Episode 234 -- Ashlyn Bolen -- The DNA of Resilience

From being told she might never walk or talk to becoming a genetic counselor who helps families navigate similar journeys, Ashlyn Stackhouse Bolen's story exemplifies finding purpose through personal struggle. As a pediatric genetic counselor at UNC Chapel Hill, Ashlyn works with families seeking answers about their children's complex medical conditions—a role shaped by her own childhood health challenges.

Sixteen hours after birth, Ashlyn suddenly lost the ability to suck, swallow, and maintain muscle tone. Doctors warned her parents she might never develop normally, suggesting they consider institutional care where "she could pass peacefully." Instead, they fought tirelessly for her, through countless appointments, therapies, and five years of feeding tube dependency. Those early genetic evaluations, though they revealed no diagnosis, planted seeds for her future career.

"I've been through a lot of the testing and imaging that our families go through," Ashlyn explains, noting how this firsthand experience shapes her approach. "Even if I haven't walked their exact path, I've walked a similar one." This lived experience adds profound depth to her work of counseling families through genetic testing decisions, diagnosis processing, and the emotional complexities that follow.

The conversation explores the beautiful intersection of science and faith in Ashlyn's life. Before pursuing genetic counseling, she completed a Theology, Medicine and Culture Fellowship at Duke Divinity, wrestling with challenging questions about genetics through a Christian worldview. Rather than seeing conflict between scientific understanding and spiritual belief, she describes how they complement each other in providing a holistic perspective on human suffering and purpose.

Beyond her professional identity, Ashlyn shares insights on marriage, family dynamics (including the joys and challenges of living next door to parents), and cultivating independence through studying abroad. She articulates a life philosophy centered on seeing people beyond their diagnoses or limitations: "They're image bearers of God...treasure their life."

For anyone wrestling with finding meaning in difficult circumstances or seeking to transform personal challenges into purposeful work, Ashlyn's journey offers powerful encouragement. Her story reminds us that sometimes our greatest struggles become the foundation for our most meaningful contributions to others.

Music "STOMP" used by permission of artist Donica Knight Holdman and Jim Huff

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
I'm walking all alone down my yellow brick road and I
stomp to the beat of my owndrum.
I got my pockets full of dreamsand they're busting at the
seams, going boom, boom boom.

Speaker 2 (00:21):
Welcome to Stacked Keys Podcast.
I'm your host, amy Stackhouse.
This is a podcast to featurewomen who are impressive in the
work world or in raising afamily, or who have hobbies that
make us all feel encouraged.
Want to hear what makes thesewomen passionate to get up in
the morning, or what maybe theywish they'd known a little bit

(00:42):
earlier in their lives.

Speaker 1 (00:59):
Grab your keys and stomp to your own drum.
Whatever you do, it ain'tnothing on me, because I'm doing
my thing and I hold the key toall my wants and all my dreams
like an old song.
Everything will be all rightwhen I let myself go.

Speaker 2 (01:21):
I am beyond excited.
I always get excited about anyguest because I know that we're
bringing people together thathave stories and just have life
experiences that we can all getsomething out of and grow from.
I have known this guest sincethe day she was born, and so I'm

(01:46):
excited to have Ashlyn Bolinjoin us.
She is a Stackhouse and so I'mreally excited to talk to Ashlyn
.
Welcome, ashlyn.

Speaker 3 (01:58):
Hi, amy, so glad to be here.

Speaker 2 (02:03):
Oh, I'm so excited, ashlyn, let's just right out of
the gate.
How do people know youprofessionally and personally?

Speaker 3 (02:11):
Yeah, so professionally, I am a pediatric
genetic counselor at UNC,chapel Hill, and people might
not know what that is.
As far as genetic counseling, Ithink it's one of the greatest
jobs.
But just a little background.
So, as pediatric geneticcounselors, what we do is we

(02:31):
meet with families to helpprovide information, support,
guidance to them if they have achildren who already have a
confirmed genetic diagnosis orthey may have one that we're
looking for doing genetictesting for, or they could have
a known family history of agenetic condition that we need

(02:53):
to test for.
And so oftentimes these kids,they are coming to us after
they've seen multiple differentspecialties for different
concerns and that can be relatedto maybe something they were
born with different in theirbody, like a heart anomaly,
differences in their developmentor behavior that their parents

(03:16):
are noticing, and they oftenjust have a lot of unanswered
questions, usually related todifferent health concerns.
So we're meeting with them tohelp you know, understand their
story, as well as their familyhistory and stories, and then
helping decide on genetictesting that's best appropriate

(03:36):
for them.
And there's thousands ofdifferent genetic conditions we
know about now and we'relearning more as time goes on,
so we have a lot of options todo that testing, and then
there's so much that we do, ifwe do end up getting a diagnosis
.

Speaker 2 (03:54):
Oh yeah, because I mean you could wind up with
emotional overwhelm or decisionpressure.
I mean there's so much so Iguess that's where the
counseling part comes indiagnosis.

Speaker 3 (04:24):
We usually have a completely separate appointment
where we're meeting with themand going over a lot of
information and we have time toreally just let them sit and,
you know, have silence, to justprocess things and ask us
questions.
But we're just, we're there asa counselor to help them
navigate that new diagnosis andso we help them understand again
, like more, the medicalimplications of the diagnosis.

(04:48):
We can help them understandinheritance patterns, how it
could have been passed down orpassed down in the future,
different complications, nextsteps.
There can usually be differentmanagement changes for some of
these conditions or treatmentoptions, clinical trials, which
I always try to find those ifthey're there and try to provide

(05:10):
some kind of hope or stepsmoving forward.
But sometimes it is just ananswer that that's all we have.
We don't have anything elsekind of moving forward.
And sometimes these conditionsare life limiting and a parent
may lose their child before theythemselves pass, which is very

(05:30):
hard.
And we walk through all thatwith the family and are there
for them and I think too, likefrom a social, psychosocial
standpoint, we find great justcommunity and connection
opportunities for these familiesbecause we know we don't want

(05:52):
them to walk through this alone.
It can be very isolating tohave a diagnosis and say, well,
goodness, I don't know anybodyelse who's walking through
something similar.
So, finding you know advocacygroups, other families, if we
can connect with them who have asimilar condition or the same
condition.
But we know that and I know,when I meet with these families

(06:15):
like there's so much more lifethat these families are going to
live beyond our conversationand so we just try to give them
everything that we know andwe're humble in what we don't
know and have to say what thatis that we don't know and you
know.
As time goes on, there may bemore clarity of steps moving
forward for some of the families.

