I Asked for Help

Today was my day in Asheville to run errands and check things off my list. This was also my day for my in-person therapy appointment.

I started meeting with a therapist weekly just over a year ago. Most weeks we meet online and occasionally I make the trip to Asheville to meet in person. These weekly appointments have been a key part of this Unbinded journey.

In 2020 Brandon and I mapped out the life we wanted for ourselves and for our family. We pinpointed our values, envisioned what we wanted, and then we went for it. Those initial steps took faith in ourselves and in each other. In the beginning, it felt somewhat easy and especially freeing to go after the life of our dreams.

And that was the first part.

When we came up with the term “unbinded,” it meant freeing ourselves from everything we allow to hold us back. Freeing ourselves from made up fears, letting loose of old beliefs, and turning away from empty expectations. It means turning towards what our hearts truly desire and living out our purpose.

Unbinded is like an untying and letting go, as if there are all these knots—all these things we attach ourselves to, that we hold as being important, that keep us tethered to a certain life.

What we have found is that as we undo one small knot, there is a bigger knot beneath it waiting to be wrangled and untied. As we untie each big knot, there are smaller knots hidden and shrinking from being undone. So in our Unbinded Life, we continue to loosen the grips of the old and make way for something different.

And this is not easy. In fact, it is sometimes really difficult. What I found personally is that I so badly wanted to embrace all the newness and opportunity, and yet I continued to feel tied to old habits, old beliefs, and especially old fears. I felt stuck in the past while longing for a different future.

And so I did what I feel like is the bravest thing I have ever done—I asked for help.

I have worked on and off with a coach and for the past one year I have met weekly with a therapist. There is no way for me to describe the differences I have experienced in my life. No amount of words could tell the story of where I have been to where I am at today.

I can tell you I am a better wife, mother, daughter, sister, and friend. I am a different person. I am a whole person. I have a confidence I never knew I could have, and I experience life in a whole new way.

Living this Unbinded Life has been the greatest calling we have ever answered. I would be lying if I told you it is easy, but because I love you, I will tell you it is worth every step of the way.