Welcome to the Spotlight Series: A Journey from Surviving to Living

So this is the from surviving to living spotlight series of the podcast. And today I am here with my youngest son, Tim.  

Tim's Story: From Adoption to Reunion

And so, Tim, why don't you tell us a little bit about how you came to be here today in, in Minnesota and on this podcast? 

Well, when I was living in Washington previously, um, I'd gotten adopted there, and then I had decided to move out, and I ended up coming here to Minnesota to stay with you, um, but before the adoption, pretty much all throughout the last year. I was praying the entire time to be back with my biological family.

Yeah. Got adopted. Adoptive parents, Renee and Jeff are their names,  let me stay in contact with everyone. Um, which was, as I was told, unusual by most adoptive families. Usually the adoptive parents bar any contact with the biological family just because that causes troubles most of the time. However, Renee and Jeff are different.

They let me stay in contact, as I had said. And then when I moved out, I came here just to Stay in contact more in person. And now here we are.  

The Emotional Rollercoaster of Moving and Reconnecting

  📍 So were you nervous to switch from Washington to Minnesota,  even though you had lived here when you were little? It's still a big change as an adult. Move across the country.

Is it like 3, 000 miles  difference? So  how did you feel? Were you excited, nervous, all of the above? 



  Well, it was pretty much all of the above. Nervous, exciting, all those different emotions. Um, I'll start with the first one, nervous, because I haven't seen anybody in a long time. Um, didn't really  know how to interact with the rest of the family after being in foster care for so long and being distanced.

Social skills were kind of shot out the window after being isolated in foster care for so long. Um,  Just because a lot of foster parents don't let their foster kids interact with a lot of people and you move around a lot, so you end up just not keeping a lot of friends. And then also, moving here, knowing I'd have to get a job for the first time,  make my own friends outside of school, and find my own hobbies and stuff. 

  📍 ​

 So it was all pretty terrifying to do at only 18 years old. Um,  But it was exciting because it was a new thing. New things are always exciting most of the time.  Plus I was going to get to see the rest of my family, which I haven't seen in a long time.  I knew I'd actually get to celebrate holidays for once that I haven't done in years.

Like, for example, Christmas. Um, in foster care, foster kids really only ever get, like, a bicycle. I can't tell you how many times I've gotten bicycles in foster care for Christmas presents. It's like, oh, what is it this year? A bicycle? Because they just upgrade you to the next size that you need.  Otherwise you just get a copy of the last one from last year. 

And so, and  just being able to spend a holiday with the family for once was interesting and new.  

Navigating Life's Challenges: Jobs, Independence, and Family Dynamics

So you   📍 had graduated high school and you moved to Minnesota  and you had to get a first job. And you've had more than one job since you moved here. You've had two different jobs, is that right?  That's right.  

Uh, three.

I worked for the Sell a Junker car scrapping company. Um, and then I worked for a dog daycare. And then I worked for Orkin Pest Control. And now I am finding out what to do now, since I had recently left a job at Orkin. But we will explore other options moving forward. Looking at a wildlife management company.

A position there, kind of like the pest control, but instead of bugs and stuff, you deal with animals instead. 

Yeah.  

The Harsh Realities of Foster Care and Finding Strength

So, uh, was it difficult living with me or moving in with me? Just because,  realistically,  I was  the original source of all of the, the changes that dramatically impacted your life. And so then you,   📍 from age eight till age 18, you were in Washington  and, um, almost as soon as you got out there within two years, you were in, in foster care and in,  how many foster care group homes would you say that you went through 



  📍 ​

 Regular foster homes, I think I went through  about five or six, and then two group homes. Um, the group homes were the hardest due to, you know, having the hardest foster kids in them. The ones nobody really wanted. The reason I was in those foster homes was because of the medical issues with the stomach.

Um,  the no foster parents that they get paid enough because foster kids get on like a ranking scale of difficulty. Um, And since I only had medical issues and not like behavioral issues for them, I was pretty low on the ranking system. And so, the foster parents didn't actually get paid a whole lot because foster parents get paid based on the higher ranking of a difficulty.

And since I was still technically super difficult to take care of due to the medical issues, but I wasn't high on the ranking system for them,  I still got like the pay of a regular kid, and so foster parents were not cool with that. But, um, there was one lady, Melissa,  she  Um, and she ended up not being the nicest person just because it frustrated her.

