I Had Plans… Then Cancer Happened | A New Season About Coming Back to Yourself

Life doesn't always go according to plan.

A few months ago, I stepped away from the microphone to focus on my family as my husband faced serious heart health challenges. Then, my own life changed overnight with a diagnosis of triple-negative breast cancer.

In this deeply personal relaunch episode, I'm sharing where I've been, what this unexpected season has taught me, and why The Laundry Room Diaries is entering a brand-new chapter centered around one message: Come Back to Yourself.

This isn't just a conversation about cancer. It's about navigating life's unexpected detours with faith, finding peace in the middle of uncertainty, and discovering that sometimes the hardest seasons become the ones that bring us back to what matters most.

Whether you're walking through a health journey, rebuilding after loss, feeling burned out, or simply longing for a fresh start, I hope this episode reminds you that your story isn't over.

In this episode, we'll talk about:

• Why I stepped away from the podcast
• The lessons I'm learning through cancer and healing
• What "Come Back to Yourself" means in this season of life
• The new vision for The Laundry Room Diaries
• Finding hope, purpose, and God's faithfulness one day at a time

Thank you for joining me for this new beginning. I'm so grateful you're here.

Until next time, keep coming back to yourself—one day, one prayer, one step at a time.

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 1:30

Hello, friend. I've missed this. Welcome back to the Laundry Room Diaries. It's been so long since we've had a chat and a lot has happened. But I'm so glad you're here today. And if you're brand new, welcome. I'm glad you found your way here with me. My name is Angela. I'm a mom of seven, a wife, an entrepreneur. I love sunsets by my lake. I love creating beautiful things with my art. But guys, today I'm going to talk to you about something that's different. I'm a woman right now in a season of life that is learning to trust God in every step of the way, even when life doesn't go as it's planned. And so today's episode feels a little weird, a little off, a little different. It's not just a new season. It's not just a new episode. It's a new way for me to live my life because a lot's happened since we last chatted. For many of you, you followed me on social media, and I've wanna say thank you for all the kind messages, the reaching out. I so appreciate it, and I read every single one of them. And so many of you have been following this journey since the beginning of the year where my husband started the year off with some health issues, and we had to navigate all of those needs along with mom life and business life to right before my son's senior graduation. I heard words that I believe no woman is ever prepared to hear. I was told you have breast cancer, it's aggressive,

Welcome Back And What Changed

SPEAKER_00 2:59

and we've got to move swiftly. I don't think I can still process saying that without still feeling a little bit of that gut punch that came that day with those words, you have breast cancer. But I know in one appointment everything changed for me. My schedule changed, my priorities changed. Guys, the way I looked at tomorrow changed. All of a sudden I was trying to understand what I had to do to get healthy so I could be here long term and to beat this. And so it became very different, very quick. And somehow, in the middle of all of that, I still had to be mom and keep on living my life. Now, when life doesn't go as planned, you know, I wish there was some amazing thing to say, but for me, I'm a planner, it's stressful. And so, if I'm being honest, I had completely different plans for this year. I had plans, I had I was getting ready to launch new business things, I had a retreat on the books. Um, I I had a barn boutique where you know I've got travel books for our family. We had plans by our lake with family and friends. I had a full calendar. And when life happens and all of a sudden that calendar is no longer what you're looking at, it became very overwhelming to me. And instead, I started

Hearing The Breast Cancer Diagnosis

SPEAKER_00 4:21

putting oncology appointments on the calendar, blood scans, blood work, um, you know, doctor's visits, and my cardiologist, I'm meeting with cardiologists and oncologists, and all of a sudden my fun schedule wasn't so fun. But I do think the one thing I learned through this, and that's what I wanted to really unpack today, is what God is teaching me in this season as a planner who has this idea of how things are to go, and then life kind of throws you a curveball, um, is that God kept reminding me that you don't need six months to plan. You don't need six months, you don't need six weeks. You really just need today. And I think that's become one of the greatest lessons of this season so far. Because, you know, when we stay present in today, we see God's faithfulness and little miracles. Every day when I wake up, I'm looking at how he's moving in my life, whether it's a good lab report, a beautiful sunset, a meal dropped off by a friend, just a quiet moment at peace, a text message that comes at that perfect time, all those things have become everything. And if I was so busy looking at the calendar so far ahead, honestly, how many times have I missed those perfect little miracles God serves up? And so, as a teacher, as a as a coach, um, I always have a lesson. And so, what has cancer been teaching me? Guys, cancer has changed a lot of things, it has changed a lot of how I show up in my life, about what I want out of my life and what I have for my family. But the one thing