Speaker 2 (06:36):
Wow.
So becoming a genetic counselor, as you are, that's not easy
and it's not a fast track.
So you've got the scientificknowledge, the medical, the
psychology aspects.
I mean that's a tremendousamount that you've put in to get
to where you are.

Speaker 3 (06:58):
Absolutely yeah, and it blends so much for sure what
you described.
It blends so much for sure whatyou described.

Speaker 2 (07:03):
Wow, wow, that's awesome.
Anything else you want to addin that line?

Speaker 3 (07:17):
Yeah, I think, I, just I think many of the kids
and families that we work withare like incredible and are so
resilient and just.
It really does make every dayworth it when I get to go to
work, oh yeah.

Speaker 2 (07:26):
Wow.

Speaker 3 (07:26):
I would say maybe the most important thing about me
is I'm a follower of Jesus andI'm also a wife to Andrew, I'm a
daughter, I'm a sister, I'm agranddaughter, I'm a niece,
cousin, family's a big part ofwho I am.
I'm a friend and most recentlybecame a dog mom of a golden

(07:47):
shepherd that Andrew and Iadopted from the shelter a few
months ago.

Speaker 2 (07:53):
Her name is Daisy.
That's funny, so dog mom goesright in there.
Oh yes, I love the fact we'regoing to unpack a lot of that.
Family is important to you.
Being Family is important toyou.
Being a friend is important toyou.

Speaker 3 (08:12):
Has it always been?
I would say absolutely.
I think we are really shaped bythe people around us and family
is who God gives us, you know,automatically in our lives that
we, you know, get to have a partof in our journey.
And I think we have anincredible family in the
Stackhouse family.

(08:32):
Just, you know, we've reallybeen intentional throughout my
whole life of always gathering,especially during certain
holidays like Easter,Thanksgiving, Christmas and, you
know, even having, you know,family vacations together and
even on my mom's side too,gathering, and that's just, I
think, to get to see those whoare, you know, the generations

(08:57):
ahead of us.
That, especially looking at ourgrandparents and they've been a
huge, huge part kind of in mylife, of influence, just seeing
how they love the Lord and havelived a life that really is a
testament to that and so justhave been shaped by family and
have just been gifted withincredible friends all

(09:21):
throughout life that many haveI've had since, you know, the
first few years of my lifereally, really has enriched so
much about my life.

Speaker 2 (09:33):
Yeah, family really has been there.
They've gone through a lot withyou, but as a young kid you
went to the math and scienceschool and you left family.
At what age?
What age do you go?

Speaker 3 (09:50):
I think I was 16.
Yeah, I think I was 16 when Ileft.

Speaker 2 (09:55):
Was that hard.
I mean, you're close to yourmom, You're close to your dad.
I know your brother was thereat the time, right yeah that's
right.

Speaker 3 (10:03):
Yeah, your brother was there at the time, right,
yeah, that's right, yeah, so,and he actually is the one who
encouraged me to apply to theschool that I did.
So that was the North CarolinaSchool of Science and Math.
He went five years before meand has really been someone
who's pushed me to do a lotapply myself and, from an
academic standpoint, a lot ofwhere I went.

(10:23):
I wouldn't have gone if itwasn't for my brother, christian
, who encouraged me to look intodifferent opportunities.
But I did.
Yes, I left around the age of 16for my junior and senior year
of high school and it wasdefinitely difficult to be a
couple hours away from my momand dad and friends who were so

(10:46):
dear.
But I will say my parents madesuch an active effort to be
there Like I was on the golfteam both years in high school
and they would come to prettymuch every match at least that
they could and were there forall kinds of different events
and also my brother, like yousaid, he was in the triangle and

(11:10):
he was so sweet to be able tocome and get me and we'd go have
dinner together and dosomething fun.
So there were ways to still,you know, spend quality time
together and the effort offriends and family to do so.
I remember, actually, you andthe family came to visit and I
got to tour you around theschool, which was really special

(11:31):
.

Speaker 2 (11:32):
Yeah, goodness, I remember that too.
That's a time where you had tobe independent in a way that a
lot of kids don't, and so youhad to draw from something.
What kind of lessons do youthink that your parents gave you
?
Or was it your parents to giveyou that kind of strength and

(11:52):
independence?

Speaker 3 (11:55):
Yeah, that's an excellent question.
You know, I think part of it isthey, from an early age, would
encourage me to do things and Ican get into this a little bit
later because I had a lot ofchallenges as as a child, a lot
of health-related hardships, andso they would always push me to

(12:15):
kind of just accept the greaterchallenge and, to, you know, do
things that maybe you wouldn'tthink are possible, and, and so
they really instilled in me alot of just confidence and being
able to step out and trysomething new, to just do things
in the best of your ability.

(12:36):
And so for me, I really wasn'tscared to leave home.
I felt like, okay, I'm justgoing to try the best I can.
I know God's going to be withme every step of the way, and
even though I was leavingfriends and family, I trusted he
would put people in my lifethat I could continue to walk
along with and to grow with, andhe did exactly that.

(12:58):
So I think just trusting inthat and trusting in the
God-given abilities that we haveyeah, wow, so that kind of
formulated your science path.

Speaker 2 (13:16):
I mean, you made a mention of health hardships, so
those began when you were quitesmall, and can you kind of dive
into that just a little bit andthen kind of maybe tell us how
that ties in to where you landedin science today?
Absolutely, yes.

