Jennifer Wilson Wear Hot Pink 6/22

Who knew it would be so difficult to write one's testimony. I have started and erased this at least ten times. 'Why spotlight me?',  is what I keep asking. I am just your average Joe, most days spending more time looking for my flaws instead of thanking the Lord for all the amazing blessings I have.  Thank you dear ABC family for the nomination, it is very special to me. I have always been a horrible critic of myself from my body to my abilities. I have yoyo'd on my weight my entire life. Growing up I was a small town country girl who played sports, but so did almost everyone. We had to so that we had a big enough team to compete. I was also a horse girl, showing quarter horses and eventually becoming rodeo queen my junior year of high school. Still, I was always critical of myself and the constant teasing from my peers didn't help. It wasn't until after my college years that I started to get into exercising. It became my stress relief and certainly helped me boost my self esteem. I would go in and out of gyms and continue to yoyo until I met my husband Adam in 1998 He was a fit guy and he loved me with all my flaws. I started to change my view of exercise to simply a better way of living. I wanted to be a healthier version of myself and I needed to start accepting myself as I was. I was passionate about the gym right up until two weeks before my daughter was born. Truth be told, I wanted to be so strong that brining her into the world would be a breeze. Mission accomplished! After 10 minutes from go time, she was here. Believe it or not, even that experience gave me more confidence. And now, I had a new focus in life - being the best mommy I could be. Today we have two beautiful and amazing children, Hannah Grace, 12 (you have probably seen her at the gym with me a time or two) and Elijah Cade who is 9 (this handsome man is my baseball love).  To get into shape after both of my pregnancies, I got into running. I ran with a fantastic group of people who were encouraging and really cared about my health. Seven half marathons later, I decided to hang up the running shoes because my feet and knees just couldn't take it. Fast forward about a year and my husband starts talking about this boot camp gym he had driven by many times. He had gone in and talked with Tracy for a while and he felt like this could be a good fit for us both. At this point in my husbands life, he hadn't been in the gym or exercising for quite sometime. When he got excited, I got excited and we started ABC together.  My husband no longer goes to ABC due to painful back issues, but I have found a home. A place where I feel encouraged and truly cared about. I have made some amazing friends and really learned more about taking care of my body than any of my previous 42 years.  I feel better about myself today than I ever have and I know that if I start to doubt myself or need that extra push, anyone at ABC/IACF would be there to lend a hand. I am so blessed to have found a wonderful place to be a part of and I look forward to many more years with you all. Thank you for having me as your spotlight athlete, it truly means so much to me. ❤️