Hi, I’m Tricia Linnell - Christian writer, speaker and certified mental health coach. I founded Serene Meadows with a mission to provide women with a safe environment where they are seen, heard, and encouraged to draw near to the One who makes all things new.
My hope for each woman who finds her way here is to feel the same love and grace that Serene Meadows is founded on.
I believe that Christ gives us strength to overcome what is impossible to face on our own (Philippians 4:13), and that our mental and emotional health matters greatly to God (Matthew 11:28). When I walked through a dark valley, Jesus met me with compassion, not judgment. Love, not condemnation. Comfort, not rejection. And while my circumstances weren't changing, my heart most certainly was.
Drawing from that experience, I desire to create a community that offers a judgment-free space for women who are hurting to come as they are and receive Christ-like compassionate support in every coaching session.
My Why
The reason I’m doing what I do is simple: My story shaped my calling. A calling that took form while God was healing my heart. He picked up my broken pieces and used them to create someone new - someone who lives fully for Him, no longer defined by circumstances, mistakes, or depression and PTSD.
The Road that Led Me Here
Grief, loss and deep wounds are all part of my story. But most importantly, so are God’s gifts of grace, hope and love. Gifts that He mercifully weaved into my brokenness - healing my wounds and revealing who I am to Him. My heartbreak essentially became the very thing that God used to transform my faith from malnourished to unshakable.
The transformation of my faith began when life’s challenges seemed to come one after another. Ultimately, the combination of my unattended wounds and unhealthy coping mechanisms collided with a storm my fragile heart couldn’t withstand. A storm that led me to a crossroads where I had to make a decision: Keep carrying the weight of it all, or surrender everything and receive God’s peace.
Part of that stormy season was my son’s battle with drug and alcohol addiction, along with the traumatic events of his arrest and incarceration. When my son was charged with and convicted of murder, my heart broke in a way I didn’t realize was possible. I had so much loss to grieve. It became more than I could handle and darkness set in. Loneliness and shame were steady companions. My depression and PTSD became debilitating. And while I continued to pray, journal, and read Scripture, I felt my faith growing weak. God would often remind me to be still and trust Him (Psalm 46:10, and Psalm 23 became a blanket of comfort. Yet even with those truths and promises of God, I was stuck in my grief.
Therapy was necessary. It became a safe place where I could acknowledge my feelings and learn healthy coping skills. It also became the place where old wounds surfaced. Wounds that had manifested into fear, rejection and bitterness. Wounds that had over time, negatively shaped my thoughts. This was my crossroads - the place where I needed to choose between harboring what was hurting me or surrendering it all and embracing God’s peace that surpasses all understanding (Philippians 4:7). I chose the latter and experienced healing, renewed hope and learned who God says I am.
That season of life was hard but it was also fruit producing. I went from believing Jesus existed but living by the world’s standards, to having a relationship with Jesus and trusting God’s will and timing. With my wounds healed and my purpose from my pain revealed, I have the privilege of being a Kingdom worker. Saying “yes, Lord!” to whatever He asks of me and trusting that even in times of suffering, His love for me will carry me through.