The ARMC

Faith, Anxiety, and Finding Calm

• Kylie & Gina • Season 2 • Episode 7

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We explore how faith and spirituality can ease anxious minds while being honest about community pressures, judgment, and the search for belonging. Personal stories, practical practices, and gentle boundaries show a way to build a village that holds both belief and doubt.

• faith and spirituality as anchors for anxiety
• comfort and pressure inside faith communities
• boundaries that protect energy and dignity
• Catholic and Lutheran upbringings shaping belief
• church search, fit, and worship styles
• higher power, surrender, and practical prayer
• crisis stories that strengthened conviction
• learning through scripture over a year
• giving permission for doubt and questions
• simple rituals that bring weekly calm

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SPEAKER_02:

Welcome back to the Anxiety Ridden Moms Club, season two, baby. We're still anxious, still thriving, ish, and this season we're diving deep into one of the most complicated, beautiful, and straight-up messy parts of motherhood.

SPEAKER_03:

Relationships. The ones that lift us up, the ones that drain us, and the ones that change when motherhood hits like a wrecking ball.

SPEAKER_02:

From ride or die friendships to awkward play date moms, from supportive partners to the ones who just don't get it, we're unpacking it all.

SPEAKER_03:

Because motherhood doesn't just reshape your body, it reshapes your people. And sometimes, you have to grow folks.

SPEAKER_02:

Sometimes, you build a village you never had. We're talking about boundaries, support systems, love languages, mom guilt, and learning to unapologetically put yourself first.

SPEAKER_03:

If your group chat is your therapy, if your toddler is your toxic coworker, or if your idea of date night is hiding in the pantry with snacks, the season is for you.

SPEAKER_02:

Let's talk about it, let's laugh, cry, confess, and build this messy, anxious, loving village together. Welcome to season two of the Anxiety Ridden Moms Club. Welcome back to the Anxiety Ridden Moms Club. I'm Kylie. And I'm Gina. We're so glad you're here. Today we're talking about something that's really personal, but so important: faith, spirituality, and community.

SPEAKER_03:

For so many moms, faith or spirituality is a grounding force. It's that anchor that helps us hold steady when anxiety feels like it's pulling us out to sea.

SPEAKER_02:

Yes. And faith doesn't look the same for everyone. For some, it's prayer or scripture. For others, it's meditation, gratitude practices, or just walking outside and feeling connected to something bigger.

SPEAKER_03:

The beauty is that it doesn't have to be complicated. Sometimes it's a five-second prayer while you buckle kids into car seats or a deep breath before walking into a tough meeting.

SPEAKER_02:

Communities of faith can be incredible. They rally around you when your baby is born, when you're grieving, and when you just need someone to say, hey, you're not alone.

SPEAKER_03:

But we also want to acknowledge the flip side. Sometimes those same communities can add pressure, expectations to be more, do more, or look more put together than you feel.

SPEAKER_02:

And that's where boundaries matter. A healthy community reminds you that you belong even when you're messy, even when you miss weeks, even when your toddler is melting down in the back row. And I think that's so very, very, very important is just society and the expectations on everyone. And I do think that there is just an added pressure on all things faith and community and just fitting in. Faith, I think, is a very, very hot topic in our world today.

SPEAKER_03:

Oh, yes, definitely.

SPEAKER_02:

Um definitely. You know, you and I have had lots of conversations in regards to the recent assassination of Charlie Kirk. And here at the Anxiety Ridden Moms Club, we talk about the tough things, the hard things. Um, and when I put face on the content schedule, it was actually before the conversations of Charlie kind of came up. But, you know, Gina, not to call you out or put you on the spot or anything. But your first, I think, response was, I don't want to do that one. Yeah. Um, I don't want to do that one. Why did you feel that way?

