Life’s circumstances can either define or refine you. Theresa has certainly been provided with a number of challenging events that could have defined her life. For instance, her mother was very young and gave her up for adoption as a baby. At fourteen her adoptive mother lost a long battle with cancer. This event, once again, reinforced her feelings of abandonment. Wandering undisciplined through life, she happened upon exercise as a way to lose weight and gain energy. Soon after, her skills were recognized and she began teaching fitness classes. Four years later, Theresa was teaching twenty or more classes a week and owned five aerobic studios. She began to experience high fevers and extreme exhaustion and for a year the Doctors dismissed her as a hypochondriac or a flake. Finally, after a second heart catherization, the Doctors discovered a hole in her heart. At 24, the hole in her heart was closed with open heart surgery and she was back teaching classes in four weeks. The Doctors said, “Exercise saved your life.”

Theresa was physically whole and productive but spiritually her life remained chaotic and unrefined. God continued to pursue Theresa and after an exercise class, one of her students approached Theresa about the joy of the Lord. She was reluctant at first but the student persisted and later that day, Theresa, came to know the Lord. Once again, through exercise, the Lord saved her life.

At 28 Theresa’s family grew from four to six with the birth of twin sons. Not long after their birth, Theresa was abandoned again, this time by her husband. With a life shaped by faith, Theresa raised her children depending on God’s provision. She chose not to depend on the government and Jesus provided a wonderful bounty through believers and fellow church members.  After four years of praying for a Godly man to help father her children, her prayers were answered and she remarried. In 1996 their family of nine began a new journey in service to the Lord. More recently, Theresa listened closely to the Lord’s warning and had her heart thoroughly evaluated. Initially her Doctor said everything was fine with her surgically repaired heart but she continued to sense an urging from the Lord. After several other tests with another Doctor, it was discovered that the previous hole had re-opened. The right side of her heart was twice the size of a healthy heart and open heart surgery would once again be necessary. In September of 2007 Doctor Carla Christian, a pediatric cardiac surgery, led her team of physicians in the repair of Theresa’s heart. The repairs were extensive and included moving an artery to the other side of her heart but Dr. Christian was confident Theresa’s heart was strong enough to weather the procedure. The huge smile on Dr Christians’ face said it all when meeting with the family after the procedure.

Theresa credits God for filling the holes in her heart. She believes in the process of connecting the spirit, mind and body to maximize health. The goal of this process is called Whole Person Wellness.