Meet Mary Mobley
The story of my professional walk into Christian Counseling cannot be told without the origins of my Spiritual walk with God.
Every life possesses its own struggles specific to their temperament and interpretation. The awareness of my need for a Savior was early and profound. My friendship with Christ continued to grow; however, during my childhood, my dependence rested with my family of origin. Within that family context there was a history of alcoholism, suicide, denial, and a myriad of other terrible coping methods, which left me ill-prepared to step out into this world alone. Panic assailed my heart and mind just as I began my exit from home. At age 17, I began a 19-year silent struggle with debilitating, episodic panic attacks. The fear and shame arrested my ability to seek any new ventures and allowed only enough room for survival within the most controllable settings and relationships. Through marriage, children, divorce and single motherhood, the panic continued.
The panic attacks stopped when I met and married my husband, Robert. However, the underlying causes of my panic did not. Fast forward through 23 years of surviving all that life threw at us: his son and my three teenagers trying to mature in the toxic soup of fear, shame, co-dependence, poor communication, and confusion that rested so heavily on my own past unresolved issues. In addition, my husband had his own family of origin issues, and had to cope with the worst possible thing a parent can face two years into our marriage—losing his beloved first born at the age of 21. All hope of dealing with any issues besides grief was off the table. Yet we persevered.
Forever at work guarding, protecting and faithfully growing us up, God never failed to be with us in our pain. My health had begun to break down with anxiety and fear, my mind twisting and bending from the same. In my retirement from 30 years as a hairdresser, I had lost my purpose. To His glory, at my breaking point, the death of my father, God stepped in and stepped up to the throne of my heart and asked that I decide between continuing to try and trust myself and the other humans in my life or HIM. Would I trust Him with every part of my life? The answer was yes!
God led me out of a brief retirement and into a new life of understanding, healing, and freedom. One tool that He used in my journey was the National Christian Counselor’s Association. I began earning my licensure, and a Masters of Pastoral Counseling through the Andersonville Theological Seminary. Today as I sit in my office and pen this autobiography, I look at the license that hangs on my wall—Licensed Christian Counselor. God not only provided new understanding and freedom for me, but He also provided a way for me to minister to others who are struggling. My goal is to help as many people as possible find the hope and healing God so willingly wants to bring.
Mary and Robert live with their six- year-old son, adopted in 2017, and their little dog Tramp. They cherish their five children and their spouses: Casey, Robin (Amanda), Wes (Laura), Meagan, and Tarah (Scottie); nine grandchildren and spouse: Jacob (Tiffany), Casey, Stephanie, Ben, Chandler, Shelby, Foster, Ryker, and Raylan; and six great-grandchildren: Lilly, Ivy, Ethan, Jake, Tristan, and Michael.