I grew up in a complicated, but loving family. I discovered my talent and love of music as a teenager, and rode the wave of excitement I had for my gift for many years, all the way up into my 30s.
I had a lot of career success along the way, but with time the way I lived began to feel detached and empty. Many of my relationships were either superficial, or conflict-averse and lacking the honesty required of true bonds. While being authentic has been a calling card of my work, my desire to please others hindered my ability to live that same way.
Eventually, it all caught up to me. I wasn't following the path I was supposed to be on, and as a result my passion for work suffered immensely. I tried (and failed) to use my career as a distraction as I struggled to cope with familial deaths and relational issues in my life. As I leaned harder into my work, I lost all sense of enjoyment for it, and seriously considered calling it quits.
It took hitting rock bottom for me to get my life on track.
Not long after, I met my future wife in the unlikeliest of ways and we eventually moved across the country to be near my family and ailing Mom. I hadn't lived near her in almost two decades. Our courtship was difficult and full of challenges we were ill prepared to face. But we cried out to God together, and He carried us through dark times we could not survive alone.
All in the span of a year, we gave our lives to Jesus, got married, lost my mother to cancer, and welcomed our first child into the world. And yet it's easy to see how close we were to the brink before, and how none of the good parts would have been possible at all without surrendering to the saving grace of God.
There are still great challenges in my life, and I'm sure there always will be. But the more I give things up to "the big guy upstairs", as my grandfather used to call Him, the simpler it becomes for me to know which direction to go.
It's not in my nature to share publicly about my personal life, but should you come across this testimony, I hope you know that God is with you always. He loves you. And I owe him everything.