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Continue reading →: Domestic Violence Awareness Month: I Left, But the Abuse Didn’t EndLeaving an abusive relationship doesn’t always mean the abuse ends. In this deeply personal reflection, I share my experience with post-separation abuse, the challenges of navigating legal battles while protecting my children, and the emotional toll of rebuilding life after abuse. Through years of healing, I’ve learned that my story…
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Continue reading →: Forever Seven —Five In My Arms, Two In My Heart.Five children here on earth. Two waiting in heaven. Seven forever. In honor of Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Month, I’m sharing the stories of DJ and Lyndi Grace, the two babies I never got to bring home. This is a reflection on miscarriage, motherhood, complicated grief, and the love…
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Continue reading →: Healing Takes Time: And Time Isn’t All It TakesHealing takes more than time. It requires self-awareness, intentionality, hard work, and vulnerability. In this personal reflection, I explore the lasting effects of emotional abuse, the importance of balancing hope with discernment, and the difficult work of recognizing unhealthy patterns, confronting our brokenness, and surrendering the healing process to God.
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Continue reading →: Trust: When Knowing Jesus Becomes Trusting JesusThere is a difference between knowing about Jesus and truly KNOWING Him. This reflection explores how knowing God’s character develops trust, how trust leads to obedience, and why real faith changes how we show up—even when we’re afraid and don’t know what comes next.
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Continue reading →: For Too Long, We’ve Been Told to Stay SilentI’m sharing my experiences with sexual violence and the shame, silence, and victim blaming that followed. This is about awareness, the cost of speaking out, and reminding other survivors that their stories matter.
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Continue reading →: The Light in the Broken PlacesA few months ago, during a leadership meeting at my church, we were given a prompt and asked to write a quick devotional. I wrote mine, submitted it, and honestly hadn’t thought much about it since. Then this morning, a friend sent me a screenshot of my face alongside part…
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Continue reading →: Hear — Listen — ObeyIt has been just over five years since I entered a new season in my walk with God. I had already been walking with Him, but this season felt different. There was more surrender, a greater sensitivity to His voice, and a willingness to follow where He was leading, even…
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Continue reading →: Why did she stay?If you’re a survivor of domestic violence, know that you’re strong and resilient. The strength it takes to leave and stay gone is like no other, and it’s something you don’t know you can do until you do it. If you feel like sharing, I’d love to hear why you…
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Continue reading →: Sitting With My FatherMany of you have been following along and have seen that 2026 has been a difficult year for my family. Some of you may even know just how difficult it has been. But even fewer of you know what we walked through in the year before 2026 had even come…
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Continue reading →: Healing While It Was Still HappeningThere is a version of healing that makes a beautiful story. Something terrible happens. You get out. The danger ends. You heal. I wish I could tell my story that neatly. I can’t. I began healing while some of what I was healing from was still happening. Leaving my marriage…
Hello,
I’m Katie
Welcome to Real Life with Katie Marie—a space for honest stories, authentic faith, healing, growth, and the messy beauty of becoming. Here, I share what I’ve lived, what I’m learning, and what God continues to teach me about trauma, relationships, motherhood, rebuilding, and finding purpose in the places I never expected. This isn’t about having it all figured out. It’s about showing up honestly, learning along the way, and discovering that even the hardest parts of our stories can become places of growth, connection, and hope.
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Real life is better when we don’t have to navigate it alone. Join me for new stories, reflections on faith and healing, lessons from the messy middle, and encouragement for rebuilding and becoming.
