My Name is Kendra Kelly and I am from the Beautiful state of Oregon, where I live with my family. I have a husband and three beautiful boys.
My journey was a long one with tons of ups and downs and surprise turns. In no way was life was going the way I had envisioned it for myself.
Life starts out rough for some of us, and I was no exception. I was born into a family full of substance abuse sufferers.
In fact, addiction is probably one of my oldest memories in life. It's something I learned at a very early age, as I watched it ravage everyone around me.
As a product of my environment, I was using along with my other family members. However, I feel lucky that I had gotten myself into some trouble before my adult years, and this forced me to "clean up my act".
I managed to stay abstinent and out of trouble for quite some time. I was living the straight and narrow life that society had told us was the right way to live. I now had two little ones, and I was going to school for massage therapy. I was working hard and staying busy.
What I didn’t realize back then was that, just because you eliminate the physical demons doesn’t mean that the ones you can’t see aren’t still there --- lurking and waiting for an opportune moment to strike and take you back "under".
I was so worried about not using the drugs and alcohol, that I basically traded one bad habit for another. I allowed myself to be in a highly toxic, abusive relationship for years.
When I had finally had enough of the abuse and feeling badly about myself, I was able to get out. But, now what?
I knew I had to rebuild. I knew I needed to have friends and family and support again, and that I was capable of thriving again. But just like the time before, I let my guard down. Since I never fully dealt with my inner issues (let alone even knowing what they were or how to go about tackling them), my addictions found me again --- in full force this time.
I can look back now and see that life wasn’t done making me into a healer, yet. What I didn’t know that back then --- what I didn’t understand, at the time --- was why I couldn't break the vicious cycle I was in.
My ability to be a mother was becoming non-existent. All of the opportunities that life had tried to hand me --- my education and the potential I had to make a great career out of being a licensed massage therapist --- had been squandered, and I was quickly losing everything.
So after a lot of crying, praying, searching --- and crying some more --- the simple answer dawned on me: “It’s time to really heal me!”
Just like everything else in my life, it was going to be hard work, but I could do it.
I want to live a long, happy, healthy life. I want to watch my babies grow. I want to grow old with my husband, I want to be present, and I want to love who I am.
So, I put the work in. I spent years getting to know my disease or my disorder --- whichever you would like to call it. And I learned where my issues came from and how, through this process, I had actually been chosen for very purposeful work in life.
Then another question now lay stuck in my head: “What do I do next? Should I help others that are in the same position that I was in? Or, should I just try and forget it all? --- move on from it, and leave it "in my rearview"?
As I debated this, the Universe gave me the most subtle of "nudges". In the midst of all my quandary and doubts, I came across ARCS for the very first time.
It was as if a light straight from the sky had beamed down upon me. I still had so much to learn, but I also had so much to give. And, today, I truly feel that I'm coming into my calling on this Earth --- for the very first time.
I was ready for this opportunity, this time. I was ready to make everything that I went through be for a reason.
ARCS has helped me to connect with my life on multiple levels that I didn’t know existed. It’s a feeling that is hard to put into words, when something like ARCS comes into your life and opens a doorway.
I want to help others feel that same feeling that I have, now. I want to help you to tap your own potential, because you have made it to this message for a reason.
