The Most Powerful Spiritual Experience of My Life

I Saw It All: The Moment Everything Clicked

I saw it all.

Not in a vague, “maybe one day” kind of way, but in a clear, undeniable, this is actually happening kind of way.

A retreat in the most beautiful place. Dozens of moms gathered together. The Happy Mom Collective fully alive in a way I had never quite let myself imagine before.

And the craziest part is that it didn’t start with a big moment.

It started with a quiet tug at a vineyard six months earlier.

The Beginning I Didn’t Realize Was the Beginning

Last week, I had one of the most intense, full-body spiritual experiences of my life. It’s only the second time something this powerful has happened to me, though I’ve had smaller moments like it before. The only way I know how to describe it is an ah-ha from God.

Before I go any further, I want to share this because it matters for the story. I am a Christian. I fully believe in God, and I also believe in the power of the universe.

What I didn’t realize at the time is that this story didn’t actually begin last week. It began months earlier, in September of 2025, on a trip to Paris.

I was there on a retreat with my business coach and a group of incredible women who felt more like sisters than peers. Leading up to that trip, I had spent months doing market research, and one theme kept showing up over and over again. Moms were missing community.

Not just online connection, but real, in-person community.

I remember walking with my business coach on our way to a Seine River cruise, talking through this idea out loud for the first time. What would it look like to create something for moms in real life? I had already started doing in-person work and loved it, but it was all one-on-one. I couldn’t stop wondering what it would look like to bring multiple moms together in the same space.

That conversation was the beginning of what is now the Happy Mom Collective.

The Fear That Almost Stopped Me

What still feels wild to say is how quickly it all happened after that.

The very first Happy Mom Collective event took place just five weeks after that idea was born.

And right before it, I completely spiraled.

The thoughts came fast and loud.
“Who do I think I am?”
”I literally just had this idea.”
”These moms are paying me for this?”
”They’re going to be so disappointed.”
”I’m going to make a fool out of myself.”

It was one of those moments where the fear feels so real, so convincing, that it almost stops you in your tracks.

But it didn’t.

That first event ended up being incredible.

Now, just six months later, we are planning our fifth Happy Mom Collective. We’ve already taken it to Chicago, and soon we’ll be bringing it to New York City. Even writing that still feels surreal.

(Want to join us for the next Happy Mom Collective event in Houston on May 23rd? CLICK HERE to grab your ticket!)

The Moment That Changed Everything

A few weeks after Paris, my husband Oakley and I traveled to Napa with my family. We were celebrating multiple milestones at once. My parents’ 40th anniversary, our 10th anniversary, and my sister’s first anniversary. It was one of those trips you know you’ll never quite be able to recreate.

Through close family friends who are winemakers, we had an incredibly special experience. The kind of access and hospitality that makes you think this might ruin all future trips to Napa (LOL).

On our final day, we visited a winery called Cathiard.

It was breathtaking in a way that’s hard to fully capture. A rock waterfall greeted us at the entrance, a massive stone building stood to one side, and everywhere you looked there was lush greenery and rows upon rows of vines stretching out into the distance. It felt more like Tuscany than California. One of those places that makes you pause and wonder if what you’re seeing is even real.

We were seated outside for a wine tasting, overlooking the view, when I felt it.

A quiet, persistent tug.

The Tug I Almost Ignored

It wasn’t loud or dramatic. Just a subtle but steady pull to walk over to a specific spot closer to the edge.

At first, I ignored it. It didn’t make sense, and honestly, it felt a little rude to get up in the middle of a group conversation. But the feeling didn’t go away. It kept returning, gently but firmly.

“Am I supposed to go stand over there?”

Eventually, I stopped questioning it and decided to listen.

The “God Hug”

I excused myself and walked away from the table, aware of the eyes on me as I did. My heart was racing in a way I couldn’t quite explain. I felt nervous and excited at the same time, with just enough awareness to wonder if I might be slightly crazy.

When I reached the spot, I stood there quietly, looking out over the vines.

And then something shifted.

God started speaking to me. Not in an audible voice, but through my thoughts in a way that felt unmistakably clear. My thoughts were His voice.

He told me I was on the right path.

