From Broken to Blooming: My Story
So, who’s the face behind AsToldByNae? I’m so glad you asked! My middle name is Shana’e, but we’re family here, so just call me Nae. I’m a wife to my best friend of 11 years and a mama to three beautiful children. But beyond the titles, the laughs, and the occasional introverted tendencies, I’m a woman who knows what it feels like to be broken.
I didn’t grow up thinking I’d one day write about faith. In fact, for most of my life, I wasn’t even sure if God saw me. I was the girl who smiled on the outside but carried the weight of childhood trauma, rejection, father wounds, mother wounds—basically, a heart full of cracks that no amount of striving could fix. I know what it’s like to feel unwanted, rejected, misunderstood, too much for people, and too broken to ever be fixed. I’ve wrestled with shame, condemnation, anxiety, depression, and hopelessness, wondering if freedom was even possible for someone like me. I tried. Oh, I tried. Therapy, relationships, perfectionism, people-pleasing—you name it. And for 22 years, pain was my only constant.
Then, I met Him.
Not the “fixer-upper” version of God I had created in my head. Not the distant, disappointed figure I imagined whenever I messed up. But the God of deliverance. The God who saw the real me—the bitter, angry, insecure, and exhausted version—and still called me worthy. He met me at rock bottom and set me free in a way that no therapist, no relationship, no self-help method ever could. And with Him, I’ve learned that nothing I’ve been through has been wasted. Every tear, every scar, every dark moment—it all had purpose. And the same is true for you.
But let me be real—just because I gave my life to Jesus didn’t mean everything magically fell into place overnight. I had a lot of unlearning and learning to do. God still had to deliver me from things I didn’t even realize I was carrying, and even now, He’s still actively healing areas I thought were already “fixed.” I used to think perfection was the goal, that if I could just get it together then I’d be worthy of God’s love. But that was never His plan for me. Perfectionism wasn’t His goal—freedom was.
And let me be clear—I’m not here to push my story onto you like some one-size-fits-all solution. Healing is messy, nonlinear, and full of ebbs and flows. Some days, you feel like you’ve finally made it to the other side. Other days, you’re face-to-face with wounds you thought had healed. It’s frustrating. It’s uncomfortable. But that doesn’t mean you aren’t growing. I know what it’s like to roll your eyes at the idea of “letting God heal you” when everything else you’ve tried has left you disappointed. But I also know what it’s like to finally find the missing piece. That’s why I write. Not to preach. Not to pressure. But to offer a perspective you may not have considered.
AsToldByNae is for the women who feel unseen. The ones who’ve tried everything else and are still left with the residue of their past. The ones who are tired of fighting alone. Here, we talk about faith, identity, healing, relationships, and the journey to freedom—with zero shame and a whole lot of honesty. You’re going to get the raw, unfiltered, transparent, and vulnerable parts of my journey, because I refuse to walk in shame about what God has already redeemed. I don’t have all the answers, but I do have a testimony. And if my story can help give language to your own struggles, then every word I write is worth it.
So, if you’ve ever felt like the flower that somehow grew in the middle of rocky, broken ground—welcome. You’re in the right place.
How precious are your thoughts about me, O God. They cannot be numbered! I can’t even count them; they outnumber the grains of sand! And when I wake up, you are still with me!
Psalms 139:17-18
AsToldByNae is for the women who feel unseen. The ones who’ve tried everything else and are still left with the residue of their past. The ones who are tired of fighting alone. Here, we talk about faith, identity, healing, relationships, and the journey to freedom—with zero shame and a whole lot of honesty. You’re going to get the raw, unfiltered, transparent, and vulnerable parts of my journey, because I refuse to walk in shame about what God has already redeemed. I don’t have all the answers, but I do have a testimony. And if my story can help give language to your own struggles, then every word I write is worth it.
So, if you’ve ever felt like the flower that somehow grew in the middle of rocky, broken ground—welcome. You’re in the right place.
