I started to realize I wasn’t like most people my age in high school. I was dealing with frequent migraines, depression, chronic pain in my joints, neck, and back, and chronic fatigue. My symptoms have increased and intensified over the years. I have seen countless specialists, but the end result is always the same. “We don’t know why you are experiencing x,y,z, so here is a prescription to cover up that symptom, but it also comes with 100 more.” All of these experiences have left me feeling helpless and hopeless, but that’s exactly how I landed where I am. Instead of caving in and giving up, I kept searching, and in 2021 a friend of mine introduced me to Dr. Marc and NGFC. I attended a workshop and realized I was going about this health thing all wrong. I was introduced to a new way of viewing health: above, down, inside, out. Everything good comes from above, down into me, and then is able to flow outward. I learned about how God has created our bodies with an innate intelligence designed to heal. Here at NGFC, I have been able to explore the root cause and not just the symptoms. I am in no way fully healed, but I love that I get to work in a place where we celebrate the miracles happening in and around us. It is a faith booster, and I know if God can do it for them, He can do it for me; but even if He doesn’t, I know He still has a plan and a purpose for me and that my suffering won’t be for nothing.

God, in all His goodness and all His grace, brought me to NGFC in His perfect timing. I had been a patient for around 2 years after attending that initial workshop, and honestly the team at NGFC became like a family to me. It was a safe space for me to show up in the middle of my mess, allow my body and mind to rest, and embrace healing. Believe it or not, I originally said no when offered a position for fear that I wouldn’t belong because I wasn’t completely “healed” or whole and was still facing many health issues. But after much prayer, I realized that was exactly why I belonged here, because healing can be a lifelong journey and I knew that there would be so many people I could relate to, pray with, and believe healing for, even in the middle of waiting for my own. 

Although I have worked a wide variety of jobs, I have always had a common thread throughout every job I have held. . . . It can be summed up in one phrase: “Tell your story.” I believe there is so much power in telling your story and sharing your testimony. Even when we are in the middle of a wilderness season, if we share where we are at, we will find community and we will see that we aren’t alone. There is power in vulnerability. If you know me, you know that I am passionate about people, writing, and inspiring hope. It turns out being the social media coordinator was the perfect spot for me at NGFC! I get to share educational resources, be my silly self with my colleagues, and meet with incredible patients and hear their stories. I even have the honor and privilege of sharing their stories (with their permission) too, which inspires hope for others who might be reading and wondering if their life or health could ever change.