SPEAKER_03:

Because to me, I feel like faith is so personal to each and every person. And I think that then on top of it being personal, then everybody critiques if they think what you're doing is right or wrong or indifferent. But everybody should has their own spiritual journey. And um I don't know, it just it makes it a tough subject, in my opinion, to open up about. I have um many opinions. I've had many of different things happen throughout my lifetime when it came to religion. And um not all of it has been positive, even though it's never stopped my um beliefs. It's never changed how I believe, how I feel, none of that. But towards people and communicating about it, it definitely did change that a lot for me. Did you grow up, did you go to Catholic school or did I dream that? Uh I grew up Catholic. I didn't go to a Catholic school. I went to though, so I was raised Catholic, but then by the time I was a junior, it was my junior it for junior high. So it was, I was going into sixth grade. My the principal I had in elementary school, we were, he was great. He was just one of the most wonderful people. And he actually was close to my parents, and so he was transferring over to a Lutheran school, and so he went to my parents and went to a couple other kids as well that were in our school and asked them to consider to have us follow him over to this high school. So we went over there and toured it, and it was a nice small Lutheran school, and I was a very, very, very shy kid. Just I always say I was painfully shy. It was horrible sometimes. So for me, it was a good fit. It was definitely much easier than pride siming to the um public junior high. I think I would have probably really struggled with doing that just emotionally. It just went a lot for me. But going over there was great. It was wonderful to be able to go to a nice small school. I love the school to no end. But when it came to religion, there were some differences, obviously, just the Catholic to Lutheran, some of the ideas are different. I'm a kid, so I'm just open-minded to whatever. I mean, we're just as far as I was concerned, talking about God, but not adults. They don't necessarily always look at it that way.

SPEAKER_02:

So for sure. And um, I think why part of the reason why we make such a good pair is that we um push back on each other. And so I did push back on you on the on the faith topic and just said, I, you know, and part of this, like the Anxiety Ridden Moms Club, obviously it's a community, um, but it's also a village. And so sometimes conversations that Gina and I have are that we don't want to be too political or we don't want to be too, you know, go one side or the other side because we don't want there to be any sort of divide. We want all parents, you know, moms, dads, yep, um, everyone to be included in this in this village. So we want to be very cognizant of that and very careful as far as we don't want to push our beliefs on anyone. That's not what we're here to do by any means. But um faith can be, you know, I'm not gonna sit here and read the gospel to you for um for the next 45 minutes by any means. Um, but I think it's a it's having an open discussion about what faith means to me, to you, to um, you know, it it's not about which faith necessarily. It's just about believing in a in a greater power.

SPEAKER_00:

Yes.

SPEAKER_02:

Um, and I I have grown up Catholic my entire life. Um, shout out to Father Himbro that baptized my parents, um, married my parents, baptized me and my siblings, and married me. And he was, you know, our we had the same priest for our entire lives. And um, he was old. And when he passed away, boots on the ground, still working and still working hard. Um, we we had a shift, but we've had lots of different um priests in the meantime. And I feel like each, each one has their own um personalities and different things, but like it's really interesting to me to see their different viewpoints on even the scriptures or the gospels or different, different things like that. And I feel like I've definitely taken a more um, I don't know, I what I'm trying to get at is that I was raised Catholic my entire life. And um I would hate going to church on the weekends. Like it wasn't my favorite thing to do. And now as an adult, it's something that I find um peace in, and it helps me get to that peaceful place and it helps me prepare for the week ahead, and it helps me in my anxiety journey to put some of that on a greater power or a higher power. Yes, yes, and so that's kind of what I wanted to focus the conversation around is just um whatever you believe in, believe in it. We're not trying to persuade you one way or another.

SPEAKER_03:

I think everybody has their own journey. So for, and I think even that's the thing about when we were talking about this, like I wasn't a real, you know, it's not my comfort zone to talk about it necessarily, but um, I do think that I would want everybody to know that that everyone has their own journey, how it happened, when it happened, why it happened, you know what I mean? And I think though that the one thing I really truly do think is having for me, having God helps me with anxiety. So having that belief that you always know that there is he's there, he's around, and I can put some of that in his hands rather than taking it all on myself. And I think that that's why you know, I've had a very strong relationship with God for anybody who has even any other beliefs of how they believe it or what their higher power is. I mean, I just think it's good to have is if a if you have a positive higher power, it's just such a positive thing to help you through just some horrible things that people have lived through in their lives. And you gotta have something to help ease the pain and make you feel comfort and how you can do things.

