In this very personal episode of Thriving Mosaic, I’m doing something a little different. What started as a simple car ride with my dog and a random shuffle on my Taylor Swift playlist turned into a profound moment of reflection.

As many of you know, I’ve been a lifelong Taylor Swift fan. Recently, with Taylor now owning her full masters, I’ve been revisiting some of her earlier albums that I had paused listening to out of honor and respect for her ownership journey. That’s when Tied Together With A Smile came on, and it stopped me in my tracks.

Even though Taylor wrote this song as a teenager, I first heard it at 28. The lyrics reflected a kind of unpretty that wasn’t about my appearance, but about my struggle to feel enough, to set boundaries, to use my own voice, and to stop performing for acceptance.

In this episode, I share a written reflection that I created with the help of my trusted GPT companion, Betty. It’s my story of how this song met me where I was, how it revealed truths I hadn’t yet spoken aloud, and how choosing to love myself has been the sacred work of coming home.

If any part of this speaks to you, please know I would be honored to hold space for your own unfolding. You can always reach out to me at stephanie@stephanieravenscraft.com.

Thank you for walking this journey with me.

Until next time, live your life on purpose.

In this episode, I share a quote that’s been sitting with me for over two years. A quote that stopped me in my tracks the moment I first read it:

“Healing also means taking an honest look at the role you play in your own suffering.”

That one sentence cracked something open in me. Not because it was easy to hear, but because it was undeniably true.

This isn’t about blame or shame. It’s about freedom. Ownership. Liberation. It’s about asking bold, honest questions like:

“Is this belief actually true?”

“Who told me this about myself?”

“And do I still want to carry that story?”

I reflect on the years I spent performing different versions of myself. Trying to be the daughter, wife, woman, and friend that others expected me to be, all while feeling completely misaligned inside. I share about the retreat that changed everything for me in 2012, when I began asking the question:

“Who does God say that I am?”

That question became the doorway to a year of deep internal reckoning and the beginning of becoming my true self.

This conversation is raw and real. I talk about trauma, limiting beliefs, the lies we absorb from culture and childhood, and how I started breaking free by choosing awareness and responsibility.

If anything in this episode stirred something inside you, I invite you to email me:

📩 stephanie@stephanieravenscraft.com

Tell me what you’ve always believed about yourself... and whether it might be time to ask, “Is it true?”

Let’s walk this journey together.

Until next time,

Live your life on purpose… fully aligned with who you were created to be.

Stephanie

This episode has been on my heart for a long time.

I’ve known I wanted to share this part of my journey, but I had to allow myself the time and emotional space to truly process what it means—to let go of a role I’ve held for so long as a mom, specifically as the “barrier” between my daughter McKenna and the world.

In today’s conversation, I take you all the way back to 2010, to the television show Parenthood, and how the character Max first opened my eyes to signs in McKenna that I hadn’t yet understood. I share how that recognition grew over the years, and how I parented with a deep intention—offering McKenna safety, advocating for her while also teaching her to advocate for herself.

And then one day, seemingly out of nowhere, it all clicked… She made a phone call to reschedule a dentist appointment, completely on her own, and it hit me—she no longer needs me in the same way.

It’s a simple thing. But it unraveled something deep within me.

This episode is about so much more than parenting. It’s about identity, transition, and permission—permission to grieve a role that’s no longer needed, even when that change is a mark of success.

I talk openly about:

• What it looked like to raise McKenna with love, presence, and discernment, without rushing toward labels or diagnoses.

• How her recent diagnosis of Level 1 Autism (formerly known as Asperger’s) helped her make sense of herself, in her own timing, on her own terms.

• What it means to let go of being the protector, the interpreter, the advocate... and to trust that I did my job well.

• The emotional paradox of feeling both celebration and grief in the same breath.

If you’re navigating any kind of identity shift—especially if you’re a parent of a neurodivergent child—I hope this episode speaks to you.

Letting go of a role is part of the process, but that doesn’t mean it’s easy.
And just because something is hard… doesn’t mean it’s wrong.

If this resonates with you—if you’ve been through something similar—I’d love to hear your story.
Email me at stephanie@stephanieravenscraft.com with the subject line "Letting Go."

This is a beautiful new chapter for McKenna.
And it’s a new chapter for me, too.

Until next time,
Live your life on purpose.