From Homeless to Hungry for Success
From Rock Bottom to Rising: How Faith and Resilience Transformed My Darkest Days into My Greatest Purpose
November 2022: My Darkest Hour
November 2022 was supposed to be a season of joy—I had just welcomed my fourth child into the world. Instead, it became the darkest chapter of my life. While my body was still recovering from childbirth and my mind was battling the fog of postpartum depression, my reality was crumbling around me.
My relationship with my fiancé was strained and breaking under the weight of our circumstances. We had no home. No stability. No clear path forward. Just a car that became our shelter, holding me, my fiancé, and all four of my children—including my newborn.
Every night, I'd look at my babies sleeping in cramped seats and wonder how we got here. Every morning, I'd wake up exhausted, not just from lack of sleep, but from carrying the weight of failure, fear, and shame. I felt like I had hit rock bottom, and I couldn't see a way out.
But what I didn't know then was that this moment—this unbearable, seemingly hopeless moment—would become the foundation of everything I was meant to build.
A Glimmer of Hope Before Christmas
Those few weeks felt like an eternity, but just before Christmas, we finally found stability. We secured housing, and for the first time in what felt like forever, my children had beds to sleep in and a roof over their heads. I thought the worst was behind us. I enrolled the kids in a new school, hopeful that this fresh start would bring the normalcy and peace we desperately needed.
But life had other plans.
February 2023: A New Crisis
By February 2023, my hope began to crumble again. My children were experiencing extreme bullying at their new school. The kind of bullying that doesn't just hurt feelings—it breaks spirits. I watched my babies, who had already endured so much, come home in tears, afraid to go back. Traditional school was no longer an option. I had to pull them out and figure out how to homeschool them while trying to rebuild our lives.
And in the midst of all this chaos, I was just starting my career with Alma. I was brand new, learning the ropes, trying to prove myself, and simultaneously navigating the overwhelming responsibility of being a mother, protector, and provider. I was stretched thin, exhausted, and honestly, I didn't know if I could do it all.
But something inside me refused to quit.
2023: Survival Mode
The entire year of 2023 became a balancing act I never imagined I'd have to master. I was navigating a new job, learning to virtual school three kids with different needs and learning styles, and raising a toddler at home—all at the same time. There were days I felt like I was drowning, trying to be everything to everyone while barely holding myself together.
By the time the holidays rolled around at the end of 2023, I wasn't filled with the usual festive cheer. I was exhausted. Burnt out. Empty. I wasn't looking forward to Christmas or New Year's celebrations—I just wanted to make it through.
2024: Isolation and Tunnel Vision
My gloomy days didn't magically disappear when the calendar flipped to 2024. If anything, they lingered and deepened. I found myself distancing from almost everyone who wasn't inside my home. I stopped answering calls, declined invitations, and withdrew into myself. It wasn't that I didn't care about people—I just didn't have the energy to show up for anyone outside of my four walls.
I developed tunnel vision. My focus narrowed to three things: my household, my job, and my mental health. Everything else faded into the background. I was in survival mode, doing what I needed to do to keep my family afloat and keep myself from completely falling apart.
I didn't realize it at the time, but I was also protecting my peace and creating space for something new to grow.
May 20th, 2024: The Day That Changed Everything
May 20th, 2024. I will never forget that date. I woke up that morning feeling like I couldn't continue living the way I was living. The weight of everything—the trauma, the responsibilities, the exhaustion, the constant struggle—it all became too much. I questioned my existence. I questioned whether my children would be better off without me.
While my kids were in school, I found myself writing goodbye letters to each of them. I was planning my end that day. I had made up my mind.
But something told me to reach out one more time. I texted the crisis hotline, and the person on the other end had a part in me still being here today. We talked. They listened. They cared. But even after that conversation ended, I still wasn't sure. Ending it was still a consideration sitting heavy on my heart.
Then, in a moment I can only describe as divine intervention, I found myself creating a worship playlist. I don't even remember deciding to do it—it just happened. Two songs came on that reached into the deepest, darkest part of my soul and pulled me back: Tasha Cobbs' "Fill Me Up" and Tamela Mann's "Take Me to the King."
I played those songs on repeat, and I cried. I cried until I had nothing left. And somewhere in those tears, in those lyrics, in that moment of surrender, I felt God meet me right where I was. He didn't shame me. He didn't condemn me. He just held me.
That day, my spiritual journey was reflourished. I made a decision to put God at the center of everything I do. From that moment on, I stopped trying to carry everything on my own. I invited Him into my pain, my plans, my purpose—and everything began to shift.
Summer 2025: Letting God Lead
Since that day in May 2024, I have let God lead me in every decision I make. I stopped forcing things and started trusting His timing. And in the summer of 2025, I made two major decisions that would change the trajectory of my life.
First, I started a side hustle. Homelessness was not an option again in my life—I refused to let my children experience that pain ever again. I was determined to create multiple streams of income, to build something of my own, and to secure our future. This wasn't just about making money; it was about reclaiming my power and proving to myself that I could rise.
Second, I decided to become a youth leader at my local church. After everything I had been through, I felt a calling to help young people who might be feeling as forgotten, lost, and broken as I once did. I wanted to be the person I needed when I was at my lowest. I wanted to show them that their stories don't end in their struggles—that there is hope, there is healing, and there is a future worth fighting for.
In all of this, I also involve and guide my own kids. They see me working, praying, serving, and pushing forward. They've witnessed my darkest days, and now they're watching me rise. I want them to know that no matter what life throws at them, they have the strength to overcome it—and they never have to do it alone.
Today: Hungry for Success
Today, I stand as a new business owner, recognized by Influential Women, living a life I once thought was impossible. I'm not just surviving anymore—I'm thriving. I'm building. I'm leading. I'm healing. And I'm hungrier for success than I've ever been.
My journey from homelessness to hope, from despair to determination, has taught me that rock bottom can be the strongest foundation. It's taught me that God's grace is real, that resilience is a choice, and that our pain can become our purpose.
I'm not sharing my story for sympathy—I'm sharing it for the woman who's sitting in her car right now with her kids, wondering if it gets better. For the mom who's battling postpartum depression in silence. For the person who's written goodbye letters but hasn't sent them yet.
It gets better. You are stronger than you know. And your story isn't over.
God did it. And He's not done yet.
