hey, friend,
i’m Catherine
My life has never looked so good! These two cuties with me are my husband + our sweet boy, + if you would have asked me if I ever thought my life would amount to this, my answer would have been a hard no. After experiencing sexual abuse as a child + teenager, walking through severe depression + suicidal attempts, facing an eating disorder + running from God, I found myself in the middle of the desert, dying from the inside out, but God heard my call, rescued me, + He healed me. God did this + restored in me a newness that allowed me to finally live in freedom + accept this kind of love. + it’s possible for you too, friend.
Fun facts about me >
. Lattes all day, everyday
. I’m from NC
. I went to UNC Chapel Hill + have my BA in English (give me all the books)
. My husband + I eloped in Joshua Tree, + then serendipitously (all Jesus) made our son there when we went back a year later!
. I’m a STAHM first + foremost
. I’m a photographer!
. Fave color is Carolina blue (obvi)
fresh take
Like the Samaritan woman at the well, my life was covered in shame + my broken identity weighed me down + tore me apart from the inside out. I turned to men for validity, purpose, and worth. I turned to alcohol and drugs for numbness and avoidance. I turned to self harm + suicidal attempts to put an end to my depression + eating disorder, to silence my thoughts that ate at me both day and night.
Like the Samaritan woman, I went to get water in the middle of the day, because I didn’t have anyone who made me feel safe or welcomed or accepted. Like Hagar, I cried in the desert, because I didn’t have anyone who saw me or bothered to hear my cry.
So I thought.
When I found myself denying Jesus after growing up in a Christian household, all I felt was anger. Pain. Emptiness. My trauma consumed me + I was a bog of deep sorrow, full of dead bodies that took parts of me with every touch of my naked skin, every one night stand + drunken oblivion. After years trying to survive in the desert, my soul was crushed, trying to scream from a dry mouth, trying to find the light I once knew.
The light of Jesus.
He met me on my parent’s couch + He reminded me that the light I knew came from Him. So I ran to Him.
+ this is what He wants of you too, friend.
To run to Him. To meet Him face to face at the well where He can quench your dry mouth + change your life.
Hear my whole testimony on the “MMATW” podcast.
why MMATW
It all started with Hagar + then the Samaritan woman at the well. And then Jesus graciously sprinkled all the other women in the Bible to top it all off to show us just how much He loves us. Sees us. Understands us. + has prepared us with the truth to help set us free.
You see, God met Hagar, a single mom kicked out by the wife of the man who impregnated her, in the desert as she was crying, afraid to watch her son die because she had nothing left to give him. No more food, no more water, + she was tired. He came to her in the midst of her exhaustion, when she was ready to give up, + He told her not to worry. He was going to make a great nation from her son, and when she opened her eyes, there was a well of water.
Her eyes were opened to who God is + how deeply He cares for her- for her son. She then calls God
El-Roi
The God who sees me.
God saw her, right where she was in her pain + despair. God also saw the woman at the well. He met her during the daily, mundane task of getting water, but not in the morning or evening, but during the hottest time of the day.
Jesus saw her, accepted her as she was, covered in her shame + sin, + chose her to be the first one to know He was the Messiah.
God is a God of details, friend, + it’s in these details that we see who Jesus is + how He uses this moment to speak truth over the weight of shame + sin. He uses this moment to evoke freedom + a longing within those who can relate to the woman at the well.
He creates a thirst that can only be quenched by the Living Water- Jesus.
I was alone, like the samaritan woman. I was weighed down by the sins of others, the shame that came from that trauma, + the sins I chose to live out as I ran from everything, including myself + Jesus.
God has called me to share my story in order to not only walk with others through their desert, but to prayerfully help you get out of the desert.
I’m here to meet with you at the well. To hear your pain, your story, your questions, + to get in the mud with you, but to ultimately lead you to Jesus.
Healing is a choice, which is why I’ll meet with you everyday, for as long as you need, but it’s up to you to drink from the well of life + to let Jesus change your life, forever.
Why MMATW? Simply- I don’t want you to be alone like I was.
Ultimately, I want to change the way we face + talk about trauma. I want to create a space for open, vulnerable, + safe dialogue so healing can happen. I want you to not only find Jesus, but to know Him intimately so your life can be altered in the most life giving way. I want my story, + the stories of others, to be a lamp on a hill guiding you through the desert.
I want to extinguish the darkness, save the lives of those who know nothing but fear + trauma, + spread the hope + truth of what God can do when we fully give Him our lives + are transformed by His Word.
I’m so excited you’re here + I cannot wait to see what God will do through MMATW!
mission. vision. purpose. values.
MISSION >
To share my testimony + provide a gathering place for other women to do the same, with the mission of sharing the gospel of how God saved us, all with the desire to bring God the glory.
2 Corinthians 1:3-7
Psalms 68:34
VISION >
To see darkness extinguished + broken stories redeemed + restored in the name of Jesus!
PURPOSE >
To be Jesus here on Earth. To meet women at the well, accept them as they are, love them where they are, + guide them to Jesus, the living water, through friendship, community, + vulnerability.
VALUES >
Love. Authenticity. Vulnerability. Transparency. Kindness. Empathy.