08/23/2024
The beauty of what remains….
Recently I received from a former client & friend a bouquet of the most romantic flowers; beautiful garden roses, headily scented lilies, graceful eucalyptus, along with a touching note. This gift came quite unexpected as it has been a couple months now since the closing of my dream, Anthus.
I have been sitting with the grief, and with the relief, that this closing has brought. It is uncanny how those two things can intertwine. You pour your heart & soul, your finances & faith, into building what you are certain will live forever only to see it end. But has it really ended? In the physical, yes. In all the other, and I believe, more important ways, no. My dream of showing women that they deserve outrageously better love and care during their motherhood journey has been a success. I have no doubt that women felt the difference. A seed of awareness as to what could be planted. My part was well played.
Do I wish that Anthus could have remained? Of course. Would I do it all over again? I believe I would. There is a quote by Nelson Mandela that reads, “May your choices reflect your hopes, not your fears.” My belief in the value of sowing good seed into the lives of women far outweighed my fear of failure or financial losses. I believe my part is to sow my life: my talents, resources, and time where the Father leads me to. What becomes of my seed is His part. I trust Him in this. No matter what it looks like circumstantially.
I want to thank everyone who played a part, small or large, in the success of Anthus. Truly it takes a village. Thank you for sowing your seed along-side me. I am eternally grateful. I pray you felt appreciated and loved. I pray you felt the good your part produced. I pray heavy blessings fall from Heaven upon you.
To all the women who were affected by Anthus. I hope you never forget the feeling of whole-hearted, holistic healthcare and the potential that model has to meet your needs. I encourage you to seek after care that aligns with what you know, even if it is only intuitively. This is how it all started for me. I remember thinking, “Is this all there is to my appointments? Is this the best he (my doctor) can do? Why do I feel like something important is missing? What even is this missing thing?” Gosh, I had no idea then as a twenty-year-old expecting my first baby, what lay ahead! I believe those were the days the Lord was busy planting seeds in me.
So where do we go from here? What beauty remains? Ahhh, so much beauty everywhere I look! There has been a shift in women’s healthcare coming for many years. Before I became a midwife and found the answers to all those questions. Before my friend Kelli and I opened the first Birth Center back in 2002. Before Anthus. I know that these have all been steps headed in the direction of improving our local maternal healthcare options. I am so proud of myself. I am grateful God gave me courage to be a change-maker. An insecure little girl who became a force to be reckoned with! Hahaha, that is so wild. I never would have imagined my life, even in my wildest dreams.
Do you have a dream? What seed(s) has God sown in you? Please do not doubt that He has. He always does. Once you know the dream remember that you can trust our good Father with it…He placed it within you after all. Do your best to be obedient with what you have been given, the fruit of your life depends on it. Not to put too fine a point on this but the world is desperate for what you have to offer! We do not have the luxury of time for none of us know the number of our days. May your one precious life be rich with the knowledge that you have sown all that you have been given.
With love, Shanna
