Mindy Opiela

Mindy (Kaufman) Opiela was born in Cleveland, Ohio and at the age of two, her family moved to South Florida where she grew up in a quiet, suburban middle class neighborhood in the city of Hollywood. The oldest of two daughters, she was raised in a conservative Jewish household and although they attended a local temple, her parents were not particularly religious.

Her childhood was a happy one, filled with a variety of extracurricular activities, family vacations and other enjoyable experiences. Her life was fairly typical; that is until she entered middle school, and then as a result of the bullying she experienced, things began to change drastically. Left feeling betrayed and defenseless by the indifference of her parents who were ignorant to the severity of her situation, Mindy became angry and rebellious, which eventually drove a wedge between her and her family.

By the age of fifteen, she was already living with an older boyfriend after running away several times and by sixteen, she'd quit high school. She spent her mid to late teens hanging out with a variety of famous rock musicians and moved to Dallas, Texas where she worked as an exotic dancer for three years.

During this time, she was consuming excessive amounts of cocaine and alcohol to cope with her depression and restlessness, which in turn led her down a very dark path of self-destructive behavior, leaving her contemplating suicide. Aware that her life was spiraling out of control, Mindy realized if she didn’t make a drastic change, she would either end up in jail, or even worse, dead.

She moved back to Florida, where she got her GED, and then earned an Associates Degree before deciding to seek employment in the hospitality industry as a bartender. Shortly after her return from Dallas, she met and married her first husband, which resulted in divorce after less than two years. Following the split, she decided to go back to school and earned her degree in the field of Culinary Arts with the intention of starting her own catering service. Unfortunately, she wasn't able to gain enough steady business to sustain her financially, so she continued working as a bartender to make ends meet.

In 2001, she found herself in the role of single parent after she ended a volatile and physically abusive relationship with her boyfriend prior the birth of their son. This left her feeling empty and lost, desperately trying to figure out what missing in her life. That's when she made the decision to be intentional in her search for something to fill the void. In doing so, she began looking to God for help and once she did, her entire life changed.

On March 16, 2013, after being a single mother for eleven years, Mindy met and married her husband and soul mate Scott, who led both her and her son Jayden to Jesus Christ. Following her baptism on January 24, 2015, Mindy began praying for a way to help others who also felt as hopeless as she had. As her relationship with God grew, her desire to help and encourage others who were experiencing what she had gone through increased and inspired her to spend the next eighteen months writing her story.

Although her story is unique, it is also universal as people continually seek significance, purpose and hope. She is an outspoken advocate on mental health awareness issues and strongly believes in supporting the decision to use both medication and prayer to manage these disorders when necessary.

Mindy, Scott and Jayden currently reside in Pembroke Pines, Florida with their two German Shepherds, Keiser and Diesel. Some of her favorite activities include traveling, cooking, boating, enjoying the outdoors, (especially the beach) and spending time with family and friends.