I am a farm girl at heart. But when I took my first plane trip at age twenty to Barcelona, Spain, I knew I would never be the same. Since then, I have served overseas in Latin America as a single woman and with my family in Hungary. Yet one of the greatest treasures of my life is when God brought me home to my small town and to the arms of my dying mother and then straight to my beloved husband, Jared.

It is the beauty of God, how such grief accompanies some of the most exquisite moments of His glory. And my story has continued to follow this path of grief and glory. After a seven year journey to become long-term missionaries in Hungary, and three years of living there, I suffered an acute hyper-manic episode and was diagnosed with bipolar disorder. These eight plus years since have been some of the hardest of me and my husband’s life, yet God’s grace, and his sustaining HOPE have brought us to a place of endurance and even overcoming.

I share my story here. Many times it is from the beauty amidst tragedy of living with mental illness. But I also remember the days and ways of my life before diagnosis. Always, always, I seek to live it all raw and vulnerable, authentic and truth-laden. It is my sincere desire that you would leave your time here feeling the reality of hope, and therefore, you would not be the same.

Thank you for coming and sharing in my life, my story. Please contact me if you would like to reach out and share your own journey. I would be delighted to walk alongside of you and pray for you!

All because of Him, All for Him,

Abby 🙂