Speaker 3 (13:38):
So when I was born in October of 1996, my parents
described me, as you know, justa beautiful, healthy baby.
Everything seemed fine andwonderful, and it was around
like the age of 16 hours thatthey noticed a huge change in me

(14:00):
that before I was, you know,seeming everything seemed to be
fine.
I had good APGAR scores, kindof looking at you know how well
I was doing just as an infant tothen being brought back to them
without the ability to swallow,suck, nurse I was floppy.
There was a change, kind ofjust in my appearance, where I

(14:23):
was really red, my eyes wereglassy, I couldn't hold my mouth
open anymore.
They described me as like ababy bird waiting for mama bird
to drop a worm, and that was notwhat I looked like when I was
born, and so there's still a lotof mystery behind all of that.
But essentially I had to go toBrenner Children's Hospital in

(14:48):
North Carolina and they weredoing a lot of tests.
I had to see so many doctors inthe first few years of my life
and actually because I couldn'teat on my own and swallow, I had
to be put on a feeding tube.
Eventually it was a G-tube.
That was basically where I hada tube in my stomach and that's

(15:09):
how I was fed mostly for thefirst five years of my life.
And doctors had told my parents,like you know, we don't know
exactly what's going on, butit's not looking good for her.
She likely is not going to beable to walk or talk or even sit
up in bed, you know, do thingson her own.

(15:32):
And it was looking at one pointwhere one doctor said, you know
, I think you need to give herup, said that to my parents and
maybe even give her to afacility that can, you know,
focus on her comfort and let herpass peacefully.
And my parents fought for me to, you know, stay with them, for

(15:57):
them to be able to continue tocare for me, and it was a lot.
It was definitely so much thatthey poured into just taking me
to all kinds of doctor'sappointments and therapists.
And they had a lot of peoplethat God put in their path in
their life family, friends,strangers that were able to walk

(16:17):
alongside them, give themwisdom, advice, wisdom advice.
Help them in ways that were sopractical and like part of that
was even like letting them havea night on their own, you know,
just to have a date night ashusband and wife because they
were very much having a lot oftime that they were pouring into

(16:40):
helping me and then alsoraising my brother too.
And so all that to say, some ofthe testing, some of the
evaluations that I was gettingwas in genetics, and at that
time there wasn't ascomprehensive genetic testing as
we have now.
But out of the testing that wasdone in the 90s, everything came

(17:04):
back normal and so it was goodto rule out some genetic
conditions that could have been,you know, the answer for all of
my health problems, or at leastsome of them.
And then more recently I'vebeen able to go back and get
very comprehensive genetictesting that still has not
provided an answer to my earlyhealth challenges.

(17:24):
But all that to say, geneticsand genetic providers have
played a role in my story andhelping to rule out just
different genetic conditions hasbeen very helpful in kind of
clarifying details and has beenjust valuable that.
It kind of sparked an interestfor me about genetics and I

(17:48):
think you know God has designedus so beautifully and
intricately on a DNA level andwe don't understand everything,
but from what we can understandit can be very impactful to know
if there is some kind ofgenetic condition involved with
someone's health story, and sothat's a summary, kind of

(18:12):
leaning into what brought meinto genetics.

Speaker 2 (18:16):
Yeah, wow.
Well, that produced all kindsof things.
I mean it, I'm sure, produced acompassion that you probably if
I can imagine you in your workenvironment dig into that

(18:38):
compassion on the regular basis,because you've lived a side
that some of the people that youwork with very well may, and
you have heard through yourparents and even seen as a
five-year-old, you can remembera lot of the agonizing moments.

(18:58):
So would you say that that isprobably a true assessment, that
that's been one characteristicsthat you have really pulled
over.

Speaker 3 (19:08):
Absolutely.
Yeah, I.
I just get to hear so many ofpeople's stories and as I'm
listening to them, a lot of themI've been through something
similar and I do remember quitea lot.
I've been through a lot of thetesting and imaging and just a
variety of evaluations, and so Idon't always share that with

(19:31):
the families, but I definitely Ifeel like, even if I haven't
walked their exact path, I'vewalked a similar one really
think that has been somethingthat's been formative for me as
a genetic counselor to have thatlived experience that maybe can
pick up on things or maybe asksome more just questions to see

(19:53):
how things are going, because Iknow how it was when I went
through that.

Speaker 1 (19:59):
Yeah.

Speaker 2 (20:00):
Yeah, so it may not be something you actually
discuss, but it formulates howyou hear and how you feel, Even
though you're keeping thescientific mind and you don't
lose yourself in the emotion.
But that emotion might driveyou to do a more thorough job

(20:20):
than maybe somebody who hasn'tquite been down that path.
Did you miss out on things?
I mean, I can remember runningand you know all the kids are
running.
Did you ever feel that aspect,as you were growing up, of like

(20:40):
I'm missing something I want, Iwant, I want to do?

Speaker 3 (20:46):
You know, as a kid, no, I didn't really have that
kind of going through my brain.
It was as I was getting olderand becoming more aware of some
differences and things that Ikind of reflected on at a later
point.
But there I remember, um, twothings.

(21:08):
So, as far as running, I usedto run like Forrest Gump where,
like you know, the legs would goout to the side and um it, it
didn't bother me and I was theslowest at the mile run.
Um, I, just, I remember that itwould take me a lot longer than
most kids, but no one ever putme down for that.

(21:32):
I had an incredible gym teacherwho was just like a cheerleader
for me and always encouragingme to just keep going, keep
pushing and you've got it.
You just do it at your own pace, and so that's what I did, and
I like never got upset about it.
I just, I was aware, though Iwas aware that I was slower and

(21:53):
eventually I really worked ontrying to run with more control
as I was able to build morestrength in my muscles.
Thankfully now, like I, I don'trun like that.
I'm still not very much arunner, jogger.
It's not my favorite activity,but I find other things that I I
can do well and that I do enjoyum.

(22:13):
So that that's one thing that Ido remember.
It was kind of like um,something that I just did
differently um, but again pushedto do the best I could.
And then I do know.
So part of my whole medicalcondition with muscle weakness
has been that for a good while Iwasn't able to smile, like when

(22:38):
I smiled it actually lookedlike a frown and that didn't
really bother me until peoplestarted saying, like if I was at
school getting school pictures,like you need to smile, come on
smile.
And I was doing the best Icould.
Or I remember someone at school.
They were new, and they told meafter I think it was maybe many

(23:02):
months.
They said you know, when Ifirst met you, I thought you
were a bully.
You looked like a bully justwith your face.
But I know now that you're notand like I love that you're my
friend.
It didn't be anything further,right, right.
And so I think, with that again, it didn't really start to be

(23:23):
something that was on my minduntil people started saying
things.
And I think, within that though, I've been a person that I try
to express things.
I try to express joy, evenbeyond the physical, of what I
can show, and you knowexpressions.
You know expressions like I tryto express it in words, for

(23:48):
example, of what I'm sharing andsaying and and just you know,
truly trying to care for thepeople who are in my lives and
really being present and beingsomeone who you know can share
beyond the physical.

