Come meet your host Allison Sherman in this introductory episode to the Let Your Heart Grow podcast.
Allison will introduce you to the events of childhood that impacted her most, her love of psychology, her journey through foster care, and her love of her Savior.
Allison opens up and shares what led her to start her podcast and what her desire is for each of her listeners as they go on this journey with her.
Pull up a chair … it is time to let your heart grow!
I shared that I am a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints as I shared a little bit about myself in this episode. To learn more about my religious beliefs visit churchofjesuschrist.org.
I mentioned the Inklings Institute with Emily Belle Freeman. Inklings is a community of women who gather weekly to study the words of ancient and modern prophets. Thursday mornings Emily hosts an Instagram live and presents a study/devotional to discuss that week’s talk and scriptures. To learn more visit their official site.
Note: Transcripts are automatically generated and therefore might occasionally have errors.
Hello, friends.
This is Alison Sherman.
And you are here for my first official podcast.
0:23
I am so excited.
Nervous thrilled.
And all of the other emotions that you have chosen to be here with me today.
Thank you.
I thought it would take time in this first episode to introduce myself to each of you and then tell you what led me to start.
0:44
Let your heart grow.
I wasn’t sure what you’d want to know about me, so I decided to start with the basics.
I’m a single mom who works a full-time job during the day, sitting at a desk.
My nights loving, all my to Crazy daughters.
And in my spare time, I’m simply trying to live a life that would make my savior proud.
1:06
I was born in Aurora Colorado to a single mom who was a member of the United States Army.
My Early Childhood was spent between living with my mom at various places around the United States or spending months at a time with my grandparents at their home in Upstate New York.
1:22
I had a childhood that was full of learning and Imagination.
I hated to wear shoes, and I tried to go barefoot, much to my mother’s dismay and I carried a 110 camera everywhere.
I went taking pictures of the things that fascinated me or at least as many as 24 frames of film would allow.
1:45
Most of the time you could find me somewhere, reading a book or I would be playing dress up and dancing around my backyard pretending to be Maria from The Sound of Music.
I wanted to be friends with characters like Mary Poppins and Shirley Charlotte The Spider, and the pevensey siblings and the land of Narnia.
2:05
It was a good childhood full of family and friends and wonderful memories.
There are a few specific things that happened during my childhood, the play into why I am doing this podcast, so I would like to take a moment to expand on those.
The first is that at the age of nine, the Army sent my mom to Loser, Germany for her next assignment.
2:28
There was just something about being in Germany that spoke to my soul.
I think it was you know everything from the beautiful green countryside’s, the amazing food.
The flaky pastries going to the little candy shops with all the variety of sweets, the beautiful cathedrals, and castles writing trains everywhere.
2:52
In the three years, we lived in Germany.
We had many opportunities to travel to the nearby countries and see places all over Europe, including Austria, Switzerland, France, Italy Liechtenstein the Netherlands, and more we even visited England, and each place was so different from each other, from the language to the culture yet, there was something similar and very familiar.
3:23
These experience, instilled in me.
A love of people and places and the desire to learn and experience all that those around me, could teach me.
It is probably why I still love to travel.
The next is that at the age of seven while living in Maryland my mom started looking for a new church for us to a dead end until that point I had been raised and a denomination of Baptist and I was attending Bible study.
3:53
I went to Bible Camp during the Summers.
I love the stories from the Bible of Moses Noah, Esther Jonah.
Well, when she was trying to find a place, she decided to talk to her coworkers and one told her that he knew a church that she could try and we decided to go.
4:16
It was the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
My mother was straightforward when the missionaries were introduced to us as she wanted to take her time and she would not be rushed.
I knew immediately that I liked what they were sharing, I would still there.
4:33
Flip charts and I’d retell the stories of Joseph Smith.
And the restored gospel, my young heart knew but they were sharing was true.
I was baptized at the age of eight as a member of the church that decision has been one of the most impactful decisions of my life.
4:55
I had a testimony of the Gospel.
