Meet Heather
Hi, I’m Heather MacFadyen.
God has been a part of my life since I prayed a simple prayer in Kindergarten and hold these beliefs. From 3rd grade thru 8th grade I was homeschooled (and no, I never won a spelling bee…just the math pentathlon ;)).
As a college Freshman I fell head-over-heals in love with an outgoing 6ft 3in skinny, curly headed Senior named Bruce. Who keeps us on our toes with his energy and enterpreneurial pursuits.
After 6 years of marriage we celebrated the birth of our huge 9 1/2 pound son. Little did we know 6 1/2 years (to the day!) after the birth of our 1st son, a 4th son would be born.
A Rescue Plan . . .
Do you feel like you’re drowning? Do you wonder if the challenges you face are normal? Do you feel the constant pressure to be the ‘perfect’ wife and mom?
You’re not alone.
Know what it’s like to have four kids? You’re drowning and someone hands you a baby. –Jim Gaffigan.
When I first heard Gaffigan’s joke I laughed out loud and then felt the pang of truth. You see, soon after my fourth boy arrived, I had a panic attack on a Sunday. In the car. While waiting for chicken strips from Bubbas.
That’s when I sought professional help. The pressure began to lift when my counselor said, “It’s completely normal for you to feel this way”. I felt relief knowing I wasn’t doing something wrong, motherhood is simply hard.
The irony? At the time of my breakdown I wrote online, encouraging moms to be God-centered. Helping them create spiritual disciplines reminding them of God’s presence.
But I was missing an important element: other people.
With four young boys, I’d isolated myself from community. I feared embarrassment, rejection, and failure. That fear also fueled a surprising ‘anger issue’ (click link to hear more about that).
Slowly I began to reach out to friends again. Taking risks even if the outing didn’t go as well as expected. Through prayer with friends, God healed wrong identities I’d held onto. He secured my belief in who He said I was. Fear lost a bit of its hold on me.
In 2013 I transitioned from writing online to interviewing mentors on my podcast “God Centered Mom”. That show has reached every country in the world and downloaded over 7 million times.
One listener began to use the podcast as content for her small group and helped me launch “podcast clubs” (like a book club but with podcasts!). Those clubs led to the use of the hashtag and a new site/brand: #DontMomAlone.
Moms comment that the podcast is helping change their motherhood, that they are refined instead of broken. One mom wrote,”You helped me feel like I can do better, but all my efforts matter.”
Listen along. Instead of drowning, allow us to remind you that you don’t mom alone!
If you’d like Heather to share with your group, please visit her speaker page for more information.