And so I ended up moving out of her house. Um,  and that was not a very fun experience because foster parents are also required to give like a two weeks notice, kind of like when you quit your job. Um, that way they have time to find a foster, get a new place and stuff. Um, however,  within that two weeks she was telling me she was going to adopt me and all this stuff.

Um, when in reality, she had put in the two weeks to have me removed. So I don't know why she was telling me those things, but  it was extremely hurtful at the time. Yeah.  

  📍 ​

 However, at that point, I was learning to make friends in school again, since I had stopped moving around so much until that point. And I was in ROTC at this point, and when I had got told at school, I went to go grab all my stuff from where it was in my classroom, where I was at the time.

Um, and walking back, one of my Um, friends that was in marksmanship, he saw me and then he was also in ROTC and then his girlfriend was in ROTC and they saw me and they stopped me and it's like, hey, why you look so upset? And I tried to keep my composure and ended up breaking down and telling them and they actually went to the office with me and then they sat in a private conversation with my social worker at the time and convinced her to  let me stay at the same high school regardless of what foster home I went to,  that way I could.

And, um, I'm not sure  if you remember much of what I explained maybe later or what I went through at that time, but I also didn't know that you were going to be moved out of that foster home. So when. You left there. I had no phone number  to call you. And that's how we had our phone visits. 

Yeah, that's partially Melissa's fault because Melissa was super controlling.

She did her absolute,  like, most effort you could put into anything to getting the phone calls banned. And then she ended up getting her letters banned as well. So I think my caseworker's name was Brian at the time. Um, he agreed with it all, stopped everything. And then when Noel, our oldest brother, came to visit Washington, she also manipulated her way into making him believe he wasn't allowed to visit me either when he legally was allowed to, um, just, but that's just because Melissa was controlling and Again, as I had stated earlier, it's just foster parents and adoptive parents for some reason always feel the need to bar contact from the bio family  by any means necessary which  In my opinion isn't the right to do so.

However, the state sees things differently 

Rebuilding Family Bonds: Letters, Holidays, and Healing

and so you    📍 Based on that experience and sounds like similar  experiences, maybe not quite as extreme, but where you were kind of barred from contact with, you know, your siblings and parents, then you must have been really relieved when, uh,  The woman who had come to adopt you eventually several years later said that that was, was fine.

What was, what was that like? Cause I know that at that point we had not spoken for about two years, you and I. 

Yeah. After Melissa blocked the phone calls. 

Yes. And so, um,  what was that like to finally be allowed the privilege to do that again? Yeah. 

Well, it was really sudden, because when she had allowed contact again, I  got dumped with this  bunch of knowledge.

All the old letters, because Brian kept all the letters you had sent me, he never threw them away, and kept them in this, I guess you'd call it a Tupperware container, um, he just pretty much just dumped it to Renee and Jeff, Renee gave it to me, um,  and then your phone calls resumed, and I believe by that point you were. 

Living with Grandma and Grandpa for a while when you got released from prison. And so the phone calls were no longer limited at that point, I believe. So we could talk for as long as we wanted. Um,  And then, Renee is actually the one, I think, that reached out originally  to Grandma and Grandpa for your number.

Yep.  You'd have to tell me how all that went, because I wasn't aware Renee was doing that, actually, until she came to me and was like, oh, your mom wants to call, and I was like, what?  Didn't have contact for a while. 

So, reading all the letters that Brian dumped off, and it might have been, must have been a lot of letters you'd never seen before, never read before.

 The tub was like, let's say about, it was pretty small, like two feet  long, and just wide enough to fit a letter. And they're all in a row, so there's probably about  a few hundred letters in there.  I think you sent one like every other day or so. 

 Yes, I did. You had asked,  maybe you had been in foster care about six or seven months, and I remember asking you, what can I do to make you feel more loved and  be more supportive of you, and you said, because I I had not as much money to call once you went into foster care.

It was long distance and so much more expensive. So I couldn't call as often as I had before you went into foster care. And so then you asked send me three letters a week three letters a week.

 Some of those letters were.   Upwards of 18, sometimes even 30 pages long. Like I'd pull out an envelope and it was like that thick.

And I'm like, she sent me a book.  

