In this episode of Through Deep Waters with Monique and Martha, we lean into the truth of Isaiah 61:3—how God gives us beauty for ashes, joy for mourning, and praise for despair. Our guest, Michele Smith, entrepreneur, health and wellness coach, podcast host of Finding Your Fit, and founder of The Midlife Mandate, shares her journey of faith and resilience.

Michelle opens up about navigating midlife transitions, finding purpose, and helping women rise with strength, hope, and courage. She reminds us that restoration is possible even in our hardest seasons and offers practical tools for embracing faith, fitness, and financial wisdom.

Scripture: Isaiah 61:3
Theme: Beauty from Ashes – Restoration, Hope & New Beginnings

Whether you’re facing a season of loss, change, or uncertainty, this conversation will inspire you to trust that God is writing something new and beautiful from your story.

Connect with Michelle:

In this deeply personal birthday-month episode, I open up about what it means to grieve the mother I never had—while celebrating the woman I’ve become at 52.

I talk candidly about growing up in a home marked by trauma, unpredictability, and unmet emotional needs. My parents, like so many, were caught in cycles of generational dysfunction they never named... and so they never broke them. It took me standing up and saying, “This ends with me.”

Through God’s grace, I’ve learned to mother myself, raise my children differently, and become the kind of woman who helps others heal their past to create a better future. In this episode, I reflect on how God has faithfully used what was meant for harm and turned it into a testimony of hope and purpose.

You’ll hear:

• Why holidays like Mother’s Day and Christmas still carry mixed emotions

• How I’m learning to create new memories with the family I’ve chosen

• The ache I feel when others talk about the parents they had, and how I’ve turned that pain into deep, intentional love for others

• A powerful tool you can use today to reflect on your own journey

• A guest segment from my daughter Madison, who shares what it was like to grow up with a cycle-breaking mom

Whether you’ve experienced generational trauma or are simply walking through grief that’s hard to explain. This episode will remind you: God does not waste your story.

💛 “You intended to harm me, but God intended it all for good…” (Genesis 50:20, NLT)

🔔 Be sure to subscribe, share with someone who needs this, and join the waitlist for my upcoming book, Letters to Monique: A Journey of Breaking Generational Trauma.

www.moniquemyers.org