MOMento #1: Jolie Anderson

Nominated by: Lindsey Coburn

My foster mom is the BEST! We met through church and she took me in when I needed a place to stay. I come from a home and biological family full of abuse and neglect. I was beaten as a child, told I was not loved, worthy of love and would never have a good life; especially not with a husband because nobody would want me. I was made to think I wasn’t worth anything and the scars on my heart and my body would tell the story of my future. Then I met Jolie. She got to know me, and I felt heard. Loved. Accepted just as I am, and most of all safe.

Her family is now my foster family and I get to see and feel the true love of people who come alongside you and want you to grow and achieve. Something I thought was not possible for my future. She and my foster dad walked me down the aisle at my wedding last summer as I married the most amazing man. They have supported me and my career and will be the most amazing grandparents to our baby. She didn’t have to take in a then 26 year old, but she did. She chose to love me, and make the biggest impact on my life. She transformed me and lead me closer to God through it all. She is steady, honest, and never afraid to tell me what I need to hear in that “mom voice.”

Her advice is always from the Bible and helps me be a better person. She is strong, passionate about helping others and an incredible role model as a wife, mother, and career woman who will always stop what she is doing if we need her. She proudly tells people she has three daughters and is a true Godsent to me. Without her, I don’t know where I would be. I finally get to feel what a functional family is like: the laughs, sarcastic comments that get the side eye from mom, the ultimate love and the door always being open. She showed me what it means to love unconditionally and turned my life around. I am excited to be a mom because I have this amazing role model in my life. I know because of her and the love and grace of our Lord, my child will be so loved unlike I was as a child. This is a true example of a MOMento. Who else takes in a 26 year old and helps them learn it is ok to take down the walls around their heart, that they don’t have to hide in their room out of constant fear of abuse and that hugs are a wonderful thing to have? She is a remarkable woman and I am proud to be her daughter!