I experienced my first panic attack, or “false alarm,” when I was 14. I became a very fearful person, and I lived in that crippling fear, with bad seasons and better seasons, for the next 13 years of my life. As a believer in Christ, I experienced a lot of shame and doubt in my faith, because I could not overcome this. My family and I desperately prayed for a solution for years. Over those years, I have tried many approaches to help, to no avail. My parents and my husband have been an incredible support system for me, and have walked with me every step of the way. This fear—this seemingly constant battle—has been the driving force that the Lord has used for his good purpose and my benefit. I am thankful that I have struggled this way, because had I not, I would never have had this opportunity to help and bring hope to others. The answer to all of those seemingly unheard prayers came in unexpected ways.
After my daughter was born in 2013, I began searching for solutions to help her with her health. She was having repetitive immune struggles, and I was determined to find answers when I was not finding them in the resources we had at that time. This is where Young Living stepped into my story. I immediately fell in love with the oils, as we were seeing tremendous benefit in her health and in my emotions.
Through Young Living, I met our family doctor, Dr. Jessica Dietrich-Marsh. She has given me the tools and has pointed me to the resources that have taught me everything I know about health and wellness. I became her patient in January 2016. Since then, she has taught me the importance of what food I use to fuel my body, as well as the significance of using gentle and uplifting words to speak to myself. Becoming her patient was another pivotal turning point for me in my emotional (and physical) wellness. Growing up, I believed that humility meant putting yourself down. Now, I understand that this was not constructive for me, nor glorifying to the Lord, and my mind has required a lot of reprogramming in this area.
I came to Dr. Jessica in January 2018 frustrated with my career path. I graduated Southeastern Bible College in 2013 with a Bachelor’s in Biblical Studies and a minor in Counseling, and I had planned on continuing with my Master’s in Counseling that year. The last thing I lacked in being accepted into the program, was a simple, short essay. I could not bring myself to sit down and write it. I expressed my frustration and lack of clarity to her, and she told me, “usually when you can’t commit to something, there is something in the end goal that you do not see yourself doing.” I knew I wanted to do emotional work with others, but I had not found an approach that did this in the way I wished to. She had recently read about Aroma Freedom Technique (a tool that helps re-align the mind, and to remove mental blocks that are hindering a person from achieving their goals and dreams. It also helps remove emotional ties to traumatic memories, while remaining a gentle process using Young Living oils.) and I quickly became excited. This sounded perfect, and the next certification began the following week. I enrolled in the class, fell in love with the process, and became a certified AFT practitioner. My personal experience with AFT has been completely transforming. I do an AFT session on myself almost daily, and I now have the opportunity to use this to help others transform their lives.
It has been a life-changing gift for me. This was the missing puzzle piece for me in my story with my career and in my emotional health. It incorporates Young Living, emotional wellness, and effectively bringing hope to others, and helping them realize they have great purpose. I also have the great privilege of working with Dr. Jessica two days a week assisting her in patients and in office management. This has been a great source of joy and fulfillment as well. I am incredibly grateful for all of the opportunities that have been provided for me these last several years. I reflect back to the quote, “those who are crazy enough to think they can change the world are actually the ones that change the world.” I look back over the course of my life, and see the Lord’s hand and presence in my life, preparing me for such a time as this.
My family is a “ginger” family. I am a mom of two beautiful kiddos and a wife to an amazingly supportive husband. In my marriage, I take great joy in the fact that my daughter sees us and dreams of being married one day. I hope that my children always feel this way when they look at our relationship. I am incredibly thankful for my support system and for those who have believed in me, even when I did not believe in myself. During my playtime, I enjoy spending time with my family, writing, being outside, spending time with our local church family, drinking entirely too much coffee, being incredibly sarcastic, and anything to do with Christmas and Disney.
This has been an incredible journey for me, and I look forward to working with you in your journey by guiding you to realize and achieve your goals, and in helping you see your worth and how purpose-filled you are. The star-breather and Creator of the universe created you as well, and He desires you find your joy in Him.