Letting Go & Leaving Space for God to Walk In The Room
Come along as I embark on my "Sound Mind Journey" to find clarity and restoration.
A few weeks ago, I met a good friend for lunch. We hadn't seen each other for probably a year and only texted or called a few times in that in-between. But it's one of those relationships, that the time together is always impactful and sustaining.
At lunch, two powerful things happened.
We both realized that in this year of random texts and isolated phone calls we both had been going through some really deep valleys and neither of us was really aware of the others struggles.
She introduced me to a song that has literally become my mantra, "A Sound Mind." That is what I seek. A sound mind. Check out the live version of the song, which is literally on repeat wherever I am making tiny deposits of restoration into my soul with each spin. Sound Mind - By Bryan and Katie Torwalt. Listen. It will bless you.
Sadly, I’ve had a couple of other almost identical interactions with women and men that are my friends. Everyone is on the hamster wheel and not realizing the shared experiences of struggle. And, I get it - I prefer to do my struggling in private. Still, this is leading to me re-launching my blog in a multimedia way as part of my therapeutic approach to moving through it all and hopefully can provide inspiration, hope, perspective, clarity or just laughter for others. If you’ve read my previous blog under the handle @juristdiva before, you’ve followed along our journeys to Europe, Courtney’s departure for college and some of the writings I posted when we lived near Columbus, Georgia.
After a few years of the most disruption, challenge, heartbreak, pain, fear, disgust, anxiety, depression and displacement that I've ever experienced, where my faith in God, this world and especially myself has been tested - in this phase of my life and at this moment, I seek to re-build the strength of my mind. This is not with any veiled hope that my struggles are over, but recognizing that I can elevate and sustain the strength that I've built to fuel my journey forward to drive deep impact in this world.
This is a particularly poignant moment because I've just completely disrupted myself and Cadelyn with the intention to leave space for God to walk into the room. I sold our house - yes, the one that I truly loved and had grand plans for. I put all of our stuff in storage. Cadelyn is in online school, and we are on a traveling journey from now to the end of 2023. If you're wondering:
Has Lacrecia lost her mind? How is she going to not have a home and live out of suitcase? The answer is probably a little bit, but not in the way that you think. The last few years have depleted my mental health and the health of my children and this step is actually one to reclaim our sense of stability, strength and clarity.
Where the heck are you going? So far, we've been to:
Washington, D.C.
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Lyerly, Georgia (in an RV with my immediate family . . . stay tuned for that)
Las Vegas, Nevada
Coming Soon
Miami, Florida
Portland, Oregon
Minneapolis, Minnesota
Asheville, North Carolina
Where do you lay your head? Well, the good news is I have an amazing village. Folks that have been in my village for a long time and some newcomers. And, folks are being incredibly generous and offering their homes as options for Cadelyn and I to visit and spend time.
How does Cadelyn really feel about this? I'm not gone lie - she really misses her bed! But, she's enjoying the changes of scenery, expanding her horizons and being able to manage school on her own pace. She's been able to hang out with her friends when we are in Atlanta and will catch up with other friends when we visit their city.
How are you working Lacrecia? For the last 1.5 years, I’ve been running an insurance technology startup called the What-If Collective. We build digital experiences and technology that bring multicultural buyers and
the insurance industry together so that we can use insurance as a powerful tool to close the wealth and protection gaps in this country. It’s a lofty goal that takes a lot of focus and energy, and the reality is, I can run this company from anywhere. We are 100% remote and much of our travel includes visiting our partners. So, I take Cadelyn with me, which I hope is a great introduction for her to the corporate world and shows her how to build something.
So, I’ll be sharing the highs, the lows, the joys, the pain, the hurdles, the comebacks all of it. I’ll also be leaning into writing and speaking about the context and events that are happening around us because none of what we are experiencing happens in a vacuum. If you’re in a space where you seek soundness of your mind, come with us on this journey and feel free to share in the comments