The story behind why I decided I only wanted goodness.

In February 2022, I became very sick.

For seven months, doctors ran tests and ruled out one possibility after another. I could barely eat. I lived with constant pain, dehydration and low-grade fevers, and much of my life revolved around a bathroom. Eventually, after I changed doctors, testing identified E. coli and a course of antibiotics finally treated the infection so I could begin recovering.

But by then, illness was only one part of what had fallen apart.

Everything at Once

My then-boyfriend sued me over my house. My dogs were taken from me. So was my Bentley. Friends I thought were friends disappeared when I was no longer living the same country-club lifestyle. I was thousands of miles from my Midwest family, changing jobs, leaving my home and amassing legal bills alongside medical bills.

I was angry. Hurt. Frightened. And exhausted.

At my lowest, I weighed 98 pounds. My body had become profoundly weak after months of illness and poor nutrition. Just walking stairs was difficult. Recovery involved surgeries, physical therapy, medical testing and many treatments. I had a long way to go.

I Only Wanted Goodness

Somewhere in all of that loss, something became very clear.

I did not need another Bentley. I did not want friendships built around money, status or a bottle of wine. I did not want to spend the rest of my life feeding anger about the people who hurt me.

I had consumed what this world gave me, and it was not good.

I only wanted goodness.

The Beginning of Consuming Goodness

That decision did not magically repair my body or erase everything that had happened. Medical treatment mattered. Time mattered. Recovery mattered.

But the experience changed what I valued.

I began thinking differently about what I allowed into my life: food, relationships, words, habits, thoughts, possessions, faith and the way I spent my time.

I could not control everything that happened to me. I could only become more intentional about what I chose next.

That became Consuming Goodness. That is where our company logo came from - two crosses, one holding onto the other, in the shape of an "H" (pictured).

A Different Kind of "Rich"

I once measured abundance differently.

Now, I think richness can look like peace. Family. Faith. Useful work. Garden food. Clean air. Quiet mornings. People who love you when there is nothing impressive to gain from knowing you. Letting go and letting God.

My life did not become good because nothing difficult ever happened again.

It became better because I stopped believing that more was automatically better.

I wanted less garbage. Less world. More truth. More purpose. More gratitude. More God.

I wanted goodness.

That was the beginning. Consuming Goodness.

Good in. Good out.

Love yourself, as yourself. Gal. 5:14®