Speaker 2 (24:01):
Yeah, yeah.
Well, I want to jump right intorelationships, because you have
a pretty cool relationship withyour spouse, and to watch y'all
grow into love has it's justbeen phenomenal.
So talk to us aboutrelationships and what a

(24:25):
romantic relationship means toyou, what having a husband means
to you, what would you tellyoung Ashlyn was coming?
Could you even imagine what youhave wound up with?
And I am just going on and onand I need to throw it back to
you, but let's talk relationship.

Speaker 3 (24:46):
Oh man, yeah Well, Andrew, I firmly believe, is the
man that God handpicked for meto marry, and he is the first
guy I ever officially dated andthe last one.
And we've gotten married andit's been such a blessing to be
married to Andrew, who is trulymy best friend now that I think

(25:09):
things as far as relationshipsand romantic relationships, it
was something that I really waspraying for, I was definitely
seeking, although the time thatwe met I was not seeking because
I was in grad school and superbusy and did not think I had
time for it.
But God had a different plan.
So, yeah, I was definitelysurprised in the timing of it

(25:35):
all.

(26:00):
But hey, you know, beforemeeting Andrew, I read're going
to push you to know the Lordmore and to know, you know, that
there are things that God hasgifted you with abilities to do
and he is going to push you todo those things that he's going
to, you know, encourage you tobe the best version of yourself

(26:24):
that God has made you to be, tosupport you, to provide to for,
hopefully, one day, Lord willing, our family, if we have kids
one day, and, I think, someonewho you can, you know, walk side
by side in life with and justenjoy every moment.

(26:47):
You know there are definitelyvalleys and we've been through
some of those valleys quiteearly in our dating relationship
and marriage just things thathave been incredibly hard for
our family and just a reminderof like, in the suffering that

(27:08):
we've been through, that thisworld is not the way that it
should be and just to be able toremind each other of truth,
getting into the word together,praying together, through
everything good and bad, to havethat partner that you, just you
really can be yourself fullyand share in every good and bad

(27:30):
thing that we have in life.

Speaker 2 (27:32):
Yeah, so what would you tell younger Ashlyn was
coming?

Speaker 3 (27:36):
Yes, that was one of the questions.
I would say trust God.
Trust God and who he's going tobring into your life.
Don't try to force anything ifit doesn't seem like this is,
you know, not the relationshipthat he has in store for you.
Because I remember there seemedto be, you know, some

(27:57):
situations where I was like, ohokay, like maybe this will work,
and then it became clear thatit wasn't.
And so, yeah, just trustingGod's timing and ask Him.
Ask Him for specific things too, Not like things, you know,
hair color, eye color, that kindof stuff, but you know, truly

(28:17):
getting to the matter of whatmeans the most from an eternal
perspective and for theirrelationship with the Lord and
what the Lord's doing in theirlife.
That, and seeing what, you knowGod had answered in my prayers
of what he'd been doing inAndrew's life before we ever met
, that was powerful to see.

Speaker 2 (28:38):
Yeah, oh, wow.
So are you a heart listener ora head listener?

Speaker 3 (28:44):
Oh, that's a great question.
You know, the heart isdeceitful and wicked.
Above all things, I, I think Itry to balance both.
I do believe.
In thinking about our marriage,I feel like I am more of a

(29:06):
heart listener and Andrew isactually more of a head listener
.
When I think about heart, Ithink about emotion, I think

(29:30):
about how we are reacting ashumans to whatever the situation
is or a story that we'rehearing and we're doing what
seems right, versus head.
And for Andrew, he is very muchmore of looking logically
reasonably.
He is very much more lookinglogically reasonably, and so
we're able to come together and,you know, make decisions
whenever that's.
You know what we're facing,where we are able to balance

(29:52):
each other out, which is abeautiful thing.

Speaker 2 (29:56):
Yeah, that is being able to take the best of both
worlds.
Yes, Now you guys live rightnext door to your parents.
A lot of people would say, oh,Ashlyn, y'all don't want to do
that, but tell me what that'sbeen like.
I mean, do you have to figureout boundaries, have you?

(30:17):
I know having a mother daughter, I know when you've been close
it's very easy to stay close.
But have you had to figure outsome things?
And what tools have you used tofigure those things out, if
you've had to?

Speaker 3 (30:33):
Yeah, that's a great question.
Well, it is such a blessing tolive close to my mom and dad and
I'm so grateful that Andrewalso thinks the same and really
just cherishes having them as amother and father-in-law.
It's such a gift and we reallyreally are grateful for all the
time that we have in thissituation.

(30:54):
And, yes, boundaries I knowI've reached out to different
people who have been in asimilar situation and actually I
think I've counted through allof our family and I think pretty
much most of the grandkids liveclose to their parents, or at
least have at one point.
And so I know Andrew and I bothhave reached out, you know,

(31:16):
just with personal experiencesof others and, you know, trying
to see what words of wisdom theycould impart.
But ultimately we had reachedout before we even moved here
and everyone was definitelyencouraging us that it can be a
very good and beautiful thing.
So all of them agreed that thiswas the next right step for us

(31:44):
and I'd say, yes, likeboundaries, as far as we want to
balance, you know, time whereit's just Andrew and I having
quality time together, as wellas with our friends, we'll have
sometimes our life group over,kind of like our group from
church that we do just lifetogether and go through like

(32:04):
Bible study we have, I would say, probably a couple times a week
we'll usually have some kind ofmeal that we share with my
parents, and sometimes mybrother is there, which is so
special.
We all can just say, hey, I'mgoing to do the meats and you do
the signs and the bread, or youknow, we'll just be able to

(32:28):
have these meals that werecognize that not everyone gets
to have those as often as we do, and so we try to balance, you
know, making sure that thatwe're there's I guess you can
think of it as different, likesphere circles of relationships,
and that they're not alwaysoverlapping, but that we're
setting aside time for, you know, each other and friends as well

(32:53):
.

