I am a wife, mother of six, and grandmother of six.   I worked as a Chaplain, Ordained Minister, and Biblical Teacher in the Transitional Centers of prison systems from Georgia to Texas.  I served as a Crisis and Grief Counselor, Public Speaker, and Mediator within family systems, domestic, and homeless shelters in Houston, and surrounding areas for six years involving Star of Hope, Pregnancy Help Center, Crosspoint Community, and GuidePost.  I had a passion for working with the youth, so I concentrated my volunteer time in Youth ministry for thirty-seven years. I worked as a paid school bus driver for five of those years.  I loved that work!  I served on a worship team as a vocalist, teacher, and leader for a combination of years.  My background didn’t stop at the youth.  My love for the elderly was proven by the years of certified nursing assistance work in nursing homes, and medical facilities for over twelve years working alongside my mother in Chelation clinics, and often siblings who were and are LVNs or medical assistants as well.  I still continue to visit the elderly as much as possible when I can.

In 2020 we were hit with the pandemic that brought everything to a halt, including my passion to serve in the community with autoimmune issues that completely took over my physical well-being and ability to walk.  Originally that year, I was working as an All Lines Claims Adjuster and Insurance agent with a desire to help people by protecting their assets.  The field became challenging as my health had started declining and I could no longer serve that form of work.  I returned to school in 2020 to complete my Bachelor of Science degree in Criminology while working as an Insurance Agent as much as possible.  However, my battle was just beginning like a bullet train heading straight for me with no brakes!  I found myself suffering severe chronic pain unlike I had ever experienced.  My ability to walk began to deteriorate faster by the minute. It was during that time that I like most began to deal with triggers that needed remedy, so I developed one.  I began painting utilizing paint-by-numbers.  The inability to purchase more of them happened and I would begin to transform the PBN into my work.  It was then my husband decided to surprise me with my first original art painting set since I was a teen.  It had been over 40 years since I had free-styled painted.  I found the act of painting to be completely soothing, and unbelievably renewing to my soul and that is when I found how art worked to rehabilitate and remediate much that I was experiencing during the shutdown.  That is when I decided to educate myself on the benefits of art to help others experience what I have found to be such a lifesaver!  As the evidence of mental health, addictions, and domestic disorder issues increased internationally I became consumed with gaining as much knowledge as I could on managing stress and anxiety to work in the arena of mental health and rehabilitation.  I enrolled in more education. I could not wait to get out there and save the world!  I wanted to make a lasting impact somehow.  However, I was battling with issues that severely needed attention and I had to save myself first.  I had already been fully working on my spiritual, and mental health, but my physical health was deteriorating with bad habits, and ignoring the warning flags.  I felt I would not live another year.  It took desperation to seek help and keep searching and asking to get better.  After seeing eight specialists, wrong diagnosis, and more I found myself in a tailspin of frustration, disappointment, and hopelessness!  It wasn’t until I saw my Cardiologist that my physical life began to change.  It wasn’t devastating news of the condition of my heart, but more about the condition of my doctor's heart.  He had true empathy.  His words penetrated through my pain and gave me a reason to keep trying.  He treated me with a lens of compassion.  This catapulted me into doing whatever it took to get my life back but better.  This meant resetting my entire body through counseling, spiritual direction, Faithwalking courses, ongoing transformational sessions, nutrition, and surgery!

This past year began my journey through surgeries.  The first one was a total hip replacement on September 6, 2023.  The second was right hand and right elbow on January 15th, 2024, and the third one most recently on the left hand, left elbow, and muscular area on May 31, 2024.  I am about to have my other hip replacement in November.  I can understand deeply what you are experiencing.  I am in that arena still!  Every day brings new challenges to get through.  But we can get through by taking micro-steps and staying on course and setting ablaze a path to ignite wellness inside and out!

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Brenda A. Graff

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