SPEAKER_02:

And I feel like your mind, my mind anyway, can absolutely race and overthink and go in circles and sometimes just, you know, giving it to God is is what you have to do to get through the day, the week, the month, the situation, whatever it is. Um, I've you know, growing up Catholic and going to a Catholic school, um, I probably took some of it for granted. I wish I would have paid attention more. Um, I am still learning and I'm definitely more interested in I'm I'm definitely just more interested in religion as a whole now that I'm I'm older. Um and again, when we were prepping for this, for this episode, this was all before um the assassination of Charlie Kirk. And since that, I um feel like I'm definitely even rethinking my faith and how seriously I take my faith because whether you're on the left, on the right, somewhere in the middle, in my opinion, to view someone like Charlie and how what's the word I'm looking for, adamant or how driven by his faith he was is truly incredible to me. Yes. And I look up to that in a way. Like I I want to have a better relationship with God, and and how do we get there?

SPEAKER_03:

So I think even with what you're just saying, with when it comes to to Charlie, I think it did the same thing for me. So my kids have um listened to him on and off at times and and and you know, followed him. Um I have same, I mean, I've heard different things. I haven't been like an avid follower of him, but I have always heard different things and and and I mean I have to you have to have a respect for anybody who has their beliefs and that's and that they're convicted in that. I mean, I I just think and what he's convicted in is a positive thing in your life. I mean, how can you down somebody for being believing in God and and f and reading the Bible and following that, right? And so I think that for me, I like I told you, I had a very good relationship with God, but not religion. So I'm not a church-going person. Um I it probably didn't help being that I was went from Catholic, then you go to Lutheran, then everybody's got their opinions, and they almost kind of make you feel like uh negative about everything, like, well, if you're Catholic, that's not right. Well, if you're Lutheran, then that's not right. I mean, it's just all that stuff is just so and when you really get down to it, well, the differences in the beliefs are not strong enough for somebody to have such, like, I don't know, judgment. And I think that that's the one thing that I always throw all the time would always learn about stuff in the Bible or or or think about with God. And I always just think, I mean, the one thing is it's his job to judge, not ours. So it definitely turned me off more and more to people talking to me about religion because I had a lot of times negative comments made about what maybe my belief was, but that's what you think it is. It's not what maybe, you know, did you really even ask me what I really believe? You know what I mean? So I think he definitely has made me rethink the thought of maybe it's time that I just find a church that I like. I don't can tell you that probably won't be the easiest thing for me. I'm gonna probably be pretty darn picky. I I really have a an idea in my head of what I want. I don't know if it exists. But if it does, I mean, I'll be there. And I would love to be a part of something, but I also I don't know. I I one thing I also is, you know, even his pastor got up and said at his thing that um for that that he hasn't seen him hardly at all as far as being in church because he's out traveling and doing all these different things. And um, it kind of also makes me remember, I believe I can pray to God wherever I'm at. Absolutely. I don't have to be in a church to do that. And I don't, I mean, I obviously haven't been in church in years, and when um but I I just feel I don't know, I just can tell you some of the things that have happened in my life. I know I know he's there. Like I just know he's there. There's no doubt in my mind. And it's been a wonderful thing to have. But church, I don't know.

SPEAKER_02:

I think you have to find the right one, but I think you hit the nail on the head that a lot of times in these faith communities, they can be very judgmental and very judgmental, uh judgmental, um, not even necessarily out outside of um, you know, on different religions. And and and a lot of them are, like you said, very, very similar. Yes. Um there's just one or two small tweaks that they, you know, some believe in saints, some don't believe in saints, some believe in the holy trinity, some don't. But at the end of the day, it is again just believing in something, uh, a higher power. And, you know, again, wherever you land, wherever you believe, it it may it makes no difference. But I think that driving home that you don't have to be alone.

SPEAKER_00:

Yes.

SPEAKER_02:

Um, and just gosh, the the judgment of of it all. There have been times where, you know, going through my divorce that I was hesitant to go to church or feel free to go to church because it was just me and the kids and it wasn't a family. And there's this whole like picture perfect of sitting in the pew with your family, and the people are judging who you're with or not with, or who's there or who's not there, or were you there early? Were you there? What are you wearing? You know what I mean? Like, yes, I there's a lot of pressure just around all of that. Yes.

