My Path To Recovery

I am particularly proud of my career in real estate. I began it ten years ago, and today I own a brokerage firm with my mother. But most important to me are the meaningful relationships I have with my husband, my children, dear friends, and family. I even speak to other women who are at the beginning of their journeys, hoping to inspire in them the possibilities that await them! I see the confident, grateful, energetic, creative, giving, and loving woman I am today. And, in my mind, I go back in time and I hug the woman I once was before. I hug her with warm, comforting arms, just like I would hold my baby. I feel empathy for her, knowing how hopeless she felt trying to fight a losing battle. When women doubt they have what it takes to overcome the impossible, I’m honest in telling them that I have plenty of faults, and that my path to recovery had a lot of bumps and turns along the way. For example, it took me ten years to get custody back of that baby boy. Even when I had an apartment with his very own room, furnished with toys and a bed, I had to be patient. He didn’t sleep a single night in that bed for more than two years. But, I refused to give up! I refused to stop believing that one day everything would be right again.

Keep On Going

Even when an attorney told me it couldn’t be done. It took much longer than I wanted to bring back my son. He wouldn’t fit in my arms by the time I’d get custody of him again. But that day did come. Once again I walked into that courthouse. Getting off the elevator, I took a deep breath and held my chin high. This time when I turned that corner the lights were on. The hallway was filled with people. Starling, I want you to know something. I want you to understand that. To know how incredibly unusual this is. But as you stand here before me I can see that you have obviously made great strides in your life, and I believe this is the right thing.

It's All Over Now

I’m choosing to grant your motion for custody. Those words mended my broken heart with a final dab of glitter glue. Today, I’m no longer broken. I can tell you that I know I am an amazing woman! And I believe every single person is capable of transforming painful, broken pieces into light and happiness. All those years ago, the day I lost custody of my son I lost everything. But my journey to recover what I’d lost brought my son back, and along the way I found myself. Wendy is a loving wife and mother of five kids. Because I know what it feels like not to have a happy, whole, healthy, and vibrant life, and to be stuck in a pit of darkness. It has become my mission to share and teach others the tools I have discovered during my own healing journey through the sadness and grief of unexpectedly losing a beloved daughter. My journey took me further down as I spiraled into a deep clinical depression a couple of years after her passing. After years of learning and healing, I feel I have discovered a formula to help others find joy in the present, despite the challenges they may be facing. I describe my experience as going from the Pit to the Promised Land.

Dead Against It

Every healing journey is personal, but as my path unfolded before me, the journey I went on was one of discovery, trial and error, progress and growth. As I began changing and healing personally, I began to teach small groups of women these principles. That has grown and evolved as I created a worldwide organization–Vibrant Living Academy, in which we focus on healing our bodies, hearts, minds and souls, discovering our purpose and passion and sharing those gifts with the world. We had been blessed with four wonderful children. I loved being a mom and found great satisfaction in raising and playing with my children. I felt as though our family wasn’t complete and deeply wanted another child. I’m a deeply spiritual person now. One morning as I was pouring out my heart to my Father in Heaven in prayer, trying to understand His will as well as expressing my desire for another child, I had a simple but profound experience. I felt impressed that we would adopt her and she would be of a different nationality. Like Esther, she would be beautiful, chosen by the King, and be instrumental in saving her people. I wasn’t sure what all this meant, but since I’m an intuitive and spiritual person, I trusted that this would be the case. I wondered how my husband would react to this. We both knew we had been abundantly blessed, and he had a good heart. When I approached him about adopting, his heart was open to that possibility because he felt that was something we could do to also bless a child who needed a home. It wasn’t quite quick or easy, but we did get the process started. Participating in an international adoption is quite an ordeal. It involved months of paperwork, fingerprinting, interviews, and patience. The day finally arrived when we received our referral. She was a darling little Korean girl with tons of hair. We were able to meet her in the Seattle airport two months later. This was in 2000, before all of the airport security, so we were able to meet her at the gate when she was carried off the plane. She was only 13 pounds, and felt like a newborn baby. The feeling I had when she was placed in my arms was absolutely no different than what I felt when each of my birth children were placed in my arms. The instant bond and outflow of love were incredible to experience.