Who Are You After Motherhood? Faith, Identity & Finding Purpose in a New Season | Aurie Riley
How Does She Do It?Show Notes
Motherhood can give you a new identity before you have had time to understand what happened to the old one.
Aurie Riley says no one prepared her for that part. Her love for God and her daughter never wavered, but motherhood introduced a new set of questions about her career, purpose, identity, capacity, and what this next chapter of her life could look like. In this premiere episode of How Does She Do It?, Aurie and I explore the parts of motherhood that often go unseen and the questions women navigate as they grow into new seasons of life. We talk about the unique dynamics of their family, with Aurie working outside the home while her husband homeschools their daughter. We also discuss learning to be fully present in the season you're in rather than constantly looking ahead to the next, letting go of perfectionism, establishing boundaries that honor your capacity, and recognizing that marriage sometimes requires each partner to show up differently as life changes. Aurie also speaks candidly about her experiences with depression, anxiety, trauma, loneliness, and the struggle to rediscover her identity after becoming a mother. She reflects on the courage it took to pursue genuine friendships, why connection sometimes requires us to make the first move, and how gardening helped her see God's presence and the process of growth in a new light. One story in particular stayed with me. Aurie shared how daffodils spend much of their growing season developing beneath the soil, long before there's anything beautiful to see above ground. It's such a meaningful reminder that just because we can't see progress doesn't mean growth isn't happening. Sometimes the most important work is taking place beneath the surface, as roots deepen, strength develops, and God prepares us for what comes next.
In this episode, you’ll hear: Why Aurie believes the real challenge is learning to “be where your feet are.” How she created a “good enough” list when working, mothering and maintaining a home made perfection impossible. What boundaries can look like when you love someone but cannot do their inner work for them. Why meaningful friendship did not simply appear for her, and what changed when she decided to go first. The identity crisis she experienced after becoming a mother and the questions it forced her to ask about purpose. Why dark seasons reminded her of bulbs growing roots underground before anything blooms. What it can mean to cultivate the life you have today instead of waiting for the next season to begin. Maybe the goal is not to become better at carrying everything. Maybe it's to become more honest about the season you are in, more intentional about what matters now, and more willing to trust what God may be growing beneath the surface.
If this conversation sounds like the season you're living right now, send it to a woman who needs to hear that she doesn't have to have the next version of herself figured out yet. Follow How Does She Do It? so you don't miss the next conversation.
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❤️ Meet Our Guest: Aurie Riley Aurie
More from How Does She Do It?
There is probably something you keep telling yourself you’ll get to when life settles down. Maybe it’s a book you want to write, a business you want to start, something creative you want to make or a skill you’ve been wanting to learn. You mean it when you say you’re going to do it, but motherhood is full, life keeps moving, and “when I have more time” can quietly turn into years. Kim Galloway has learned to work with the life and time she actually has. Kim is a bestselling author of more than 20 books, book coach, publisher and mother of four. She is raising four young children on a ranch, homeschooling, running a business and navigating a marriage shaped by her husband’s rotating work schedule. In the middle of all of that, she continues to write, build and make room for the things that matter to her. A big part of how she does it is knowing what deserves her time in the first place. In this conversation, Kim and I talk about using small pockets of time to make meaningful progress, deciding whether the “juice is worth the squeeze,” protecting your priorities and giving yourself permission to invest time, money and energy into something that matters to you too. Here’s what you’ll hear in this episode:
What if the greatest gift you could give your children isn't being a perfect mother, but being a present one?
I spend this show asking women one question: How does she do it?
What if building a healthier family didn't require you to do more, but to stop doing everything yourself?
How Does She Do It? is a Christian motherhood podcast about what sits underneath the lives women are building. Hosted by Latasha Kennedy, the show explores motherhood at the intersection of faith, family, and calling through honest conversations with women who are raising children, loving their people, pursuing purpose, and building meaningful lives. We talk about the decisions, systems, relationships, setbacks, support, and sacrifices that make those lives possible. These are conversations about intentional motherhood, marriage, identity, parenting, work, purpose, health, money, faith — and the dreams that still matter. You'll hear from women navigating real seasons of life while learning how to steward what God has entrusted to them and build lives and families that glorify Him. No one here has everything figured out. We are still becoming, still learning, still asking better questions. Because when moms exchange notes and pull back the curtain on how she's really making life work, we all walk away with something that can help us build our own lives and families with greater intention. If you're a Christian woman trying to love your family well, pursue your God-given calling, and build a meaningful life without losing yourself in the process, well there's a seat here for you. Together, we're exploring the question so many of us have asked: How does she do it?