From Survival to Safety
Becoming a parent changes you. It softens parts of you that you didn’t know needed softening. It exposes parts of you that you didn’t know were wounded. And it awakens a love so deep, it shifts the direction of your entire life. For years, I thought parenting was about “doing it right.” Being perfect. Never slipping. Never showing weakness. Never letting my kids see the cracks. But God has a way of showing up in the middle of the mess to show us the very places we try to hide are the places He wants to transform us. And the truth is our kids have been my greatest teachers.
They taught me how much healing I still needed.
They mirrored my nervous system back to me.
They showed me the cost of fear-based parenting.
They exposed every place I was carrying old wounds, old beliefs, old ways of reacting.
And through that, God whispered something I didn’t expect:
You can break this cycle. You can create a new way. This ends with us.
And one day, you will help others do the same.
A Journey from Survival Mode to Safety and Connection
What I didn’t need was better behavior tools. I needed safety, regulation, and a new way of relating and responding first to myself, then to our children. There was a time when yelling felt like the only tool I had. A time when perfectionism pushed me harder than compassion ever did.
A time when I buried my emotions and expected my kids to do the same.
But the more I learned about the nervous system and emotional regulation…how my brain and body respond to stress, the more I understood anxiety, ADHD, and sensory needs. The more I was able to listen to what our kids were truly communicating beneath their behavior.
An the more I realized that our children did not need perfect parents. They need connected parents.
Regulated parents. Healing parents. Parents that are aligned and anchored.
So, I began doing the work:
Healing my own nervous system
Becoming more patient, calm, and grounded
Understanding neurodivergent wiring
Rebuilding safety and repairing connection in our home
Choosing heart-centered parenting
And as our home transformed, our kids thrived, and as God continued to transform me, I knew this work wasn’t just for our family. This is the work behind The Heart-Centered Parent- helping families move out of survival mode and back into calm connections and trust. If this story feels familiar, you’re not alone and support is allowed.