Dear, beautiful readers, Theresa Starling is an amazing writer, a 2026 graduate of Thistle Farms, and one of the volunteer coordinators for this community.
She has sent me several pieces of her writing, and I asked her permission to share this one with you.
I hope in the midst of your summer days as you drive by Thistle, you take a moment and give thanks for all the ways that you have helped women find a way home into blossom and into beautiful thistles.
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"Beneath the words “Your journey is unfolding exactly as it should be,” a thorny thistle rests beautiful, guarded, and misunderstood. I was that thistle.
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I wore sharp edges like armor, not because I wanted to hurt anyone, but because I was trying not to be hurt. I learned to hide. Especially the parts that questioned, the parts that loved differently and longed to be seen.
Like the thistle, I grew defenses.
Some were driven by fear. Some were driven by shame. Some were stories about who I should be. Beneath every thorn there was a beautiful flower waiting to bloom.
Recovery taught me more than I ever learned while surviving:
Thistles do not shed their protection because someone demands it. They release it when they feel valued. Slowly, through recovery, prayer, community, and grace—I began laying down that armor. It was thorn by thorn and Truth by Truth.
I stopped fighting the person I was becoming. I stopped apologizing. I stopped believing that my worth depended on fitting into someone else’s box. I am still unfolding and learning to trust others and myself. The thorns no longer define me.
What defines me is the courage to be authentic, the willingness to grow through the discomfort, and the faith to believe that every twist and turn in my path has brought me closer to myself.
The thistle still stands strong, and now no longer hides its bloom. Because my journey is unfolding exactly as it should be.
I no longer fear others seeing me blossom."
- Theresa Starling
Published 6/20/26