But I had a great love for my savior and all decisions since then have been impacted by that, love of my savior.
And this is what letter family to move to Utah when my mom retired.
5:13
I wanted to go to school at the University of Utah and so my mom decided that that would be the place for us to go that particular dream took a little bit of a detour that I’ll expand on in a moment.
Instead I ended up attending Snow College any from Utah.
5:31
Then after leaving snow, I was called to serve as a full-time missionary for the church and the Indiana Indianapolis mission.
After my mission, I started to wonder what it was.
I wanted to do with my life, I really didn’t know what career was right.
5:48
So I started doing jobs in administrative type positions, like secretaries admin assistants, I’m specialist and things like that and then, in my spare time, I volunteered for a variety of organizations and desire to help make the world just a little bit better.
6:06
I was a public relations person for you too.
Junior, Miss, which is now known as distinguished.
Russian woman of Utah.
I worked in the Best Friends.
Animal Sanctuary kit Nursery during its pilot program year.
I helped feed and care for baby kittens so that they could grow healthy and be adopted into homes.
6:24
I helped with the local food bank and I did other programs at my full-time job.
Like heading up the paynus on food, rise and sub for Santa donations.
I had a good life but something felt like it was missing and all honesty.
6:41
I struggled because all I’d ever wanted was to be a wife and mother and raise a family and it seemed that was not going to happen for me.
The day came where I had an experience that led me to becoming a foster parent.
I never even considered fostering before, but once I learned about it, the idea wouldn’t leave me.
7:00
I said a prayer and ask my hand father to guide me.
This decision would change my life.
Over the time, I’ve been a foster parent.
I’ve had nine children come into my home.
This experience, not only gave me the opportunity to become a mother, but opened my heart and I grew in ways I never expected.
7:19
Fostering was amazing and great and it’s one of the best things I’ve ever done.
It was also heartbreaking challenging and that tried me to the Core.
I’ve been blessed to become the adoptive mother of two beautiful daughters.
7:36
Who are my pride and joy.
I hope to share with you more about my foster care experiences in the future.
The work I was doing in foster care, gave me the desire to go back to school.
And 2015, I started at Salt Lake Community College where I earned an associate’s degree in Psychology and then I went on to enroll at the University of Utah, goats after 20 years at a bit of a detour, I finally attended there and earned my bachelor’s degree, this time.
8:06
Also in psychology.
Since graduating in 2020 due to the pandemic, I didn’t go down the path.
I did originally predicted instead a few other things happen with your brought me to where I am today during the covid.
8:21
Pandemic, my entire world changed as it did for many of you without going into the specifics, something happened in the summer 2021.
The led me to being diagnosed with attention deficit, hyperactivity disorder, otherwise known as ADHD, this was a bit of a shock.
8:38
Chuck and did take some time to process, but the knowledge empowered me in many ways, it gave me purpose, a voice options that I didn’t even know I needed and overall it gave me a sense of peace with a person.
I am it wasn’t an easy adjustment going through that process of trying to figure out medications and treatment.
9:00
It was hard.
And it led to an impulsive decision that ended up hurting someone.
I cared about very much and I was filled with shame and guilt.
I hated myself.
I thought I would never do something like I had done.
9:20
And the guilt consumed me and I didn’t know how to go forward.
Or if I even wanted to.
Thankfully, I had two beautiful daughters the depended on me.
Which gave me the push that I needed.
I’ve been basically hiding in my home for a few days.
9:39
But on that Sunday, we had our primary program.
For those of you that don’t know, this is the annual program, our congregation does each year where the children’s present music and talk I was one of the teachers.
So not only did I have to go for them, but I had to set up on the stand and help them as a meeting was opening and we were preparing to partake of the sacrament.
10:03
I opened up my phone to find a gospel, talk to read.
When I opened the Gospel Library app there already was a Taco open.
It was by Thomas, S Monson.
As I read the words that were on my screen, I felt the spirit in a way I never had before.
10:23
I felt completely loved.
