I was diagnosed with scoliosis – curvature of the spine – when I was 6 years old. I grew up wearing a back brace which was supposed to keep the curve from getting worse as I grew, and doctor visits and x-rays were a regular part of my childhood. I was still able to be pretty active and loved playing sports as a kid, so my condition and the brace didn’t bother me much until I became a teenager. I had to wear baggy clothes all the time to cover my brace, my body was changing due to adolescence and the braces became more uncomfortable. When I was 14, my family attended a healing conference at our church where I received prayer for healing and was told that God healed my back! You can imagine how excited I was, only to find out the next week after an x-ray that my spinal curve was actually several degrees worse. In my confusion and extreme disappointment, I came to the conclusion that God must not care about me, that there was something wrong with me and I wasn’t worth fixing, which became integrated into my identity. I resented the fact that I had to deal with this condition all the time and I felt like there was something wrong with me, that I’d been singled out. I saw the brace as the source of my problems rather than something that was keeping my condition from getting worse. I became very unhappy, bitter, and had very little self confidence, and I was stuck in that place throughout the rest of high school.
When my 18th birthday came around, I was allowed to stop wearing the brace, and I thought all my problems would be gone now that this thing that plagued my life was eliminated. I was wrong. Without the support of the brace, I became aware of how weak my back and shoulders were, and I began to experience intense pains in my back and shoulders that would shoot down my arms and get so bad that I could barely feel my arms or grip much of anything with my hands. This would happen whenever I was just walking around or doing anything on my feet for more than an hour or two, which made it really tough at work. This was my new reality, and it lasted for several years. I learned to be strong and push through the pain by sheer willpower and determination, I didn’t want this to hold me back but it was exhausting and I was very discouraged thinking I’d have to deal with it my whole life.
One day my parents heard about a local chiropractor on Christian radio, and I decided to give it a try – one of the best decisions I ever made! Over several months the chiropractic adjustments decreased my pain and it was eventually gone, which gave me hope. When I had to stop appointments due to finances, the pains came back so I was frustrated and discouraged again. I remembered the chiropractor telling me that the problem wasn’t just spinal curvature, but weak muscles associated with it, so 4 years ago I bought my first workout DVD by Jillian Michaels to help build my strength. I couldn’t go back to that state of hopelessness so I stuck with the program, my body began to change, and I got stronger while my pain decreased. I began to actually enjoy working out due to the benefits, I began to feel better about myself, and I was hooked!
Today I am pain-free and stronger than ever physically, mentally, and spiritually! I continued with the workout DVDs for several years, then in the past year I’ve stepped it up to lifting heavy weights, kickboxing, and bodyweight training that I never imagined I’d be capable of doing! I made peace with my scoliosis and the affects it had on my past, and it no longer defines me or my self image. I am now happy, positive, and quite the optimist! I no longer doubt God’s love and that He cares for me. He changes lives in many ways, and for me He used the health and fitness industry to do it. I strongly believe that no struggle is without purpose, and I can see how God used my struggle to reveal and develop my inner strength and determination, to grow my confidence, and to lead and equip me to find my passion for fitness, something I may never have found had I been healed a long time ago because I hated exercise back in the day! In a way, I’ve finally found my healing, and I’ve gained so much more than just a lack of pain.
Through God’s guidance I have recently become a personal trainer with my own online and in-home training business, and it is now my mission to use my passion to help and encourage others to reach their goals, overcome their own obstacles, and to become healthy and empowered through their own fitness journey. We all have different struggles, each person has something that is the hardest thing they’ve ever had to face or overcome, and God knows exactly what you need to conquer it. He can use your struggles for good and to prepare you for your calling, just as He did for me, and because of this there is ALWAYS hope.
When my 18th birthday came around, I was allowed to stop wearing the brace, and I thought all my problems would be gone now that this thing that plagued my life was eliminated. I was wrong. Without the support of the brace, I became aware of how weak my back and shoulders were, and I began to experience intense pains in my back and shoulders that would shoot down my arms and get so bad that I could barely feel my arms or grip much of anything with my hands. This would happen whenever I was just walking around or doing anything on my feet for more than an hour or two, which made it really tough at work. This was my new reality, and it lasted for several years. I learned to be strong and push through the pain by sheer willpower and determination, I didn’t want this to hold me back but it was exhausting and I was very discouraged thinking I’d have to deal with it my whole life.
One day my parents heard about a local chiropractor on Christian radio, and I decided to give it a try – one of the best decisions I ever made! Over several months the chiropractic adjustments decreased my pain and it was eventually gone, which gave me hope. When I had to stop appointments due to finances, the pains came back so I was frustrated and discouraged again. I remembered the chiropractor telling me that the problem wasn’t just spinal curvature, but weak muscles associated with it, so 4 years ago I bought my first workout DVD by Jillian Michaels to help build my strength. I couldn’t go back to that state of hopelessness so I stuck with the program, my body began to change, and I got stronger while my pain decreased. I began to actually enjoy working out due to the benefits, I began to feel better about myself, and I was hooked!
Today I am pain-free and stronger than ever physically, mentally, and spiritually! I continued with the workout DVDs for several years, then in the past year I’ve stepped it up to lifting heavy weights, kickboxing, and bodyweight training that I never imagined I’d be capable of doing! I made peace with my scoliosis and the affects it had on my past, and it no longer defines me or my self image. I am now happy, positive, and quite the optimist! I no longer doubt God’s love and that He cares for me. He changes lives in many ways, and for me He used the health and fitness industry to do it. I strongly believe that no struggle is without purpose, and I can see how God used my struggle to reveal and develop my inner strength and determination, to grow my confidence, and to lead and equip me to find my passion for fitness, something I may never have found had I been healed a long time ago because I hated exercise back in the day! In a way, I’ve finally found my healing, and I’ve gained so much more than just a lack of pain.
Through God’s guidance I have recently become a personal trainer with my own online and in-home training business, and it is now my mission to use my passion to help and encourage others to reach their goals, overcome their own obstacles, and to become healthy and empowered through their own fitness journey. We all have different struggles, each person has something that is the hardest thing they’ve ever had to face or overcome, and God knows exactly what you need to conquer it. He can use your struggles for good and to prepare you for your calling, just as He did for me, and because of this there is ALWAYS hope.
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