One Wee Spark

I know that many of you happen upon my blog via links from other blogs and websites. Most of these are based on hoarding, and the " children of hoarders " status. You land here, read a bit about hoarding, my relationship with my mother (albeit I share very little about the dirty details from the past), and about doing the show " Hoarders " just over a year ago with my mother. You see a very small part of who I am and what I am about. So I thought I should be clear. The most important thing about me is my faith in God. Of all the mistakes my mother made, the actions and words that threatened to destroy my spirit and robbed me of my childhood, she did one thing right: She kept me in church all along the way. I have talked with many children of hoarders who had very negative experiences with faith and their hoarding parents. I've heard from adults whose parents justified repeated physical abuse by asking for forgiveness while walking away from beating them. I'v...

I hope that this finds everyone recuperating from the Holidays and beginning a fresh, new year. As I shared before taking a break from blogging, we welcomed a new baby girl into our large family just before Thanksgiving. We have decided that our family is complete. ("3 Children are a blessing and a gift from the Lord . 4 Having a lot of children to take care of you in your old age is like a warrior with a lot of arrows."--Ps. 127:3-4) As I begin a new year, I am always reminded of our ability to make a fresh start. No matter how bad we have messed up so far, we can draw a line, call an end to the old ways and start anew. Recovery from addiction, or overcoming the past is much the same. It involves drawing a line, calling the old for what it was, and learning a new way. I have been blessed to reach out to and be contacted by other adult who grew up with parents who hoarded and/or were mentally ill. All of them seem to be searching for something, just as I have been. All are ...