I Was Broken, Mended, & Made Whole

My hands were white-knuckled, gripping the back of a wooden pew in a tiny, white country church. Maybe fifty people filled the room, and the air was thick with the sound of “Just As I Am” drifting from the upright piano. The older saints mouthed the words, eyes closed, hearts open. It was one of those moments where time just… slows.

Suddenly, the woman next to me—my mom—started to cry. Before I could even process it, she was making her way down the aisle, answering the preacher’s invitation to accept Jesus or come back home to Him. That preacher? Her brother. My uncle. A rugged cowboy who traded his boots for a Bible and never looked back. 🤠

He never had a viral video, a blue checkmark, or a mega-church TV program. But let me tell you, the ripple effect of his “yes” to God changed more lives than he’ll ever know—including mine.

That night, in that little church, the trajectory of our family shifted…

I didn’t really understand what was happening with my mom, but I followed her down to the front and said “the prayer.” Sometimes, you just know you’re supposed to move, even if you don’t have all the answers.

Fast forward a few months. I’m lying in bed, listening to the click-clack of my mom’s typewriter as she works on invoices for my stepdad’s business. Suddenly, the keys stopped. Silence. My heart dropped. Y’all, I was convinced the rapture had happened and I’d been LEFT BEHIND! 😱

Tears streaming, I ran into our 70s-style living room, only to find my family—and my Uncle Doug—still there. When I told them what I thought, my uncle just smiled and said, “Well, let’s make sure that never happens.” We knelt right there and prayed. Simple. Real. Life-changing.

Arrivals and departures happen every minute on this planet. And this past week, my horse-shoeing, Bible-toting, bold-cowboy-preaching uncle departed for his ranch in glory. One minute he was sipping coffee with his bride of 40+ years, the next he’d slipped into eternity. It was sudden. It was shocking. And it left us all with a hole only heaven can fill.

But here’s the thing: we’re sad, yes, but we’re not hopeless. We know exactly where he is. He’s just gone ahead to his heavenly home. 🕊️

God has a plan for every single one of us. Before you even took your first breath, He wrote a book about your life. (Jeremiah 29:11, anyone? “For I know the plans I have for you…” 💛) But how you walk out that plan? …That’s up to you.

So, let me ask: How are you living out the story God’s written for you? Valentine’s Day is coming up, but Jesus didn’t say “love people one day a year.” He said, “Love God. Love people.” Every. Single. Day. When you do that, you’re already on your way to fulfilling your purpose.

Before your own departure, ask God what else He wants you to do as His hands and feet. You never know whose life you’ll impact—whose story you’ll change—just by saying “yes.” My uncle’s life changed my family, and now, through these words, it’s touching yours.

Let’s make our stories count. 💫

I Believe in YOU! ❤️

xo~ Angela

Angela Rose is the founder of The Laundry Moms, a faith-filled platform she launched over a decade ago to encourage and equip women to prioritize their well-being while managing the demands of family life. As a mom who homeschooled her four kids—now grown adults—Angela knows firsthand the challenges of balancing it all and believes in the power of leaning on God’s strength to lighten the load.

For 24 years, Angela was a certified master photographer, capturing life’s most precious moments. But she eventually hung up her camera to fully dedicate herself to helping women live the life God created them to live. Through The Laundry Moms and her 12-week coaching program, The Secret Weight Loss Recipe™, Angela empowers women to break free from emotional eating, heal from the inside out, and embrace their God-given purpose—spirit, soul, and body. Her mission is to inspire women to step boldly into their destiny and live with freedom and joy.