I’m so thankful for the friend that encouraged me in a 24-day challenge that would redirect me toward taking a hard look at the foods I was eating and the things I was putting on my skin. This was the beginning of my journey of formulating skin care products and learning about holistic wellness. After many years learning about health and starting a small skin care business, I was able to begin applying everything I had learned as I began my journey with The Cedar Shack.
Looking back, intense hardship has been a theme in my life. As a child, I experienced sexual, emotional and mental abuse which influenced my life as a teenager, young adult and mother. I experienced extreme poverty and homelessness as a child with my mother. Even as an adult, I found myself living in my car, sleeping in lots between semi trucks. Much of my life was lived in fear; ultimately the fear of going to Hell because I wasn't a perfect person.
Being completely transparent, it’s been a long, painful journey, but through surrendering my life to Jesus Christ, He has done what I could not. He set me free from a spirit of fear and removed the weight of the hardships. He brought people into my life who counseled me, loved me, & encouraged me to grow into a deeper relationship with Him. Through suffering, God has forged in me a strong desire to share His grace and mercy, and encourage others that even in the darkness, He is present. Be assured, He truly works all things together for the good of those who love Him, no matter what our circumstances nor the world says to the contrary.
"For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart”. Jeremiah 29:11-13
