Sadly, abuse and emotional neglect were part of my life from a very young age. I have known a lot of brokenness, and since the age of 16, I have been committed to addressing my childhood traumas. 

I was born in The Netherlands, in a home where spirituality or religion were absent. Through my counseling journey, my spirituality was awakened. I experienced a Loving Presence bigger than me. Some years later, when I was 25 years old, I stepped foot in a church and was never the same. Through Jesus, I found what I didn’t experience before: warmth, belonging, and acceptance. 

Around 2008, a more contemplative lifestyle was unfolding. I found myself going out on long walks every day. This is where my love for photography birthed; I started to capture things that spoke deeply to me in nature. Every opportunity I had was spent outside, taking in what I was seeing and giving space to what I was feeling. Somehow, I felt tended to while out in nature. I turned quieter, both in how I filled my days and how much I sounded out. 

Though I was deeply connected and active in my church, I started to feel that there had to be more. 

I turned to a spiritual director, and my life changed. The more I was looking for was answered when I learned about the art of silence. Slowly, my faith was shifting from doing for God to being with God. 

I was no longer finding God in just the walls of the church and within the church community; God was speaking deeply to my soul while I sat in silence or was out in the woods. It led to more intimacy with God as I learned to sit in God’s embrace and experience His Love.

In 2017, I went through a program called The Intimacy Project, where I was introduced to Spiritual Practices. The facilitators, all Spiritual Directors, tended to me as I faced traumas that were still triggering me. I learned another art, the art of Presence and question-asking. It brought me to a whole other level of intimacy with God. 

Their coming alongside me and question-asking helped me to embrace my scars as I rested with Jesus. Lots of healing and growth happened for me when people were courageous enough to be with me in my pain without striving to fix the pain or me.  

Ultimately, this translated into wanting to create a safe place for people to be truly seen and felt and to learn the art of question-asking. I wanted to help people experience intimacy with God, and I felt this was not happening through my advice-giving or sharing my opinions based on my life experience. 

Today

Today, there is still pain; the scars are still present, and I am able to tend to myself as I notice God tending to me. Some of the ways I notice God tending to me are spiritual practices like silence, walking, being in nature, conscious breathing, daily examens, and creativity.

I have found beauty in learning to ’see well’ in all circumstances and seeing God’s graces amid pain. I have learned to live in the ‘both end.’

I live in Media, PA, with my husband, Tim. In 2014, we became parents of three truly amazing teenagers through foster care/adoption. I love being with people, and I also love spending time alone. My morning porch time, in both the winter and summer, I hold sacred. Being creative is my breath of life, and I love to read, bake bread, write, dance, organize, and taking care of loved ones and neighbors is something I hold very dear. Now that our children are young adults, I spend half of my time in The Netherlands. 

Education and earlier careers

~ I have a degree in Special Needs Care.

I worked as an assistant and substitute elementary school teacher. 

I created and ran an afterschool program for children with special needs while also working with troubled youth in a residential facility. 

~ I went to Media and Photography Academies

I ran a production company for events and National TV (human interest documentaries.)

~ ​I entered two nine-month Primer Programs called The Intimacy Project and Critical Journey​. These were focused on personal growth and formation, Spiritual Pathsways, and stages of faith, with a deep focus on engaging with various Spiritual Practices​ and creating a life rhythm with them.

~ In 2019, I received my Spiritual Direction training through Sustainable Faith.

~ In 2024, I received additional training, guiding people through the Ignatian Spiritual Exercises through the Jesuit Institute South Africa, in collaboration with Martin Institute Westmont College and Conversatio Divina.) 

~ I am enrolled in Forest Bathing Training, which I will complete at the end of 2025.

I meet with men and women and offer in-person spiritual direction in my home office, online, via phone, or in writing. I offer one-on-one spiritual direction, group spiritual direction, and the Ignatian Spiritual Exercises, as well as retreats and Pilgrimages. I engage in continued education and monthly supervision.