I Used to Think I Had to Do It All Alone…

There was a time I thought I had no choice but to carry it all.

I was a mom, a student, a provider, a protector and somehow still expected to heal at the same time. I was holding up an entire family while barely holding on myself.

I didn’t always know what I was feeling, but I knew I was stuck.

I was hurting.

I was angry.

I was emotionally drained and walking through life with functional depression.

Honestly, I think I had been in that state before I even had my son. His birth didn’t cause my pain...it amplified what I hadn’t been able to face. And once I had my daughter, it was all right there, staring me in the face. No more running. No more hiding.

I wasn’t growing into the woman I had envisioned for myself. I felt like a little girl inside, and deep down, I was treating myself like one. Silencing myself. Shrinking. Trying to stay small to survive.

⸻

A Closed Mouth Doesn’t Get Fed

We tell our kids, “Use your words.”

We tell them, “If you need help, just ask.”

But somewhere along the way, we stop doing that for ourselves.

Pride. Shame. Trauma. Fear of rejection. We convince ourselves we have to tough it out alone.

But God reminded me a closed mouth doesn’t get fed.

And I was starving.

So I started opening up. Slowly. Quietly at first. Only where I felt safe.

I talked to my doctor.

I got a therapist.

I leaned on my son’s care team.

I confided in his teacher(another mom who understood).

I reached out to churches for prayer and practical help.

I talked to my family—not just listening to what they thought I needed, but expressing what I actually needed.

And little by little, I realized:

Help had always been around me. I just had to be willing to receive it.

⸻

I Had to Learn How to Be Helped

I thought I had to wear the Superwoman cape.

I thought I had to do it all...be everything, hold everything, fix everything.

But even superheroes need a team.

Even healers need healing.

Even strong women deserve to be held.

That’s why I created the Building the Village Fund.

Because we shouldn’t have to hit rock bottom before someone steps in.

Because we deserve more than survival motherhood we deserve support, sisterhood, and soul-level restoration.

⸻

Share Your Story with Us

Have you ever had a moment where you realized you couldn’t do it alone?

A time when someone helped you carry the weight or when you wished someone would?

You’re not alone. And your story might be the very thing that reminds another mama that she’s not alone either.

✨ Join the conversation in the Share your story section.

Let’s keep building this village together.

TTYL <3

ShelbyB