Today’s interview is with Jamila, founder of loved+blessed subscription box. When I found out how she turned her struggle with infertility into a subscription box ministry/business, I knew I had to interview her. I absolutely love subscription boxes and have subscribed to several myself. There’s something so fun about getting a package in the mail! I think it’s extra special that Jamila’s boxes are aimed at encouraging women. I know you’ll appreciate getting to knew her a little more and learning about her company. And you know we couldn’t do a post about a subscription box without doing a giveaway, too, right? Keep reading until the end to find out how to enter to win a box of your own!
Q. Tell us a little about yourself.
Let’s see, I’m a Southern girl at heart who lives in Los Angeles, California, with my husband of over 13 years and our fur son, who happens to be a Yorkie.
Q. How long have you been trying to conceive and what issues are you facing?
My husband and I started trying in 2008. After about a year of trying the good ‘ole fashioned way we realized that something might be wrong so we each went and were tested. My husband was just fine, but after a very painful HSG x-ray exam, we found out that both of my fallopian tubes were blocked. One was worse than the other, but the blockage meant that it would be very hard for me to conceive naturally. Through the TTC process we’ve run into other issues like uterine cysts and polyps and because of some complications one of my fallopian tubes ended up having to be cut.
Q. You started a wonderful ministry / business called loved+blessed that encourages women through subscription boxes! Tell us more about it and why you felt led to do it.
It’s been a crazy and completely unexpected journey. Looking back now at how God used the most discouraging time in my life to create a desire to encourage others still amazes me. After years of dreaming about becoming a mother, when I found myself facing infertility it was a huge shock. After unsuccessful IVF cycles, one of which resulted in a miscarriage, I entered into a season of prayer and fasting because I felt so lost and was questioning what the legacy of my life would be if we were never blessed to have children. That’s when the idea for “boxes of encouragement” came to me. So many women go through not only infertility, but also other struggles in life and just need something to remind them that they can make it and everything will be okay. No matter what you’re going through, it always feels good to encourage someone else, so in some ways I think this business has been my way of encouraging myself.
Q. What has been the biggest blessing to come out of loved+blessed?
There are so many. The biggest blessings to me have been hearing the stories of women whose lives have been forever changed because they received encouragement from one of our boxes at just the right time. To be able to touch the lives of women around the world that I may never meet in person is an honor that I am so grateful for. On a personal level, loved+blessed has blessed me with a new dream. It will never fully replace my desire to be a mother, but it’s blessed me immensely by reminding me that everyone struggles and I’m not alone.
Q. How have you taken care of yourself physically, emotionally, and spiritually during your struggles?
I think there have been some seasons where I’ve done a better job of taking care of myself than others. I’d say physically, just taking walks a few times a week has helped me clear my mind, although lately I get most of my exercise from folding boxes. ☺ Emotionally, having a few close friends that I can share my feelings with has been so important. Some of them have no idea what it’s like to face infertility, but they just care about me enough to listen or let me cry on their shoulder. Spiritually, I have to have my morning quiet times. I am not a morning person at all, but making sure I start my day with either prayer, worship music or Bible study has made a huge difference in me maintaining a positive perspective during my struggles.
Q. What do you want other women in situations like yours to know?
That they are not alone and that no matter how things work out, even if they don’t conceive, that there is still hope! I absolutely still want to be a mother and maybe we’ll adopt or foster one day, but for now, I’m content because I truly feel that my infertility journey was meant to birth a ministry and business that never would have started if I hadn’t gone through that pain.
Q. Anything else you’d like to share with my readers?
I’d love to invite them to join our Facebook group called Loved and Blessed Ladies. It’s a beautiful community of women who just want to encourage each other through the ups and downs of life. I hope to get a chance to meet them there!
Many thanks to Jamila for sharing her story with us. She was also kind enough to offer one box for me to give away to a lucky reader (open to U.S. residents only). You can enter using the Rafflecopter widget below or by clicking here. (Please note that the picture below is representative of a typical box and doesn’t necessarily show the exact items you’ll receive in the box if you are the winner).
