My Why: The She Shed Story
- bewellsister
- Aug 22
- 3 min read
It wasn’t fancy. It wasn’t insulated. It was small but tall — about the size of a walk-in closet, though the height made it feel bigger than it really was. From the outside, it looked cute, and even on the inside, I made it that way. I decorated it to reflect my creative, self-loving spirit and made it personal to me. But it was still a shack, with no insulation and barely enough space to live. I ordered a loft bed and, with the help of a friend, put it together inside. I slept up top, and underneath I created a small living corner with a chair and a tiny table where I could sit, eat, pray, and do my work. That little space with tall walls became my sanctuary. It was there that God met me, and it was there that Be Well Sister and my book The Source were born.
A Breaking Point
Like many, COVID shook me to my core. The entire world was grieving, uncertain, and afraid. For me, that season became a breaking point. I spiraled, grasping at what mattered most — even chasing dreams I thought I had to do before I died. One of those dreams was to travel to Africa, and I did.
It was in Shashamane, Ethiopia, that I heard God the loudest. That trip became the start of my slow return — a process filled with tears, surrender, and letting go of the life I thought I had to hold together.
On stage in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, with Ras Biruk Tsehay ‘Barky’ and Helen Zebby Legesse — a moment of light in the midst of a dark season.
Life in the She Shed
The shed was rough, but it became holy ground. I was teaching theater in Miami at the time, commuting each day for work, and then returning to this little space that was mine alone. My time in the shed was special, mostly spent in solitude. A few visitors came, but not many — most people couldn’t understand how a grown woman could live like that. To them, it seemed unsafe or beneath the lifestyle they were used to seeing me live. But for me, it was exactly where I needed to be.
What saved my life during that season was my routine. I would not leave in the morning without first practicing meditation, breathwork, and prayer. That discipline anchored me, carried me through my days, and began to reshape me from the inside out. It wasn’t comfort or luxury that sustained me — it was the stillness and the presence of God. And it’s that same rhythm that I later poured into The Source.
My Transformation
Those years brought both highs and lows: the deep grief of losing all of my father’s siblings, my cousin Chadwick Boseman, and other loved ones… alongside small blessings and unexpected provision. I carried financial strain, borrowing money from friends I’m still working to pay them back. My marriage was tested as my husband and I lived in different states, and divorce once felt imminent.
But through it all, God remained. What changed was not the hardships but the way I walked through them — with prayer, gratitude, and trust in His will.
With my cousin, Chadwick Boseman. His passing was one of the many losses that marked this season of my life.
The Birth of Be Well Sister
Out of that season, Be Well Sister was born. This is not a space built on perfection but on honesty. It’s an invitation to pause, breathe, and reconnect with yourself, your sisters, and with God.
If God could meet me in a shack with no insulation, He can meet you right where you are. That’s why I’m here. That’s why this community exists.
This is my why. Now I invite you into the journey. Join me for a class, listen to the music, or begin your own 52-week walk with God through The Source. Wherever you begin, know that you are not alone and you are deeply loved.
[ Start the Journey → ]
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