When Life Changes the Plan: Motherhood Through Hard Seasons | Part 2When Life Changes the Plan: Motherhood Through Hard Seasons | Part 2
Love&BLoved with Lena Cebula
Amy Pace shares her journey through severe health challenges and her son’s cancer, alongside practical wisdom for mums on faith, self-regulation and children’s behaviour. The conversation focuses on choosing faith over fear, treating behaviour as communication, and creating a calmer home by caring for a mother’s own nervous system.
27:32•28 Oct 2026
Faith Over Fear: Amy Pace on Motherhood, Pain and Children’s Big Feelings
Episode Overview
- Amy and her family chose a “faith over fear” mindset during her son’s stage 3 cancer treatment, focusing on prayer and positivity rather than pity.
- Despite chronic pain, heart surgery and functional neurological disorder, Amy refuses to let her diagnoses define her and continues planning future adventures.
- She teaches that every child’s behaviour is a form of communication, and that connection and emotional language are key to understanding what’s underneath.
- Parents need to regulate their own nervous system first, using tools like breath work and honest self-awareness before guiding a child’s emotions.
- Christian mums are encouraged to notice their existing positives, release perfectionism and see working on themselves as a blessing to their children.
“Every behaviour is a form of communication, so you need to make a connection with the child.”
Curious about how others navigate their sobriety journey? This conversation with Amy Pace is less about alcohol itself and more about the emotional stamina and faith needed to face hard seasons, including parenting through crisis. After years of chronic pain and major health challenges, Amy shares how her son’s sudden stage 3 cancer diagnosis forced a complete shift: "My husband and I both got matching tattoos saying faith over fear" became their daily mantra.
You’ll hear Amy describe being told she may have just a few years left to walk, dealing with heart issues and neurological complications, and yet still planning hiking trips and converting her home and car so she can stay active and independent. Her attitude is summed up in one simple line: these conditions "don't define you"; they’re "just character building". The second half of the episode turns to motherhood and child behaviour.
Drawing on 25 years in early childhood and community services, Amy offers clear, practical wisdom for overwhelmed mums. One of her core messages is that "every behaviour is a form of communication", and that children need connection and words for their feelings rather than punishment or shame. She also stresses that a parent’s nervous system matters just as much as a child’s.
Before trying to calm a child, Amy encourages mums to notice their own state, use breath work, and be transparent: saying things like "I'm a little bit overwhelmed right now" and inviting the child to take a breath together. This honesty, she suggests, teaches kids that adults are human too.
With host Lena Cebula weaving in her own reflections on faith, motherhood and stress, the episode speaks directly to Christian mums who feel guilty prioritising their own needs yet know something has to change. If you’ve ever thought, "I should be coping better than this", Amy’s story and gentle guidance might be the reminder you need that working on yourself is a gift to your children as well. What small step towards calm and faith could you take today?
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