SPEAKER_03:

And it it is, it is hard. Um, and then you're kind of like it. I think that that's the thing. Then it's, you know, if you see somebody there, I know, I don't know. There's so many variables to it. There's just so many variables to it because it is just people are people, and we've talked about before, you know, that ultimately that you know, we should all be better to each other. Absolutely. We should all treat each other better. Um, but I think the one main thing that people should stop doing is passing so much judgment. Um, and especially when it comes to religion, I just think that that's personal, it's very personal. I I even was talking to my husband, so and at some point, you know, I've I've I've said this several times, but um, I did would like to do a podcast just to tell the story of what happened to my husband for his heart attacks. But I can tell you that when I was so just to get context, so just to start, at least everybody understands is that so my husband, we were sleeping in in a bed at that night, and he had his heart attack and it woke me up because I heard a growling noise. So at that point in time, you know, I had to get him off the bed, do CPR. Ambulance comes, they continue CPR, all these things happened, right? He goes, they send him in the ambulance to go to the hospital. Um, and we can do details and all that later. But when he was at the hospital, it was hours before I got to see him, about five hours. And once I finally went in, I saw him, and we were sitting down and you know, was sitting there with him for a little bit. And then she told me, she's like, Okay, when we're gonna get him to a room pretty soon, when we do that, then you'll be able to like spend more time. And when I got to that room, I sat down and I'm just sitting there maybe 10 minutes. And it was just me and his sister, and all I can tell you is it was like somebody was sitting with me and touching me, and it was very like calming. It was like some where you're like, but somebody's in this room right now. Like this is somebody's with me. Like, and I can tell you that I felt that in different times of him going through this long process. We were there for three weeks, and um it is 100% why I knew not when they asked me to stop care on him to not stop care on him. Just there was too many variables, which is why we'll we'll go through that whole story. But it just I tell them all the time, I'm like, I'm just telling you, it's the weirdest thing. I mean, at one point in time they had told me that you know they're gonna take him down and do a procedure, and they said, um, you know, basically we had to have the the um what do they call the hospital chaplains over there? The chaplain come in. I didn't like them coming in because to me they were just praying for his death the entire time. It's all I heard was like death sentence, you know what I mean? Yeah. And they'd already told me he probably wasn't gonna make it anyway. So at that time, though, you know, you go through this whole thing, everybody comes around him in the room, all that, you know, everybody's crying. And then we walk out of the room, and I all of a sudden just again, you had this feeling and this total sense of like, everything's fine. I don't even have to worry about anything, totally fine. And so that's why I guess I just I really truly I know that there is a higher power for sure. And there is somebody who is helped me and protected me, and I can always give my my trials and tribulations to him to help me with them. Um, you know, it's like you're not supposed to pray for him to take care of something for you, you're supposed to pray for him to give you the strength for things, pray, you know, pray for you to be more at peace with things, pray for you to find ways to be more calm around other people, pray for, you know, all those kinds of things. He wants us to help you.

SPEAKER_02:

Somebody said you can pray for everything, just don't pray for peace because you are not gonna like what he puts you through.

SPEAKER_03:

Right to teach you how to get to it, how to how to be patient. And that's the whole thing is usually what you pray for, you have to be taught how to do it, how to get to where you're at. And trust me, I am where I am today because I had to be taught lots of hard lessons.

SPEAKER_02:

For sure. No, I mean, why when when he was born in two pounds, four ounces, like I there was never a doubt in my mind. You know, I think my mom obviously saw chest compressions on a two-pound baby. Um, and she might tell you differently, but there was never, ever, ever a doubt in my mind that that he wasn't he wasn't gonna be okay. I just knew. I just knew that he was going to be okay. And uh yeah, you nothing on this earth can give you that feeling.

SPEAKER_03:

No, you know, no, and I do feel, and that's why I mean I would I do think that more people that there's lots of people that don't believe in anything. And um sometimes I think it's worth them even just looking into, just looking into, because there's some there's something you get out of having that in your life, you know. And that's why like I would tell anybody, I have a very, very, very strong faith. I just don't share and talk about it.

unknown:

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03:

People have too many different beliefs, and I don't judge anybody about whatever, how they want to, like, I think people judge, well, you don't go to church that every week. Well, why don't you go to church every week? Or you start showing up to church and they're like, Well, are you gonna well you didn't see you last Sunday? Well, don't worry about if I'm here every Sunday. You know what I mean? Like, it's my relationship, not yours.