Learning To Live Only Today

SPEAKER_00 6:07

it hasn't changed is who God is. I am just strangely enough reminded so much of how great He is, and because of that, I'm finding out who I really am. And I think that's the beautiful silver lining moment of this season for me. For years, I've spent a career just teaching women how to build businesses, and I love that. I love that. That is my heart and my passion. Um, and I still believe women can create income and purpose and freedom. But the the season that has taught me something even more that's more, or I'd say more important, is that before we build businesses or we build that brand or we set that goal or we, you know, whatever it is that we have audaciously out there, we have to focus on how we want to build our life. Not because life isn't healthy and peaceful and rooted. Um, if we don't have those things in place, nothing matters. And honestly, when I look back, I was chasing all the dreams, the brands, the goals, and and I was very blessed with success, but it almost always felt like it was never enough. And it's because I wasn't focused on the right thing, and so cancer has this strange way of stripping away everything that isn't essential, and it reminded me that health is a gift, right? Time is precious, relationships matter. Faith isn't just something we talk about only when life is easy, and it carries us when life is so hard. I think coming back to yourself, the theme that kind of resonated to my podcast and my brand before my diagnosis was God's hand in this message and this movement that I want to really kind of carry forward. You know, oddly, just a few days before I had that appointment with that diagnosis, I had some clarity. I'd been praying and asking, you know, the Lord to help give me that clarity for what's next and how to use me to serve Him. And I came up with this theme for my podcast because I'm in this midlife journey where my kids aren't littles anymore. And I thought, you know, this is a season of coming back to myself and building where I'm at today,

Building A Life Before Business

SPEAKER_00 8:29

giving grace to who I am, loving who I am, and then going forward with that. And I felt like that was just such a beautiful message, especially for women in the midlife. And that's where come back to yourself started to emerge. And so you probably had heard me talk about come back to yourself. You know, when I first started using that phrase, it I was really trying to let reference slowing down from burnout because that's where I was at and feeling in my business and life. Um, finding some clarity, rediscovering my purpose. But today, somehow it's much deeper. Coming back to myself is remembering that your identity identity isn't found in your career, it's not even found in your diagnosis, it's not found in your accomplishments, it's not found with what people think of you. Your identity is found in who God says you are: beloved, chosen, strong, and never

Coming Back To Yourself And Identity

SPEAKER_00 9:29

alone. And I love that. I think the fact that that's resonated the most with me is that when you sit with him in these times in life, you get such clarity on who he's created you to become. The truth, he's carried me through some really difficult days, guys. And I'm feeling many of you might need to be reminded of that too. Maybe your story isn't cancer, maybe it's a divorce, maybe it's grief, financial stress, I don't know, maybe you're an empty nester, a struggling marriage, do you struggle with depression, losing a job, whatever your heart is? I just want this podcast to be a place for you to feel seen, a place where you can breathe, a place where you can remember that your story isn't over. You know, for me, uh, what can you expect this season? I feel like I'm just kind of easygoing, not like I used to be. Go with the flow, Angie, here. This podcast has changed because I've changed. Every week we're gonna have some honest conversations about life. We're gonna talk about faith, healing, wellness, midlife, all those mom moments, guys. Purpose, creating beautiful spaces and places and memories and moments, building businesses that support our life instead of consuming them, family, marriage, friendship. Yeah, and I can't turn my page on my podcast. And yes, I'll continue to share my cancer journey with you as I walk through it. Not because I want cancer to define me, but because I know someone listening is walking through something hard, and maybe my story will remind them that they're not walking alone. Some episodes will be practical, others will be deeply personal, and some will simply feel like two girlfriends sitting on a porch, sipping some tea, and watching the sunset. And honestly, those are usually my favorite types of conversations, anyway. So, in closing, guys, before we end today's episode, I just want to leave you with one thought. Life may not look the way you've planned, mine certainly doesn't. I've discovered that sometimes God does He does his deepest work in

What To Expect This Season

SPEAKER_00 11:48

chapters we would have never chosen. He's still writing, he's still healing, and he's still restoring. And maybe he's inviting you to come back to yourself. Thank you for spending a little time with me today in the conversation, encouraging you. I would ask you if this is something that has spoken to you, send it to a girlfriend. Send it to someone who's on your heart who might need a little hope. And you can also join me as we continue to walk out this journey together. Until next time, friend, keep coming back to yourself one day, one prayer, and one step at a time.