Speaker 2 (32:53):
That is a great way to look at it, because you've
got these spheres and yet eachone of those you can reach into
when you have a need.
Or you know, as you were saying, the way that you give back a
lot of times is throughrelationship, and so you wind up

(33:14):
being able to give.
You know, I think a lot oftimes people on the outside will
say, oh, you're right therewith your parents and it's just
a take, take, take.
Well, I mean, it's really greatfor your parents, and I've had
this experience I'm speaking formy own of when Becca and Seth
lived right up the hill for meto get from them you know of

(33:39):
being able to go into theirspace and have just a who moment
, or them come into our spaceand have that same release of
energy.
So, yeah, I miss the fact thatthey're not right up the hill.
I also miss the pantry.
I got to tell you I miss thepantry.
It was like having my ownlittle convenience store up

(34:00):
there.
I miss the pantry.
It was like having my ownlittle convenience store up
there.
Becca and I would go to Costcoor whatever together and split
you know a lot of things, and soyou know I miss that.
That's a bonus that I hadn'treally thought too much about.

Speaker 3 (34:16):
Oh yeah, most definitely, we do share a lot, a
lot of those items.

Speaker 2 (34:21):
Yeah, it's, we do share a lot, a lot of those
items.
It's kind of nice and I learn alot too, because there is so
much on the marketplace now.
You know things where you'regoing a little more green things
, where you're taking chemicalsout things, and to have somebody
who's doing that research alongwith you and then going, hey,
look what I found, hey, let's dokind of a built-in fun.

(34:42):
Yes, absolutely.
You know there's a differencebetween having peace and getting
along, or maybe there's not adifference.
What do you think?
Do you think there's adifference between peace and
getting along?

Speaker 3 (35:01):
you know and this is specifically with like
relationships you're thinking of, yeah, yeah, I think,
definitely, whenever we, whenyou do get along with whoever it
is in your life that there isthis, you know, overarching
piece around the relationship.

(35:22):
I think, though, you can stepback.
You might have a situationwhere there's tension, or maybe,
on the other side, you're doingeverything that you can, but
the other side is not on thesame page and maybe thinking
differently, and that's reallyhard to have that tension where
you know, in the relationshipthere is no peace.

(35:44):
But you can have peace inknowing that you know, in
whatever that tension is, thatyou can give it to God, you can
pray for that person, you can doeverything that is in your
ability to do, and sometimes youjust have to take a step back
and say, you know what, like,I'm going to let God be in

(36:06):
charge of this whole situation,and maybe one day there'll be a
resolve in this relationship,and I pray so.
But, yeah, sometimes you mightnot receive it from the other
side, but you can have peace andknowing, knowing that, again,
you've done what you can yeah, Ilike that.

Speaker 2 (36:25):
I mean, you can have it on your side and and just go
go from there.
Right knows what will happen asthat evolves right absolutely.
Um now, um, ash, you have yourdoctorate right.

Speaker 3 (36:42):
I actually have just a master's Yep.
So I did two years for geneticcounseling training and that's
where I stopped.

Speaker 2 (36:52):
Okay, all right, all right.
Well, that is totally fine,because I think that is still
tremendous, so I don't want tobelittle that at all.
So, with you being in pediatricgenetics, and you are a woman
and you are a Christian woman.
Do you find that it makes ithard?

(37:14):
Do you feel sometimes likeyou're up against anything, or
do you feel like it doesn't makeany difference at all?
I mean, you're educated, you'vegot it, you're, you just go
with it, or or is there is?
Is being a woman in your fieldhard?

Speaker 3 (37:36):
Well, with that question, we are largely women
in the field, so, like there areactually not as many men who
are genetic counselors, so Idefinitely am the majority
that's represented in the fieldof genetic counseling.
I would say, though, as far assome of the encounters that I

(38:00):
have with families or otherproviders, sometimes people
might not be familiar withgenetic counselors and what our
background is and maybe what we,you know, can offer, and so
sometimes they're not asreceptive to what we have to say
.
And maybe you're like I justwant to talk to the doctor, and

(38:22):
we do work very closely withgeneticists who are MDs.
So sometimes there is thatdoubt, for you know, again,
people that we encounter I'msaying it's not often and people
are becoming more aware ofgenetic counselors in general.
And then I would say, on theother part of that is, as being

(38:45):
a Christian, you know, I reallyhad to pray and ask God to guide
my steps in this career,because I really I felt a great
pull in that direction, justgiven my whole life story and
just my curiosity and my lovefor understanding as much as we

(39:09):
can about our bodies, health,dna, and, I excuse me, really
wrestled for a little bit andthere's a backstory.
I won't get into all the details, but essentially I had an
interruption, a healthinterruption my senior year in
college at UNC, chapel Hill,where it was potential that I

(39:34):
may have had cancer, I may havehad something bigger going on,
that I had to kind of drop allmy plans and really kind of take
a step back and see what wasahead.
And so I ended up not applyingfor grad school straight out of
undergrad and I had to take apause and essentially God is so

(39:56):
gracious and good that thingsended up resolving as far as not
having to do anything majorlywith my health, not having
cancer, not having to have bigsurgery, and so I had a year
where I was just open and freeto do whatever and God opened
the door for me to do somethingcalled the Theology, medicine

(40:17):
and Culture Fellowship at DukeDivinity.
So I did that for a year where Ireally had a lot of questions
about, you know, being aChristian and looking at things
in the genetics world and thoughI didn't come out with all the
answers, I really got to be in acommunity of believers who were

(40:42):
able to think very thoughtfullyand biblically from like a
medical standpoint andnavigating that as a Christian,
in a lot of tricky situationsand just thinking through
suffering and patients that weserve, and thinking through
medicine and how you knowthere's so many ripple effects

(41:05):
of Jesus and the followers ofJesus and one of those is within
medicine and hospitals, and sojust so much richness in that
year that I was able to wrestlewith a lot of things as a
Christian who was hoping to gointo genetic counseling training
and I did that next year, andso there's a lot that I wrestled

(41:30):
with before, a lot I wrestledwith throughout my training and
still to this day.
But I really, you know I feltcalled to go into genetic
counseling.
You know I felt called to gointo genetic counseling and I
wanted to finish in faith, youknow, all the training and just

(41:54):
trusting God that he was goingto finish the work that he had
ahead of me and that he wouldwalk with me and, you know, help
me when I don't have theanswers to something.
So there's a lot there that Ifeel like I could unpack more,
but I'll leave it there.

