Meet Ella!
Hey friends, I’m Ella — 23 years old, caffeine-dependent, Jesus-loving, and learning how to do this whole “being human” thing one messy step at a time. I love lifting weights almost as much as I love lifting up honest conversations. Writing and therapy are two of my favorite places to be vulnerable, because pretending to have it all together was… let’s just say, not my spiritual gift.
I started this blog because Jesus quite literally saved my life — pulling me out of an eating disorder, depression, and trauma, and rewriting a story I thought was too broken. Now, I get to tell it. I nanny for three littles who I love like my own, study psychology and social work at Samford University, and fiercely show up for my people. I also cohost a podcast called The Un-Fun Friends, where we talk about the messy stuff no one puts on their highlight reel.
If you’re looking for perfect, this isn’t the place. But if you’re looking for real — the kind with grace, depth, heaviness, laughter, and a few too many late-night thoughts — welcome to the blog.
How It Started
Simply put, this blog started because of the merciful move of Jesus to save my life. During high school and shortly after I graduated, I walked through intensive treatment for an eating disorder, anxiety, and depression. Most days I thought, and even wished, my struggles would be the death of me. But God.
I believed, and still believe, that the Lord had purpose for His growing kingdom through my suffering. I know my passion to help and serve and nurture others was deepened through the pain. So, in July of 2020, I launched my blog, My Beautiful Scars. There I shared my testimony, what I was learning in therapy, and what God was revealing to me in my day to day living. Not all of the posts from the first attempt at blogging have made it through this remodeling process, and those that have may have some edits!
Renaming my blog from My Beautiful Scars to To My First Love was an important change as I obeyed God’s call to further surrender my past. I have walked out of the life of focus on the pain and hurt and trial, and into a life of acknowledging the struggle, but focusing on the One who pulls me from the pit, places me on solid ground, breathes life into my dry bones, and gives me a new song to sing.
To my First Love,
My “thank You” could never be enough. May my every day be an altar of Your love, grace, and truth. And as I remember what You have saved me from, I pray that my only response would be to fall to my knees.
Amen