Did you, um,  as you were reading those  find that you had new information that changed your perspective? I know. When you were in foster care that you received the reports your social workers were writing. I received them I assume your dad received them and lots of times I was very frustrated by how  Wrong the information was incorrect and made me look  Bad.

  📍 ​

 Yeah, I never got any written reports, like I assume you're talking about. I always got verbal  reports from Brian. He'd come in, because the social workers have to do a once a month visit, and then they have other workers called GALs, guardian litems, um, and they visit, they don't visit as often as the social workers do.

More or less when a court appointment is coming up that way, they have to get on the same basis as the social worker, um, just getting information that way. They know what I want in court. However, When you're getting the verbal reports and that's all you're getting. And then you're also being  told things and manipulated by foster parents.

That makes it really hard for foster kids to know what they want in court. So a lot of the time I just tell them, like, just do whatever gets me out of the system the fastest. And, you know, my focus was always trying to get back to the family until when I was 14 in a group home.  

  📍 ​

  Uh, Dad was actually coming, I think with Thomas, to  pick me up, and they were going to make a birthday cake, all from scratch, red velvet and everything.

And I think there was going to be cheesecake layers, a little elaborate and fancy. Um, but, as Dad and Thomas were on their way to pick me up,  Got a phone call,  and I remember hearing from across the group home house, Tim, phone's for you, and I come over, and I hear a lady's voice on the phone. One line, your parents, your parents parental rights were terminated, and then click, there goes the line.

And that's all, that's the one sentence. And then, dad calls a few minutes later, he got the phone call with the one line. And, just crying, and then, that was pretty much my 14th birthday. And, that's it. I didn't really celebrate my birthday anymore after that until I was about, I think, 15 or 16 after I got adopted. 

Um, and even then, it was strict.  I didn't want to do anything. Um, I remember Renee wanted to throw a whole elaborate party. I told her no. If anything's going to be done, it's just going to be a cupcake. I didn't want nothing. So, I guess you can't really say I celebrated my birthday at 15 or 16. I didn't really have any real parties until I moved out here.

And you threw the one at Cheesecake Factory when I was 19 for that one.  So, for years I didn't have any birthday parties or holidays really. Um,  Renee would try and get me to celebrate things like Christmas, Easter, all that stuff. And Renee, she wasn't a big holiday person either. But she knew it would have been good for me.

And I was always resistant to those things. Just did it in foster care for a year. Close to five years,  not allowed to do any of those things. Um,  no Easter egg hunts, no Thanksgiving feasts,  nothing.  

Yes, and I remember I was so excited, um, that  Christmas that you turned, uh,  I think it was in 2019 you were flown.

You, you were able to come out and celebrate Christmas, and Tommy came out and celebrated Christmas. He was in Washington at the time too. And so that was the, the first time we had all been together as a family and for a holiday in a long time. Mm-Hmm. , the, the four boys and you and, um,  did that.  Did you like that?

Did that make you feel better? Or what was that like? 

 Yeah, that's probably one of the best Christmases I've had in years,  leading up to that point from my childhood. Um, the other best holiday or Christmas I would have had was when Thomas had taken me over to Cory's house. Um, we had a Christmas there, and  it was a good Christmas.

It was  kind of weird because I wasn't as close to Cory's or his family as I was. Thomas was, because Thomas was living with him and everything, and Cory was his best friend.  There's some funny stories that came out of that Christmas party, though. Um, and then we also had Thanksgiving there. More funny stories.

Like one time, they had pumpkin pie. Thomas loves pumpkin pie. He also loves whipped cream. And they had bought a brand new can of whipped cream. And everyone's talking around, and Thomas gets to his pumpkin pie, puts whipped cream on it, and Cory's sitting next to Tom. Nobody's paying attention to Tom.  And I'm sitting there, I'm watching, I saw the whole thing happen.

And Cory takes it, goes to squirt the whipped cream onto his pumpkin pie. Nothing comes out of the can. Looks over, Tom's entire plate, just all whipped cream. You can't even see the pie anymore.  That's all it was. And thankfully, um, like I said, they were close with Tom at that point. So they knew Tom was, you know,  So they had hidden a secret stash of another can for the rest of them to use, because they knew Tom was probably going to use the whole thing.

Yes. Um, but other than that,  I didn't celebrate any holidays until I moved here to Minnesota. And since then, I think we've done every Christmas and every Thanksgiving.  The only thing I haven't really done yet is Halloween.  