Speaker 2 (42:07):
Oh wow.
Well, it is so fascinatingbecause what you're talking
about just sounds like anopportunity, but it sounds
exhausting because it could belike a year of wrestling with
this and that and sometimes justbeing around Christian
intellect can be really tiringand you can kind of did you ever

(42:31):
find yourself going?
Oh wait, I thought I knewthings and now I don't know that
I do.

Speaker 3 (42:38):
Oh, yes, yes, definitely so, and I think
there's humility in steppingback and saying like, nope, I'm
not God and I may never have ananswer to this.
And he didn't lay it out, youknow, clearly in Scripture,
although he's given useverything that we need in His
Word that we can, you know, drawwisdom from.
But I will say, yes, there was alot, we had to read a lot, we

(43:03):
had to write a lot.
In that one year of thatfellowship.
Think very deeply, verycritically, and we all loved it

(43:23):
in medical school or had kind offinished medical school, going
into residency and just likesuch a gift to be able to be a
part of that community thatagain blends medicine and our
faith as Christians.
But I do remember some of ourteachers saying at the beginning
you know, don't use this asyour primary way of walking with

(43:44):
God and you know, spiritualgrowth, Don't use the classes,
the academic classes, as thatway of growth.
You need a church community,you need somewhere where you
have people pouring into youthat you can, you know, go to
when you know lots of otherthings beyond this academic

(44:04):
world and really grow in thatbody as well.
And so so thankful that I hadthat church community while I
was there.

Speaker 2 (44:15):
Oh yeah, yeah, because while you're taking
things apart, you need to havesomewhere you can put things
together.
That was fabulous advice, socomplete the sentence for me.

Speaker 3 (44:30):
We were put on this earth to I think, know and
glorify God, to know our creator, to know our savior.

Speaker 2 (44:44):
And you do that through.

Speaker 3 (44:47):
I, oh my goodness, just everyday life, I think, one
being in his word, knowing himand how he's revealed himself
throughout scripture and knowinghis will through his word, I
think being out in his creation,in nature.

(45:08):
Andrew and I love to go hiking.
We love to now walk, Daisy Mae.
We love to mountain bike withsome friends from church and
like we sometimes playpickleball and I'm getting into
aerial yoga, but like using andmoving the bodies we've been

(45:28):
given and getting out and justinto the beauty of his creation,
I think it just it points tohim and just a masterpiece of
making it all and making us likeit's just incredible.
Each life is a gift, and to bean image bearer of God and to be
daughter of the one true Kingand know how much he cares for

(45:52):
us and so I'm doing that too,within community, at church and
having like that life group Iwas talking about that we can
really just dig deeper intoscripture and what we're
learning in sermons.
But also we talk through lifeand you know we share things

(46:13):
that we are praising God for andthat we need prayer for, and
you know just being steeped inawareness that you know God has
created us with such goodpurpose and for such good works
and to know Him and to be savedby Him and to be changed by Him,

(46:33):
jesus, and change for a lifethat we can find abundant joy
and just see the beauty of itall whenever we can look at Him
and know and trust Him.
And like I think about it, Ithink I've read in a book one
time.
It's like if you have a carthat has a piece that's broken,

(46:59):
you go to the original manualand the one who made the car to
understand, you know what'sgoing on and how do I fix it.
And so, just thinking throughthat and you know, thinking at
looking at scripture, as youknow, god has given us Word that
we can know Him and know aboutus, who he created us to be and

(47:25):
to know, and so I think that'ssomething that is just so
important in life and to seewhat he's guiding you to and how
he's directing your steps andwhat he's wired you to do, how
he's directing your steps andwhat he's wired you to do.

Speaker 2 (47:42):
And then there are those who would look at you and
go but Ashlyn, you know yourparents prayed for answers, for
health, for an easier path.
You did, and you didn't get aneasier path.
You got a different path andyou've got a great life.
You got a different path andyou've got a great life, but I

(48:06):
mean abundant joy, really tough.
So does that coincide with thebeliefs and the trying to
understand science and applyscience?
Are there contradictions thatyou find yourself in and you
just kind of have to go, uh, orwhat do you do with that?

Speaker 3 (48:27):
And how do you combat that if somebody says it
no-transcript.
And I said no, absolutely not.
Like God used that to reallydraw me to him, to really seek

(48:50):
to know him, to pray, you know,to pray for those things.
And though some things didn'tchange, I know and trust God had
a better plan and he used a lotof, a lot of the suffering to
honestly bring me to, to knowJesus and to be saved by him.
And to you know, not put all ofmy, I guess, effort into trying

(49:17):
to, like, save and fix myself,but accepting who I am, who I'm
created to be.
And I have a husband whoaffirms that and, like I have no
doubt about that, which is sucha gift, and and I have other
people who are able to affirmthat and though there may seem
like there's things that arelike still a limitation or still

(49:38):
a weakness, like I don't seethem as such, still a limitation
or still a weakness, like Idon't see them as such.
And I know that I'm perfectlyand wonderfully made and that's
something that I draw a lot ofcomfort from.
And my parents, absolutely,they poured so much into me and

(49:58):
my brother and so many prayersand I believe God did answer a
lot of them and he allowed amiracle for me to be able to
walk, talk, be here today, like,be able to go through
everything I have to get towhere I am today, and so I give
him all the credit and glory forit all.

(50:19):
I give him all the credit andglory for it all.
And you know, sometimes we don'thave all the answers, as much
as we may think.
We know, and all the technologywe have, that's not our
salvation.
And we know, as believers, likeour salvation is in the Lord
Jesus, that one day, like he,will make all things right.

