9) Divorced and Widowed with Two Kids at 36 and then Finding Love Again (Part 1)

In this week's episode I chat with Rachel Martin about her life and being divorced and then widowed at 36 with two children. We discussed:

• Her career as the Executive Director for the Chilton County Chamber of Commerce
• Marrying her high school sweet heart and being together for 12 years
• How her life was wrapped up in him and it was hard for her to leave him even after he got into drugs and cheated
• The strength she finally found to leave because of their daughter and how hard it was to figure out how to be on her own
• Help from family and her very strong support system that helped her through
• Watching her ex-husband not have a relationship with their daughter and how heartbreaking it was to witness
• After being single for two years falling in love again and adding a son to their family
• How they did not have perfect marriage because they both carried baggage from their first marriages but they tried really hard
• Having a bible study group changed her life and helped to prepare her for what was to come
• The unexpected death of her second husband, the anguish and having to tell her son
• The love and support she received from her family, friends and church
• Learning to live and handle every day life without her husband
• Making herself so busy so she didn't have time to stop and process what happened
• How she had to learn to be still to feel and heal
• Realizing she had to figure out who she was after being a wife all these years
• Learning to appreciate the small things and to stop keeping score