Yes. Well,  you know, I remember, uh,  Hearing stories when you were still living in Washington, and Tommy was still in Washington, and he was really  Wonderful big brother wanting to make sure that You were close to family and that you had fun things to do.

He was only 18 and 19 at the time and you were 15 and 16, but  Can you tell me a little bit about him coming to pick you up and just doing things together as brothers?  

Well, uh,  Thomas, when they allowed, like, people that, from the family to actually pick me up for visits, it was either dad or Tom doing it.

  📍 ​

 Um, I remember Tom used to have this Mercedes, I think it was, and he picked me up from that a couple times, I believe, until the, I think it was the drive shaft actually fell out the bottom of the car.  Which, I think that's what it was.  But, it was nice, and then I remember Tom had his apartment, um, I think that was in  Key Allip, if I remember correctly.

And we hung out there occasionally. He had a, I think it was his birthday party. That was an interesting party because it was like,  I think it was like a murder mystery type themed thing, so everyone had to dress up as their characters, and I was like this little mafia thing, so I was wearing all like tan and black, and I had the whole like polyester vest and stuff.

And like a fake cigar and a fake revolver.  And so we had some fun times hanging out with Tom for visits. And  I remember one time,  uh,  He had his little wiener dog, Ruby. And Ruby just gets all excited. But one time, Thomas left to go to work while I was there.  And Ruby's just sitting there crying at the door.

And then Um, Max, the cat Tom has, comes over and just bopped Ruby in the head because she was being annoying, whining too much.  

So, then, um, I think last couple questions for you. I think anybody watching this,  and hopefully, Lots of people will be able to learn from your experience and understand what it's like to be in foster care.

If they know someone who is, if their own children are, they can hopefully be more empathetic and, and, uh, more insightful parents. Having that sneak peek in, I know as a parent,  I often felt I didn't really know what your life was like. And so then I felt it was difficult to be supportive of you and I hope that.

You sharing helps people with that.  What would you say looking back, um,  is the,  the feeling that you have about all of it? Um, are you just glad it's over? Would you not change it for anything? Or  what are your thoughts looking back? And, and after you answer that, tell me  what is it like? People must wonder too,  as your mom, and this is difficult stuff. 

that we went through and that I was the major nasty cause of. Um, how can we be here together today, right? Being respectful and sharing and um, what are your thoughts about those  kinds of things?  

  📍 ​

 Well, with foster care there are a lot of things that would change. Too many to list. Um, foster care was not  the most enjoyable thing.

Um, but I was  At the root of it, I guess I would say I would have been more cooperative with my medication. Um, because living with dad, dad was not on top of the medication at all. Um, or any of that stuff. Whereas, if dad had been on top of the medication and the stuff with my stomach, the flushes and whatnot, then I wouldn't have gone into foster care.

Um, because the whole reason I went into foster care was because that didn't get kept up on. And then I went to a routine doctor visit, uh, because Grandma forced Dad to take me after that Christmas party you had mentioned when we came down to visit. Um, she noticed that my stomach was bad. Dad took me to the hospital, did x rays, saw it was completely compacted, and they immediately hospitalized me.

It was a miracle I was alive in the first place, because it was so bad. And then it was actually my doctor that contacted CPS. Got me put into foster care,  and then, due to my experiences with dad, I was super combative with taking my meds. Really didn't want to do it. It's like trying to force feed meds to a dog that really doesn't want to take its meds at all.

Um, no matter what you put the meds in, or anything, no matter what kind of meds, they tried so many different things. Whether it be pills, liquids, fake chocolates, anything, they're trying to take meds, and I just,  I just couldn't do it. Um, it was terrible. Made my stomach feel awful than what I was used to. 

 But that's what I would change is just  getting healthier quickly because it,  it was after the parental rights termination where I finally realized like  I had messed up big time. Not staying on top of my meds myself. Because also off foster care, it's not the foster parent's job to keep up on the meds.

Um,  It's more or less mine, because foster parents, they don't know how I'm feeling. They don't know the whole situation. Um, they just get the report of, hey, he needs these things. Get these, and feed the kid. That's pretty much all foster parents get.  And the foster parents legally aren't allowed to force the kid to do anything.

They can't force feed me the pills. All they can do is hand them to me in a cup and say, Please take this and hope I comply. Whereas I can say no, or, you know.  So,  um,  more or less it was my fault not keeping up with my stomach and ending up in the hospital more  times than I care to admit.  