SPEAKER_02:

All right, hey, I remember um because like as I mentioned, like through the divorce and things, that I was just like, there are so many, I just felt like eyes were always on me. And when I finally made my way back into and into church and regularly, my aunt's like, oh, the walls didn't one of my aunts, oh, the walls didn't cave in. And I'm like, You really gonna make me tell you to go, you know what, in church?

SPEAKER_03:

Well, I have told many people the pews didn't start on fire when you sat down. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_02:

You didn't burst into flames when you walked in. Like, no, no, I didn't. It's yeah. Um after the recent events, though, you did land in church. You didn't land in church.

SPEAKER_03:

I have I've got some looking to do. I have some looking to do. Um church is a very nice church, but I definitely there's I it's like I say, I'm looking for something pretty specific.

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah, and everybody has their own. I remember um, you know, Brad's first or second time experience at my church, he was like, this is just not what I'm used to. Like he is used to loud singing, dancing, carrying on, and that's not the Catholic church. That's not the Catholic church. No. Um, and the more he's gone, he's actually gonna start um some conversion classes. And I made him promise me that like this isn't for me. Like I want this, this is not for Kylie. Like, this needs to be, this is Brad's journey. And Brad, that if this is something that you want to do, it's for you. And if you and I split up tomorrow, this is the decision that you would make. Like, I don't want it to be have anything to do with with me. Right. Um, and he's made made the decision to um go through the conversion classes and and become Catholic. And so his initial reaction was like, this is not what I'm used to. And I think um, I would say boring, maybe is the word that he was like, What in the world? Like um, definitely not as theatrical as maybe some of the the churches he'd been to in the past. Yep. Um, but yeah, he's made that that's awesome. Made that decision. Um yeah, you just gotta find what works. Yeah, what works best for you. What works for you. But we're both challenging each other. We're gonna start um reading the Bible. Yes. As of when?

SPEAKER_03:

When are we gonna do it? It'll be start, it'll actually officially start for the new for New Year's. It'll be starting in January, so we go through it for the year. Because I can say honestly, I've gone through a lot of classes and talked a lot about religion just by even having junior high and high school, going through all the stuff for that you had to go through and um for Catholicism. And I know a lot of different things, but I mean, I never really read the Bible, never ever read it. And um, I really think it'll be interesting. It'll be really interesting.

SPEAKER_02:

And not to keep kind of circling back to this, but I had never heard of Charlie Kirk until the day Charlie Kirk was assassinated. Never heard his name, never heard anything about him. Um, if you recall, you text me in the middle of the work day and you're like, oh my gosh, like Charlie Kirk was just assassinated. And I said, Who that? Have no idea who this is. Yeah. Um and so I did that deep dive and and um just his passion in general about what he believes. Again, not saying we believe one way or the other, but his passion in it and his conviction in it and all it's it's inspiring to me.

SPEAKER_03:

Yes. Um, and you know, I think that some of the stuff that they talk about is what I I hope, and actually, like Casey and I have talked about it, and he's like, you know, even some of the stuff you talked about, just for families. Get back to like what the families, how they function, just like going to church and spending the quality time with their kids and doing some of the things that were, I don't know, made life a little easier. We've gotten so advanced, which is great, but sometimes it's made our lives more complicated. And he's like, I kind of want to live a little just simpler life. You know what I mean? Just simple, just make it more simple in a way. For sure.

SPEAKER_02:

And then it's just, it's just made me. I think that if you're not learning, you're dying. That's just my philosophy. Life is about growing, it's about learning. And I always want to learn more. And it can be freaking anything. Like it can be a Netflix series, and I'm Googling where it was filmed and the places, like I just I'm intrigued by a lot of things in life. And hearing some of the clips on social media and different things that Charlie spoke about, it's it's really made me want to kind of take a deep dive into religion. And, you know, I'm a very, very anxious person. And I think that it could help just ease my mind a little bit. And that's kind of where my journey, you know, as leading is just to calm down. I'm not in charge of everything. There's someone that is, right? But it's not me. Right. And to learn to go with the flow a little bit more. And, you know.