(50:40):
One day, like he will make allthings right.
And in the suffering, even if Idon't have answered prayers, I
know he's not forsaken me, he'snot abandoned me, I'm His
beloved daughter and one dayHe'll resurrect me, just as he
did.
And there's just a lot ofcomfort and peace and joy that
we can find when we set our mindon those eternal promises

(51:07):
describe for me your perfect dayoh, my goodness, perfect day.
Sleeping in a little bit wouldbe the start.
Love, love to sleep in,although now that I'm older I
can't really sleep in past acertain time.
It's bummer, isn't it?

(51:28):
It is.
And then I would love a nicesavory breakfast, um.
And I think next would be somekind of adventure.
Love getting out, um, andespecially with andrew and now
daisy may, our dog, um.

(51:49):
So some kind of adventure,probably hiking, maybe off the
Blue Ridge Parkway, having apicnic, and then we can have
some kind of good, deliciousdinner, maybe in one of the
smaller mountain towns, and comeback and wind down.

(52:09):
I love there's a show, I love.
It's called the North CarolinaWeekends, that it's on PBS and
it just showcases North Carolinaand places to go, and so that's
where I get a lot of ideas.
Maybe ending with that andgoing through just what, what

(52:29):
we've seen God do in the day,praying together, and that would
be a perfect day.

Speaker 2 (52:37):
That sounds like a perfect day.
Now you've traveled a good bit.
You did some studying abroad.

Speaker 3 (52:42):
What do you?
think that did for you oh yeah,so while I was at UNC, chapel
Hill, I got to study inEdinburgh for one semester and
that was such a gift, loved it,loved it.
I, you know I worked reallyhard.
I unfortunately was taking somedifficult classes and the

(53:05):
university had like threedifferent locations of like
where classes could be and I hadone at all three.
So I was running aroundEdinburgh and anyway.
So I would work really hard andthen I would take the weekends
to really explore Scotland.
Or I had two really goodfriends who were in London

(53:27):
studying abroad at the same time.
So we got to travel.
We took like 20 days to go to Ithink it was nine different
countries hopping around, whichwas just like amazing to get out
of.
Sometimes I think of like wherewe are and stay like a bubble,
and so to get out of the bubbleand to go and to be able to see

(53:49):
so many other differentcountries and cultures and
people, that like God was sogood and and just the people
that he brought into my lifewhile I was abroad, um, and
really an encouragement and Ithink what did it do for me?
I I do remember in in thebeginning in Edinburgh like I

(54:09):
had no, there was no one that Iknew personally that I could,
you know, just reach out to orgo and have dinner with, and so
I just got comfortable exploring.
I would just go out on my ownand get to see Edinburgh, try
different hikes or shops,restaurants, and I also just

(54:40):
found a lot of comfort in justbeing with the Lord and reading
Scripture and just reaffirmingdifferent promises I knew to be
true and praying, and eventuallyhe gave me such an incredible
community while I was there andso, yeah, I think it did give me
a lot of confidence, though, tojust be able to, ok, go out and
and see, and see God'sbeautiful world and just take it

(55:02):
all in that is so incredible.

Speaker 2 (55:06):
I mean just to think of a young woman taking all of
that on, even though you're astudent and you've got this
assignment and that assignment.
There's a lot of bravery andstrength that comes into that.
So what would you tell thatyoung person?
You know the world is a littlebit different than it was even
when you were in school waydifferent than when I was.

(55:29):
But what would you tell thatyoung student right now of what
they ought to do, especially ayoung woman?

Speaker 3 (55:40):
I would say, if you're going abroad now, just
something that can be importantis to try to get to know the
place before you get there justa little bit, not fully, because
I love just to be able to bethere with kind of no
expectations and just to reallyembrace it all.
But you know, I think, to becareful to know safety, you know

(56:04):
information, things that youmight want to be aware of if
there's certain places not to goalone.
But I think really it can besuch a wonderful experience to
just be in a new place that youcan just get to know and explore

(56:25):
and meet people you know beintentional about, you know just
getting to know whoever you'resitting beside If it's in a
class.
My roommate eventually wassomebody who I was in an English
literature class with and wejust started talking, became
friends and eventually startedrooming together and it was the

(56:47):
most treasured friendship, onethat I had probably while I was
abroad.
That was a new friendship and,just to be intentional at any
kind of like, if you're astudent there can be a lot of
different events going on that,whatever university you're at,
they may put on for students whoare abroad, and so I would go

(57:09):
to those.
They'd have really fun events.
Like we had a ceilidh, which islike a dance that they do in
Scotland, and I got to know alot of people there and so there
was a lot of, you know,pre-organized events that I knew
.
Okay, I can go to these andI'll definitely meet people and
I would get to eat meals withother students, and so I was

(57:31):
also very intentional aboutgetting to know people that I'd
be around on those meal times.
I also I would watch the news Alot of times.
I didn't have a TV in my roomwhere I was, but I would watch
it at breakfast as many morningsas I could, just to kind of
know what was going on in theworld, because there can be a

(57:53):
lot, and a lot of times peoplefrom other countries are really
inquisitive and really want toknow what your opinion is about
things that are going on.
So I felt like I had to be upto date and I was even often
asking my parents what's goingon, what's the new news?
Because I like, literally whenI got off the plane in Edinburgh

(58:16):
and got in the taxi, like I wasimmediately asked about things
going on in the United States inthose first few minutes.

Speaker 2 (58:26):
Oh, wow, you don't want to be the one that goes I
have no idea Exactly, yes, yes,yes.
Well, ashlyn, you've had totrust people throughout your
life and even in your career.
You have to be quite trustingof the data that you're using,
and then you know therelationships.
What makes you know that youcan trust someone?

(58:49):
Do you have a trust meter oryou know?
Is there a method that you'vekind of figured out?

Speaker 3 (58:57):
You know I I always like to assume the best of
people.
I think there there comes timeswhere there's discretion that
you should have, you know, withcertain information.
But I feel like I want to bethe most genuine person that I
can be and I will share things.
If it is, I see them asappropriate and I trust the

(59:19):
person with that.
And you know, if that trust isbroken then I back up in any
kind of future.
You know conversationsituations and can choose
differently.
But yeah, I try to be as openand honest and trusting kind of
from the get go.
But if I have information youknow otherwise from other people

(59:44):
who are familiar with you, knowsomeone who can, you know, tell
me differently than I, takethat into account.

