“Blessed are those whose strength is in you,
    whose hearts are set on pilgrimage.
 As they pass through the Valley of Weeping,
    they make it a place of springs;
    the autumn rains also cover it with pools.
 They go from strength to strength,
    till each appears before God in Zion.”

Psalm 84:5-7

Hi friend! I’m Laura and I’m so glad you’re here.

I’m a wife to my witty and wise husband, Aubrey, and mom to our vibrant and vivacious girls, ages 10 and 7. Mental health and motherhood are my jam, and as a Jesus follower, I love to discern how theology informs those things — for better or worse.

I sometimes joke that I like to write about how to let theology not ruin peoples’ lives. And that’s because I realized, when motherhood and mental health converged and my life imploded, that a lot of bad theology informed my deepest beliefs about God, myself, my kids, and the world.

I started to learn what kind of parent God is… far from the ambivalent God who tolerates me when I’m “doing good” and disdains me when I fail, He is a Father who delights in me and sings songs to comfort me, a Mother who cuddles me under her wings and is a fierce momma-bear when anyone would seek to harm me. God does not shame or shun me, but is a patient teacher and coach.

I started to learn what being fully human would look like . . . by looking at the most fully human person that ever lived! I’d grown up believing in what Philip Yancey called “felt-board Jesus.” That Jesus didn’t really experience human emotions like the rest of us, but just went around loving people and being ‘zen’ all the time. I felt so much shame over my big emotions, especially the ‘negative’ ones (anger, fear, sadness if I didn’t have a “really good reason” for it). When I understood that the mostly fully human person experienced the entire range of human emotion and even weaknesses (being tired, hungry, moody), I learned to view my emotions and my needs as friends. They weren’t a sign of sin or failure, but that I am human…and I need God. The good news about being human and needing God, is that God is good and He loves to meet us right where we’re at.

I found at parenting framework that felt good to my soul. . . I read so many books when my firstborn arrived. Especially when it became obvious that she was “strong-willed.” And in my desperation, I tried things from those books that did not feel right or good to my conscience (especially as I was re-learning what kind of parent God is). The other thing — that I now thank God for, but at the time was crazy-making — was that these things (authoritarian parenting techniques) did not work. My little stallion would not be “broken.” I regret ever trying! And I thank God for protecting her spirit from my misled attempts at control.

But it was hard. We lived overseas, far from our families and in a stressful cross-cultural environment. In the midst of the ‘terrible twos,’ I experienced a miscarriage at a foreign hospital. Not long after giving birth to my second daughter, we were kicked out of one city and had to move to another. Looking back now, I can see that my body lived in fight-or-flight.

I was a sensitive and intense mom parenting two sensitive and intense daughters in a sensitive and intense living situation.

I was extremely anxious and stuck in the depths of despair.

I truly wondered if my daughters would be better off with a different mother.

Into that dark and desperate pit, God shone a light through counseling, medication, and being introduced to Connected Families.

Brain science + Bible + Wisdom combined to make a framework for thinking through big picture and every day interactions with their kids? I’m in.

Do I parent perfectly now? That would be a hard no. But do I feel like I can parent with hope and grace in a way that honors God and my girls and myself? Yes!

I started to dream about helping others . . . I hate the thought of anyone feeling stuck in the amount of despair I felt in the early days of parenting. I thank God for meeting me in that place, helping me feel less alone and giving me tools to change.

I want to do that for others.

As a Connected Families Certified Parent Coach, I hope to come alongside parents who are struggling in their parenting journey. I am here to help moms and dads know they’re not alone and that there is hope.

Whether you find yourself in the pit of despair, or you just want a coach to process some tricky situations with, I’m glad you’re here and I’d love to help!