A Return to my Safe Space

A lot can change in 3 years. A lot. And a lot has.

As for those who have been following me and my story since the beginning, let me first thank you for reinvesting in my journey and coming back yet again to share these very special moments with me. What being away has taught me is, I will always return to the things that I love. For me, writing has always been therapeutic and safe.

Since my last blog, Thirty, Two Kids, and Two Degrees Later, God has done a number on me. Well, that and I am 33 now. Whew, time has flown. Which also means that my daughters are now 14 and 7. But seriously,

…God has done a number on me.

Not in a destructive way, but in the way only He can—rearranging, restoring, and revealing. Life has tested me, stretched me, and most importantly, refined me. I've learned that sometimes the setbacks are setups for something far greater than we imagined.

In these past three years, I’ve had to let go of comfort, confront fears I didn’t know I had, and embrace a version of myself I wasn’t yet ready to meet. But here I am—still standing, still growing, and finally ready to share again.

So much has changed, yet so much remains the same. I'm still a woman juggling motherhood, ambition, faith, and the quiet ache of dreams deferred. But now, I do it with a deeper sense of self and a stronger connection to my purpose.

These years weren’t just about surviving, they were about shedding. Shedding guilt. Shedding doubt. Shedding the need to perform for approval. I learned how to sit in stillness, how to trust God even when the path was dark, and how to listen to the whispers of my own soul. No one ever talks about how choosing peace can be complicated, sad, and lonely.

Writing again feels like coming home—to myself, to my voice, to the calling I nearly silenced under the weight of everyday life. I don’t have all the answers, but I do have stories. Real, lived-in, tear-stained, joy-filled stories.

And I’m ready to tell them. Welcome back.

Be blessed,

De'dria Louise Bynum