Yeah. 

And then even moving back here to Minnesota,  even changing my diet  and drinking more water and stuff to help with the stomach.

Still difficult. Bad habits die hard. 

 Yeah.  And as to the last thing with us, uh, here together today, having what must be a pretty unusual conversation to anybody who is watching. But, um,  you know, what, what do you think that has been like for you? Maybe learning some of these things from Noel's perspective, my perspective, you know, other family members that wanted to be in your life and maybe were prevented.

And, um,  and even, you know, me wanting to, uh,  my relationship with you in a better and improved way. Um,  Are you glad for that? And do you see it getting even better in the future? And I mean, the reason I ask is   📍 I am certain that there's many parents who  have been separated from their kids for years,  maybe through their own fault or someone else's many reasons.

And they want that fixed. They want hope. 

Embracing New Beginnings: Moving In, Adjusting, and Growing Together

  📍 ​

 Well, moving back into Minnesota with you.  It kind of felt like moving in with a stranger, um, because since then I haven't actually seen you in person since I think was when I was nine, um, because we had the prison visits  and I remember some of those, not all of them.

Um,  I remember sitting there with Grandma and Grandpa and then the whole thing with foster care. And then I moved back here when I was  eighteen, so  after not seeing you for ten years it really was like, um, um, um, um, um, um.  Meeting a stranger for the first time. And I remember when we had flown back out here, got off the plane, uh, I almost walked right past you because I didn't recognize you because it's been so long.

And, I really only recognized Grandma and Grandpa, uh, at the time. Um, because I remember you looking so much different because I think you had  hair, and your hair was red when you went to prison and stuff. And then, at the airport, you had long hair, all blonde, you had your glasses on and everything. And so I completely did not recognize you, and I almost, you Would have completely walked past had it not been for you standing right next to grandma and grandpa. 

I remember running towards you. I saw you coming down the hall, and I just took off running towards you. So you had this strange woman you didn't recognize  running excitedly towards you.  

Yes, and like I said, I would have just kept on going if it, if I didn't put two and two together that you were with grandma and grandpa, and then, oh, that was mom. 

And then, moving in with you, learning how to like,  I guess how to do things in a family style was new. Um, cause the only experience I had that was with Rene and Jeff. And they weren't the most organized or family oriented people themselves. Um,  they were still really nice people and stuff. But, whereas family things, they were not the best at.

Um, cause they'd never had their own kids before, actually, before that. And I was their third foster kid up at that point. So. Your experience with having children was not the best.  So more or less, until I moved in with you, I've always been kind of treated like an adult to a degree.  And so,  or I guess more of like a roommate.

And then moving in with you, I wasn't just a roommate anymore. I had someone that actually treated me  Well, like I was their kid for once 

 yes, and Tommy moved in as well  Maybe four months after you moved in so then you were living not just with your mom But a sibling 

 yes  Tom had his cat max  

  📍 ​

 still has his cat and that cat was one of the most  Like hardest things to get used to because your two cats they were silent you And they came and called, and they, well, lovey dovey, and then we had Tom's cat,  and that cat is a menace, um, at night, slamming all the cupboards, going throughout the house, screaming, I don't think I got any sleep for the first, like, month.

Yeah, yeah, that, that, that cat howled, I didn't think we were gonna make it, till he finally relaxed and, uh, settled in with the rest of the family. Um.  

Cats getting used to the dog was also an experience. Um, and I was not used to having a little  animal jump on me all the time. Um, cause in foster care, most people don't have pets with their foster kids.

Um, and then living with Renee and Jeff, they had a couple dogs, but they were bigger dogs. And so, and then on the visits, only got to see Ruby occasionally. So it was weird having Ruby wanting to take all of my space 24 7. Um, and I finally let Ruby in my house. You know, I slept with my door closed, that way the cats wouldn't come in and mess with all my stuff because I had my computer. 

And Ruby, she just wanted to be everywhere all at once.  She'd cry at the door if she couldn't get in there at night. Or she'd just,  just whine and whine and scratch. And then sometimes I'd open the door and she'd be sleeping on the concrete right outside the door. If I didn't let her in. And then so I started letting her into the room and leaving the door open. 

But then it had to do with cats, and it was just a whole,  whole thing.  

