?

This story is for the wandering, the lost, and the despondent who are aching for a life that is something more. May my miracles buoy hope in your life as well.