Michelle A. Smullen

Hello beautiful people! Thank you so much for sharing your time with me.

In addition to being a woman after God’s own heart, I am the wife of a wonderful man and the mother of our two amazing children who are truly lights in darkness. For over 20 years I have served professionally in various capacities of healthcare and it still brings me joyful fulfillment to help patients and their families, as well as my family of healthcare professionals achieve their next level of living and being better.

As I came to realize that my life is truly not my own, I officially accepted my call into gospel ministry and was licensed in May 2015. With humility, compassion for people, and fire for God, I serve as an associate minister at Mt. Sinai Baptist Church in Virginia Beach, VA. as well as a youth mentor of the Chosen Generation Youth Ministry. My love for children and their wellbeing is overwhelming and infectious. I am very grateful to labor among people who are friends to all mankind.

Although it was not my end goal (I just wanted to learn more about God’s Word) In 2018, it was an honor to receive a Bachelor of Arts degree in ministry from the Center of Joy School of Ministry and in December 2019, after eight long years and changing my degree program 3 times, I REJOICEFULLY received a Bachelor of Science degree in Public Health from South University.

I remain compelled through faith to advocate for mental health awareness and suicide prevention, especially in the youth and young adult populations. I believe that “every person deserves opportunities to be mentally well.” My desire is to improve the health of communities by bringing awareness to mental health illness and how it impacts overall health. Addressing stigmas surrounding mental illness, recognizing and overcoming barriers to seeking treatment, incidence and prevalence, understanding the detrimental impact trauma can have on a person’s life, and rebuilding the structure of “family” as a whole are all specific areas of interest that drive my commitment to cry out and sound the alarm on this public health crisis. As I continue to learn the relevance of informing, educating, and empowering people, the more I realize how these elements influence the quality of life and the influence they have on one’s perspective of how they live.

In 2018, in my endeavor to complete my ministry degree, It was a requirement that I write a thesis paper. Although I developed a love for writing at an early age , I never engaged in the idea of becoming a published writer until now. My love for writing would shine through and it would be that thesis paper that would manifest as a creation to bring hope from a traumatic experience of pain. In the midst of knowing you have some decisions to make, what do you do when what you are feeling and thinking is not aligning with what God is saying? As a newly published author, I share my heart in my first published work, Freedom to Love After the Hurt. This thesis turned devotional is my personal journey to overcoming the fear to love freely after the hurt that marital infidelity has caused.

I have found my purpose in the words of Isaiah 61:1-3. For it was during the “perfect storm” of my life that I discovered that my immense love for helping people and feeling the heaviness of their burdens is indeed divinely orchestrated. God has chosen and anointed me to proclaim His Word to bring hope and freedom to the hopeless; giving them a crown of beauty for their ashes, all for the display of His glory. Yes, it was the experience of my own pain and brokenness that keeps me at the feet of Jesus; ultimately leading me to the unveiling of my God given purpose. Unashamed, unafraid, and unapologetic, I consider myself an image of God’s love and there is absolutely NOTHING better than knowing I am enough because I am a daughter of The King of Kings. It is with my life that I want men, women, girls, and boys to see and experience for themselves the depths of God’s love and an amazing abundant life in Jesus Christ.