Now, before I go forward, I want to clarify this.
I knew that he loved his children.
I know that he loved everyone, I knew that he loved you, but for some reason, I struggle to believe that his love applied to me.
10:44
Not because of him but because of me experiences in my life had given me the impression that I wasn’t worthy of that, kind of love.
I doubted that I was capable of being truly loved.
And I’ll honestly, I’m a bit surprised.
11:00
I’m sharing this, but I’m trying to be more open about my insecurities and how I’ve been feeling for a very long time.
That day, the rest of church was a blur.
I don’t really remember anything for the next two hours.
After coming home, I fed my children and started our daily quiet time.
11:20
I open my notebook, that I use for The inklings Institute.
If you did not know what this is, I highly recommend you.
Look it up, Emily Bell, Freeman, host a weekly discussion related to a talk from our churches, General Conference.
Along with scripture study, As I was listening to that weeks devotional, the topic was on Grace.
11:42
In the middle of that devotional, I can feel the spirits around me and it is like I could hear the words whispering to me, I love you.
These experiences on that single day, changed, me feeling the love from my heavenly father, instilled, a sense of peace and confidence within me that I had never known before.
12:05
Here we are about nine months later and I am no longer the same person.
I felt my father’s forgiveness for the poor choice that I had made.
And I knew that he loved me.
I felt a sense of peace and hope and I felt driven to strengthen my testimony and build a deeper relationship with my savior.
12:26
I craved my time in the scriptures.
The more I consumed, his words and knowledge, the more I wanted.
In the past, it had been so easy to not have time.
But then, all of a sudden time was available to me to read the scriptures.
12:46
I made it.
The thing is, the more I read, the more, I felt my heart changed.
I felt this desire to forgive grudges, I had held onto from my past and I noticed a change in my current relationships.
13:09
I have never felt as much peace in my life as I have recently.
And for that, I am grateful.
I’m not going to say that I’m perfect.
I’m not going to say that life is perfect.
There are still challenges but the more I try to be like him and the more I strive to let him Prevail in my life.
13:26
The more I’ve been able to let go of anxiety frustrations and the negative things that hold me back.
The more progress I see in myself, the happier I am.
Something to keep in mind though is that when you feel like you want to try to live more like the Savior, he’s going to test your willingness and dedication to this idea.
13:51
For a few years I have felt Impressions that the Lord wanted to use my voice for a purpose.
I’ve tried a few different things, but in all honesty, nothing’s felt right?
I kind of just let it go for my mind but then just prior to Christmas I had friends say things to me, the reminded me of the promptings that I had received in the past.
14:15
Instead of trying to figure it out on my own, this time, I decided to ask him what it was that he had in mind for me.
And if you ask he will answer you just have to prepare yourself for whatever answer.
He’s going to give you I believe he wanted me to share my story and some of my life experiences to help others.
14:37
The idea of a podcast was shared by a friend in the past, and when I prayed it, immediately felt right, I’ll admit to being resistant for a few months, but here I am.
I’m trying something new.
Something that terrifies me.
We’ll see how it goes.
14:54
As I prayed for what to pick for a theme, for the podcast, I received another direct answer, three times actually, and one weekend to focus on being an ally and Advocate to help people understand that.
Just because something is different.
15:11
It doesn’t mean it’s scary or bad instead.
I want to focus on helping people.
Understand that differences are an excellent opportunity to learn To grow and to open ourselves to new friendships.
I want to empower people to love themselves to see themselves through a new lens.
15:33
And most importantly, empowering people to make more room at the table so for every person you meet there is a place for them to sit.
As this podcast continues, I plan to have episodes offered every other week.
Some episodes will just be myself, sharing stories and experiences from my life to help you consider new ideas and thoughts.
15:55
Other ones will have guests will have a story to share that will help you see things from the perspective that they’ve learned and help us learn how to love better.
To find purpose when things aren’t going.
As we might hope or to understand a Viewpoint that might be different than the one you have.
16:13
Always had.
Thank you for being here with me today.
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