Despite a nation that boasts of having of over 384,000 congregations, 25 of which being in the city of Hudson, Wisconsin alone, there’s a new church family in town. And they aren’t going anywhere any time soon.

Jori is a force to be reckoned with, but you wouldn’t know it at first glance. Her minte ombre hair, pixie eyes and fairy-like frame suggest youth, creativity, and a fun-loving life. Her skin shines like porcelain and when she smiles you feel the stars. But underneath the gleam are deep, unending tunnels of pupil. As she speaks to me in the sunlight, I can sense the darkness she is holding at bay…a certain tiredness that shouldn’t be there at her age. She’s battling something. She’s unnerved.

This is her story.

When we’re seventeen, we don’t realize that the silly things done at parties or the gossip spoken about others sticks. I still remember the nicknames and terrible decisions made by myself and others during that time…17 years later! At that point in our lives, we are the truest reflection of what our parents have raised us to be and the experiences we’ve had; we are just shy of going out into the world and becoming our own selves. A coping mechanism of mine during school was to be critical, and to carry a confident facade which didn’t bode well (read about my Hudson High School Hit Lists here).

I spent almost 30 years being petrified of having children. My parents had an oops baby at the age of 40 and I had watched tumultuous times with a toddler (and divorce) follow. Growing up, I was told that children are unpredictable and uncontrollable; what if I couldn’t cut it as a parent? What if some poor kid inherited all of my weaknesses?