My journey begins here....

Living a Life of Purpose

What defines me:

"My name is Caroline! I have a wonderful husband of 24 years, three fantastic young adult children and most importantly,  A Loving Gracious Father in Heaven, in  Him I have a purpose! "

What has refined me:

"Living with O.C.D. and depression"

For many years I battled not knowing if I should share, in fear of judgment and contempt from others. Once I got past that fear, then came the fear of how much to share and who could I trust with the information. Would they use it against me subconsciously or consciously? Would they treat me differently? Would they look at me differently? Would they not value my thoughts and opinions, as they once did?

There are many different battles that encompass us in snares of worry and defeat but once I recognized that I could not conquer these fears on my own, there was hope. Hope of acceptance, hope of happiness, hope of understanding and most important, a hope to walk in the purpose I was designed for. 

Many of you may be reading this for the first time and asking yourself, "How did I not know? I would not of ever imagined she suffered through mental illnesses. Why didn't she share sooner? Or maybe, "that explains everything!" But in all seriousness, it has been over the past year and a half that God has called me out to walk in the purpose He designed me for. This includes being very transparent. Yes, I have had a lot of great opportunities and missions that He has graciously allowed me to seasonally be a part of, but a lot of those opportunities, God used to stir me the direction of walking in My Purpose. That purpose is to share and offer hope, understanding to those who have, are and will walk with someone or even oneself, through a mental illness. 

---