Then He showed me a metaphor I’ll never forget. The farmers who planted those vines didn’t know if they would survive. They didn’t know if they would produce wine, or if it would be good.

And still, they kept going.

They nurtured the vines. They stayed consistent. They cared for them through uncertainty, through hard seasons, without any guarantee of the outcome.

And now, the fruit they produce is extraordinary.

The message was clear: This is what you’re doing. Keep going. Trust what you’re building. Trust that what you’re nurturing will turn into something incredible.

Be brave.

I remember thinking, that feels scary.

And right after that thought, a breeze moved through.

And He said, “I know it is. I’m here with you.”

It was a hug.

Chills ran down my body, and tears streamed down my face. It was one of the most intimate and grounding moments I’ve ever experienced.

The Shift That Followed

When I got home, I created a new vision board. I added a picture of Cathiard next to the word “brave” and made it the background on my computer so I would see it every day.

I didn’t want to lose that feeling or forget what I had been told.

From that point on, something inside me shifted.

I leaned deeper into journaling, into my devotional, and into meditation. I started paying closer attention to my gut and my heart, trusting that those quiet nudges were there for a reason.

And I began noticing what I started calling “God hugs.” Small, subtle moments that felt like reminders that I wasn’t alone, often showing up exactly when I needed them.

When It Felt Like Nothing Was Happening

By March of 2026, about six months later, everything intensified.

I felt like I was being led toward something, but I couldn’t figure out what it was.

I was doing everything I knew to do. Praying, journaling, meditating, talking it through with my coach and my therapist. And still, I felt stuck. Like I was right on the edge of understanding, but couldn’t quite get there.

It felt like a pot of water that just wouldn’t boil.

And I was getting frustrated.

One night, I was crying in bed, I finally said it out loud to Oakley, “I don’t know what else to do.”

For the first time, doubt started to creep in. Was I making this up? Was this whole journey something I had created in my own head? Was there even a message coming at all?

The Clue That Redirected Me

The next night, while washing my face, a thought came through clearly: This has to do with the Happy Mom Collective.

It felt like a clue. A gentle redirection back to what had been in front of me the whole time. Maybe this wasn’t about something entirely new. Maybe it was about expanding what I had already started.

The Moment Everything Clicked

The following morning, something shifted. There was a sense that the journey I had been on was coming to a turning point.

After dropping my kids off at school, I felt called to sit outside and do a specific meditation I often return to. It wasn’t my usual routine for that time of day, but the pull was strong and clear.

So I listened.

I sat down, closed my eyes, and tuned in.

Almost immediately, I saw light behind my eyes. The breeze picked up again, familiar now, like a signal.

Another God hug.

I knew something was about to happen.

Then it did.

The Vision I Can’t Unsee

It felt like watching a movie on fast forward.

I saw Oakley and me traveling to Napa, hand in hand. I saw Cathiard again, but this time it was transformed into a welcome event.

Dozens of moms were arriving and checking in.

I saw my people. My family. My closest friends.

I saw workouts overlooking the vineyard. Moms sitting together journaling, talking, connecting.

And then I saw the end. A dinner after it was all over, where I was thanking the people who helped make it happen.

A Napa Happy Mom Collective retreat.

I saw it all.

The Full Circle Moment

When I opened my eyes, tears were already streaming down my face. There was no question in my mind.

This is what He had been trying to show me.

Later that day, I opened my computer, and my desktop background came into view.

My vision board.

And there it was.

Cathiard.

The place where this entire journey had begun, and now, the place where I could so clearly see it all coming together.

Where I Am Now

It has been a week since that moment.

Life is still full. Still busy. But underneath it all, there is a deep sense of alignment that I can’t ignore.

I’m proud of myself for staying in it. For sitting in the discomfort. For continuing to trust, even when nothing made sense.

And I’m incredibly proud of what the Happy Mom Collective already is, and what it’s becoming.

If you’re in a season where you feel like something is pulling you, guiding you, or trying to show you what’s next, I want you to know this.

The waiting can feel confusing. The uncertainty can feel heavy.

But what’s on the other side might be more spectacular than you could ever imagine.

XOXO,
Kaitlin :)