After graduating from Dartmouth College, my childhood dream to be a professional athlete came true. I played as a soccer goalkeeper overseas until a tragic illness suddenly ended my career.

In Africa, I took a prescribed medication to prevent malaria which built up toxic levels in my system. Fighting for my life for a year, it took ten years to fully recover.

Life was going one way, then with a jolt and out of my control, it would never go that way again. It was brutal and tested me to the core. The symptoms were physical and psychological, and I was scrambling to figure out my identity with so much loss and grieving.

I believe God does His greatest work in the darkest times. The pain in my life fueled and forged a new passion and purpose. I was in survival mode and needed more effective coping strategies.

I learned to cultivate hope habits. I discovered a vibrant hope that is greater than my challenges.

Hope is available to everyone. Hope is relational and habitual. I found a secure identity. I began to drop my walls and let people into the pain and receive comfort. Pouring out my heart in prayer and giving God my burdens was new.

A gritty gratitude, giving thanks intentionally even when I didn’t feel like it, became a daily choice. A shift into a career I never anticipated was an unplanned blessing. Stepping out of performance traps and landing in God’s grace transformed me. It was humbling, after several years, to regain the ability to drive a car again.