My Brave Story- Taylor Cornell

Let me introduce you to this beautiful lady, Taylor Cornell! As Taylor would explain, "I am a dreamer, creator, and lover of the arts. I am a woman who is passionate, strong-willed, a free-spirited wife/mama and a daughter to the KING of Kings". Taylor is married to an engineer who works hard and loves his family hard. Taylor says their home is where she roams as she serves the sweet family that God has blessed her with and currently that is in the small town of Simla, Colorado where she is raising her two beautiful children. Taylor and I first met years back at a Bible study down in Kiowa, Colorado. I always admired her natural God given beauty and how she walked around in it. Taylor has always had this very unique style and creativity that draws you to her. From the way she dresses and styles things, to her home decor and stunning creations, you can truly say that she is a multi-talented woman. She definitely has a passion for projects and what she comes up with is just amazing! With dreaming about what she could someday do with all of her God given talents and creativity, Taylor has has realized that an entirely new blessing and dream have come to hold true in her life. Check out her Brave story! 

-Kirste

Taylor and her husband Duncan. 

Their two beautiful kids August and Kinley! 

Standing on the shore...

My husband and I dated in high school and all through college. We were both from the same small Colorado town and I had big dreams of going to work doing something amazing with my new degree in Apparel and Merchandising. I had hopes to find a great job in the western wear industry, then to eventually maybe develop my own line. After graduation, I assumed we would both look for jobs and pray that the Lord would lead us to the perfect place where we could start our new life together. Once Duncan finished his degree in structural engineering, we both continued to work the jobs that we had while figuring out our next move. I had a job in jewelry sales, worked my way up to the “diamond department” and really loved what I was doing and the people I was working with. Then it happened… I got the fever. Not long after our first anniversary, we found out we were expecting our baby girl, Kinley. I knew this would set back any career goals that I had because I was determined to stay home with my babies if I was able. The idea was to continue working on the weekends to make some extra money and stay “relevant.”

He calls my name...

Then it happened: my husband sat me down and told me he was unhappy where we were and that his heart’s desire was to relocate to [wait for it]…. SIMLA, CO, our tiny hometown. I fought this idea tooth and nail. Moving back was absolutely in no way my plan. And frankly, I was a little blindsided by this news. As much as it wasn’t my first choice (or 5th), I could see my husband’s unhappiness and knew what God’s desire was for me as a wife. I was to follow him and support him as he supported us. Keep in mind, we had no house and he had no job lined up. Duncan thought he would try to work for himself to support our family. Even more, we were just in the midst of wrapping up a complete renovation on our first home. It was heartbreaking for me to think of leaving all that we had built: our friends, jobs, house… My heart wasn’t in it. I remember telling him, “okay, you get it all figured out and we’ll talk about it.” I don’t really remember taking him too seriously. I thought that there was no way that things would fall into place. No way.

Stepping out into the waves...

As He often does though, God had a plan and He had it all worked out for us within maybe a month! Before I had time to resist, really. Acquaintances (now friends) of ours heard we were playing with the idea of moving back. They had a house and land (5 miles from my parents) that they were leaving and were hopeful that we would watch the place for them for a few years until they decided if the move would be permanent or not. We knew it was much more than we could afford at that point, so we tried to gratefully decline. They explained that they weren’t expecting rent from us and that we could discuss a small amount if need be. As bizarre and amazing as that was, we still had to find someone to rent our house. I decided to list our house on craigslist to see what would happen. Within an hour of posting the listing I had four potential tenants scheduled for showings that week, ready to move in immediately. “Maybe the market is just hot,” I thought. The last, and final step was work for my husband. And it just so happened that a contractor that he had worked with had enough work to keep him busy as he launched his own business. As terrifying (and fast) as it all was, we loaded up our things and headed back to the plains of eastern Colorado. God didn’t nudge us in this, it was more like He “quickly scooted us along.”

Don't look back...

Looking back at it all, the number one thing that I have learned is to relax and TRUST GOD! My old dreams haven’t dissolved, but I have realized an entirely new blessing and dream of serving my family (two babies now!) and raising my babies at this time in my life. I still hope that one day I can do the things I have dreamt about, but for now, my heart is fuller than I ever imagined it could be. It has also been such a blessing to watch my husband’s happiness as his career evolves and as he reaches some of his goals. At 25/26 we have been able to eliminate most of our debt, start a small heard of cattle, expand our real estate portfolio, and enjoy our babies and family nearby.

Reaching for His hand...

All because we made the decision to follow God’s direction in our lives. I am now able to live my life with greater trust in our awesome God and less anxiety about what the future holds. This entire journey has been a real struggle at times, but the lessons the Lord has taught me through it all have been priceless!

Take hold...

Have faith in the Lord's plan for your life. It's natural for a woman to want to plan and prepare in life, but often God has something different in the works. It's easier to find joy in life when you let Him have control.  It's not enough to believe in God, you have to BELIEVE God and His promises!