Reflecting on the Journey: Challenges Overcome and Future Aspirations

And so after   📍 living with me for about a year, you moved out, you had your own apartment,  you are successful in having a job, and you have now been living on your own for a year and a half. And  I think you must, you should feel really proud of yourself and all of these things that you've accomplished.

You look  Wonderful sitting here with me. Does that feel good? 

Yeah, I when I first moved out I moved in with the guy named Yuri. He was really understanding and really cool because he was Ukrainian So he also knew what it felt like to move out somewhere strange for the first time because he had moved To America when the war started in Ukraine  And he helped me with a lot of stuff.

  📍 ​

 He actually helped me  Get on a steady schedule for work and stuff Cause other than that, um, I always relied on you making sure I got to work at the scrap, scrapping company on time and stuff and then getting home and just generally knowing what to buy for groceries and stuff. I always relied on you buying groceries and pitching money occasionally, but you're always the one that ordered them or went in person and bought them.

But then I moved out,  I struggle with shopping. I don't know what to buy. There's so many options on the shelves. Didn't really ever know what to cook. Um, And so Yuri realized that, and I was like, oh, this guy is struggling. Um, and Yuri didn't, like, gouge me for rent or anything, let me save up money. Um,  and other than that,  I ended up moving out when Yuri's family moved in because their house got bombed.

And so, I told them, I'll just move out, that way they can have the room. And then, ever since then, I've been, you know, on my own, on my own, without any roommates or anything. Besides, when I had moved out, I had moved out with my ex at the time  to live together in our own apartment, that way we could split rent and save up money. 

But at that point I was already working for Orknance or the dog daycare. 

Yeah, well I am extremely proud of you. And I am so glad that you moved from Washington into my house so that  We could get to know each other again as family and have family moments. 

Well, you made me eat a lot better when I moved in.

Because,  living at Rene and Jeff's, Rene liked to cook a bunch of spicy things. I'm not the biggest fan of spicy things. So I always ended up eating like TV dinners and stuff. And then moving with you, you actually cooked things I like because you didn't put like jalapenos in everything you made. Yeah.  No matter what it was, it could be mac and cheese and Rene would still put jalapenos in there.

One time.  Rene made some pizza. It was cauliflower crust. Told me it tastes the same. I'm like, I don't believe that. Like, I know it's gonna taste bad. Like, if I eat that, I'm not gonna like it. She's like, you won't know it. And I refused to eat it. And then one time she made  the pizza, and I bit into it.  I didn't realize it was cauliflower pizza until I bit into it.

And I was like, yep, I'm right. I knew it was gonna taste bad. And I didn't even know what it was. I was like, Rene, is this cauliflower pizza? She's like, yeah, I'm like, this is why I don't eat most of the things you cook. And so  eating Stouffer's mac and cheese or chicken nuggets all the time is not the healthiest meal.

And then moving with you, you're like, Hey, I actually cook here. And you'd make me eat things like broccoli. Broccoli is so bad.  Until I learned to like it. Oh, and ribs. Those ribs were good.  Except for you.  You cooked them for hours? 

Yes, yep, it was worth it. 

But you'd smell them throughout the house the whole time, was the problem.

Yes, the house smelled good for hours. 

And you'd actually make things like stir fry  and stuff like that?  

Well, I think, um, I will wrap up my interview with you and we will see if Tom is willing to do an interview and you can work the cameras.  

Oh dear. 

Yes, and I hope that you come back and be a guest again and you can tell us,  I think everybody wants to see someone who's been through all of the challenges that you have been through,  successful. 

And they want to know it's possible to be successful and they want to see an example of it and you are an example of that. I think you're very inspiring to people who would be. watching this and they will want to be inspired again. 

Well, unfortunately almost none of the stories are very happy ones.  

Yes, but you have definitely overcome adversity and you were doing very well for yourself. 

Well, thank you. 

Yes. 

Closing Thoughts: Love, Hope, and the Power of Family

And I love you. 

I love you too, mom. 

Okay. So that's the end of this episode of the From Surviving to Living, uh, Spotlight podcast. And you can catch this and more episodes like it on  HollyBot.me. Thank you for joining us. 

  Look for more episodes that inspire@hollybot.me. Until next time, remember, your story is never over. God's grace is always waiting to rewrite it. This is from Surviving to Living.