SPEAKER_03:

And sometimes, you know, we all need help with all that. And I think that it's a good place to start to try to find some of that.

SPEAKER_02:

Tell there's a line in the Bible about being submissive to your man. And I still scratch my head every, I don't know if I'm ever like, I don't, I don't know. Here we go.

SPEAKER_03:

We're learning all kinds of things. But I think though, that's the thing is I think that even some of that in the Bible that people have gotten away from, they kind of think of it as being like, um, I don't know, like men sometimes have taken it like the Bible is like, you know, well, hey, you're supposed to be submissive and obey me. Okay, it's not let's okay, that's not exactly it's not exactly kind of what that was meant to be like. And I think everything can be taken out of context. Yes, yes. So I I think it'll be I think it'll be very interesting. We have a lot to learn. I look forward to learning it. Um, and maybe, just maybe, I'll find a church that I enjoy. I I'm being very optimistic. I would like to find somewhere I can guarantee if I even find one that I love, I probably won't be there every Sunday. But I would be happy if I was five, can find a place that I just I don't know. Gives me something else, maybe, maybe brings me more calm in my life.

SPEAKER_02:

I will give my mom credit where credit is due, but it was something that she said to me. And you sit here now and say, I don't know if I'll be there every Sunday, but like for me, it's the start of my week now. It's and I don't feel right not doing it. And it's something that I need in my life to remind me of the calm. And I swear to you, I swear that the last couple of months, whatever the gospel's about, the sermon's about, like sometimes I think I am gonna catch fire because it is exactly like what I'm going through in my life.

SPEAKER_01:

And I'm like, oh my God, stop looking at me. What is happening? Um, and I would be lying to say that I'm not like kicking Brad being like, Do you hear that? Do you hear that?

SPEAKER_02:

Um, you know, so for me, it's something that that drives me and I do. I go eight o'clock every Sunday, and it just kind of starts my day. We have an 1115 too, and I'm like, I can't imagine starting my day at, you know, after that.

SPEAKER_03:

But um it'll see and that and that's why for me, like I I hope I can get to that point. I hope I can, I mean, I hope I find somewhere I enjoy. You gotta find the place you enjoy. You gotta find the place I enjoy. It ain't gonna happen overnight that I'm gonna find and it's not gonna happen overnight that I'm gonna just be like gung ho every Sunday. I can tell you that. It's it's just because it's such a change of routine for me. So I it'll it'll take time and I'm okay with that. But it's but hopefully it'll bring me something good. In the meantime, I've all I do like every so often I would listen to Mark Driscoll. Did I ever send you him? Do you ever listen to him? I really like him. One reason I like him is he always will put up verses and then he discusses them, kind of tells a story about it around it, tells you some stories from the Bible and explains things in layman's terms so that I understand it. Um so sometimes I'll listen to him and I've really enjoyed it. So there's things I've listened to at times, I just haven't attended, you know, to the actual place. And I even had to my husband, I'm like, seriously, if they had a place, I would probably get involved and do a lot of things, but they just have to get my, they have to be the right place, and then I would be very supportive and look forward to growing my faith. So if you're in the St.

SPEAKER_02:

Charles, St. Peter's, St. Louis area, um, and you've got a a good church, drop, yes, you know, drop us a message, drop us a comment, and let us know if there's a church that that Gina needs to attend and try out. Attend and try out.

SPEAKER_03:

I already have I've already kind of made a list about five so far that I know are on my list. So I got I'll keep adding, but at this point I kind of have an idea of.

SPEAKER_02:

And we won't throw anyone under the bus. I don't know which church she did attend, but there was a PowerPoint involved.

SPEAKER_01:

And I told her I have never had a PowerPoint presentation at Mass, but that is that is a new.

SPEAKER_03:

Here's the thing is there's a time and place for everything. There's a time and place for everything, and that's not on on Saturdays or Sundays when you're having a church service. Let's not talk about how you want to grow your church. Like that's did not um set well. There were so many positive things into sit down to list that I was like, okay, like this is I I hope this is not what it normally is. And I'm sure it's not a typical PowerPoint about that. But I just don't think I've ever been to my church either in my life where I had to talk about if how they were gonna grow and where they're putting their money. Make money. I just I just don't think that that's and I understand the money is to grow their church to do wonderful things. Ba-ba-ba-bah. I get all that, but I just think those are when you said you call a church meeting for the people who love, you know, are involved in that church and then extend it to all of us to come. I think that that's wonderful. And we can discuss all that of how we can grow and do great things. Don't do that during my service, or I probably am gonna put you down the little lower on the list of coming back. But I that doesn't mean I even say I have an open mind. It doesn't mean I wouldn't go back to that church at some point. I just know that I need to go on my journey to a few other churches first. Maybe bad timing. Maybe it's bad timing. And maybe I'll try another one over there again at some point, and we'll see what they give to me to see, but we'll see. Cause I'm and I also don't, I I don't know. I think because I've had the Catholic and I've had the Lutheran, I've experienced both of those churches even, and they're different. Um, I went to another friend's church where they did the dancing and the yelling and the stomping and the, you know what I mean? I've been to several different types of churches, and I like bits and pieces of them all, but it's just trying to figure out then which one kind of has a little bit of all that. You know what I mean? But I had one time I went to a Lutheran um church with one of my friends. She was dying to take me for her Sunday, you know, class or whatever. I needed to go. So I said, that's fine, no problem. So we went, you know, I enjoyed whatever. When it was done, I asked um the pastor that I was raised Catholic and we always hang up a crucifix. But I've noticed being a Lutheran church, you hang up a cross. And he's like, Yeah, I go, Well, why? I don't know. I'm trying to learn. And he was not happy with me asking him that and told me that that's because Catholics want to dwell in his death. And we tend to, we want to um focus on his resurrection. And I was like, Okay, I don't know why you're mad at me, but okay. I mean, it just made me feel awkward. So I had several like just different instances where I felt like, isn't I just think that's a good I I even still to this day would think that that was a good question to ask because that's the differences between churches and that's what we have to learn. And I'm even looking into different things outside of those, you know what I mean? I want to go to non-denominational. I want to, I've looked a little bit in Presbyterians.

SPEAKER_02:

It's because you're intrigued and you're trying to learn, you're not questioning.

SPEAKER_03:

No, and I think that like somebody's doing something wrong, I'm just curious.

SPEAKER_02:

The biggest piece is that they they think you're judging or you're questioning their faith or why they do things the way that they do when really we're just being inquisitive. Yeah, just I just want to know.

SPEAKER_03:

I'm trying to learn and that's why I'm kind of looking forward to this next year because I feel like I will learn a lot and may and understand that much more. So and see where it takes us. And so hopefully that everybody else is maybe intrigued to get on their own journey as well. For sure. Faith can bring peace, but it can also bring questions. And I think it's important to say doubt is not failure, doubt is part of being human.

SPEAKER_02:

Absolutely. You can hold both faith and questions, you can show up unsure, and that still counts. Sometimes the bravest thing we do is showing up even when we don't have all of the answers.

SPEAKER_03:

Giving ourselves that permission to be human, to be imperfect, that's where a lot of peace can come in.

SPEAKER_02:

Absolutely.

SPEAKER_03:

If you can pause with us, inhale deeply, exhale slowly, remind yourself I don't have to carry this all by myself, whether through faith, spirituality, or community, support is available to me.

SPEAKER_02:

Peace is not something far away. Thank you for spending this time with us today. We hope this conversation encourages you to lean into the practices and people that bring you the most peace.

SPEAKER_03:

And remember, peace is possible. If no one's told you lately, let me be the one to say it.

SPEAKER_00:

You're not failing, you're growing, you're not broken, you're becoming, and you're doing better than you think. Thanks for being here today. If this episode resonated with you, I'd love if you'd subscribe, leave a review, or share it with another mom who might need to hear this. You can also connect with us on Facebook or TikTok at the ARMC. We'd love to hear your story. Until next time, give yourself grace, breathe deep, and remember peace is possible.