Speaker 2 (59:51):
But yeah, yeah, absolutely.
So.
This is your platform.
What would you really want totalk loudly about that the world
heard and knew, whether it'sfrom your professional
standpoint or personalstandpoint or personal?

Speaker 3 (01:00:20):
Okay, well, I'd say I'll do both.
From a personal standpoint, Ijust think it is so important to
get to know Jesus and to, ifyou're not a believer, not saved
by Him, to just really exploreand dig in and get to know Him
and ask questions and findsomeone in your life who maybe
you can walk through you know,understanding who he is and what

(01:00:42):
he did on the cross and in Hisresurrection to save us.
That's so key and just I thinkit's the most important thing in
life is our relationship withHim.
And then professionally, Ireally I think about two things.
One is you know we've come along ways as far as what we can

(01:01:07):
understand about our DNA, ourgenetics, and there can be a lot
of good insight as far as youknow doing certain testing, if
there are.
You know certain things goingon and the health of someone,
and definitely you know reachout to your doctor or if you

(01:01:28):
know a genetic counselor bychance or anyone familiar with
genetics, if there's somethinggoing on and you or a family
member that you might want toconsider any genetic testing, it
can be very valuable.
But I think the patients that Iget to work with a lot of times
there is just so much hardship,so much suffering that they're

(01:01:50):
going through and, um, and weall, we all have some level of
of suffering, something that isis not as it should be, and it
is okay, you know, to sit inthat and to say you know this is
hard, um, but I think also justlooking to find where is there
hope or where can I find joy, um, but I think also just looking

(01:02:11):
to find where is there hope orwhere can I find joy, um, how
can we enjoy this day?
What can I be grateful for, um,and don't see whoever it is who
has, if they have an illnessthat we can name?
You know, don't see them justfor that, but see them as a
person to love.
They're an image bearer of Godand, you know, really treasure

(01:02:32):
their life.
I think that's just, it's sokey.

Speaker 2 (01:02:39):
Ashlyn, you have to be organized.
You've got so many things goingand I am very curious as to
what kind of tools you might use.
I mean, just in what you werejust talking about of you know,
there's just so many differentaspects of your thinking.

(01:02:59):
Do you do journal?
Do you have like a memo pad?
Do you have a calendar?
Are you electronic?
Are you paper?
How do you keep Ashlyn and yourthoughts on track and moving
forward?

Speaker 3 (01:03:16):
I am old fashioned and I was paper paper calendars,
paper notes until Andrew cameinto my life and then we had to,
you know, be on sharedschedules and he didn't have my
paper.
So I got converted over toGoogle Calendar for being able

(01:03:36):
to keep up with all of what'sgoing on in both of our lives.
So that's one tool that I useand then another tool I have
journaled on paper in the past,but I find that I don't always
have time to sit down and write.
So sometimes I use, like thenotes on the iPhone, and

(01:03:58):
sometimes I'm able to type itout a lot faster than I can
write it, or I can voice it overand I can just speak my
thoughts, and it can capture it,and or I use voice memos too,
and it can capture it, and or Iuse voice memos too.
But yeah, I have I've probablygot hundreds of notes in my, my
iPhone, all kinds of things.

(01:04:19):
I'll have different kind ofthoughts about different topics
too, or you know differentstages of life, or I have a note
that's like undeniable momentsof of God at work in my life or
answering a prayer.
That's one note, for example.

Speaker 2 (01:04:35):
Yeah, All right, you've been digging a lot.
You've referred to yourChristianity a lot, because it
is who you are.
So if someone is new to thisand someone is like I don't even
know where to start, there's somany versions of the Bible,
there's so many Bible studies.

(01:04:55):
You can get a study ofsomebody's opinion that can take
you down a road that you aren'tsure.
So if somebody came to you andsaid, okay, I have a scientific
mind, where would you send themwhat?
What would you send them?
What would you send them?
A resource to.

Speaker 3 (01:05:18):
Yeah, I you know, some of my first thoughts as you
were talking was as far asstarting in the Bible.
I think it's great to start inGenesis, but also it can be good
to start in the New Testamentand the Gospels so Matthew, mark
, luke and John and I think I'veheard it recently, if you want

(01:05:40):
to know how it all ends, you canturn to the back of the book
and turn to Revelation, which issuch beautiful, beautiful
scripture to dig into.
But I would probably start withthe Gospels.
I've been through a couple ofBible studies with ladies that

(01:06:00):
the Bible studies were writtenby Jen Wilkins.
She specifically has ones thatI've gone through Genesis and
Exodus that I think arephenomenal and I would highly
recommend and she has a lot oftalks as well that she'll go
through a lot of differentthings that she's been asked.

(01:06:22):
And then I find that there wasa church that I went to when I
was in the Triangle.
It's called the Summit Churchand there's many gifted pastors
who have so many sermons andthere's a lot of them that can
really dive into things thatwhen we do have more of the

(01:06:45):
scientific or theoretical mind.
I think they've covered a lotwithin past sermons, so maybe
you can check out some of them.

Speaker 2 (01:06:55):
Okay, and Bible translation do you have?

Speaker 3 (01:06:58):
a Bible.
I personally have the ESV andhave read from the NIV, and I
have a Bible that's the KingJames Version and I do like to
read different ones and I yeah,those are just the ones that I
have.

Speaker 2 (01:07:19):
Yeah, yeah, it's nice to kind of compare.
We were in a study the othernight and the NIV used the word
stupid and another one severalof them used it and we were like
, does any version have adifferent word there?
And most of them used that word.
But then you went back to KingJames and it was.

(01:07:40):
I can't even remember what theword was, but it is interesting
to see because you've got thedifferent versions and I can
remember my father who, who wasa pastor, saying if you need a
living translation to help youease into it, that's all right,

(01:08:00):
but then that's kind of likereading the abridged, so you
might want to go back and gobackwards and see what else was
there.
But you know, I guess it's milkversus solids sometimes.

Speaker 3 (01:08:16):
Oh, yes, oh, yes, and I love the church that we go to
and the pastor often will kindof ask the congregation like
whose translation says this andwho says this?
Like it's really really neat tosee, and then to come together
and kind of look just more atwhat's the overall you know
meaning and often going evenback to like things like the

(01:08:39):
greek translation oh yeah, andit's just like well, yeah,
respect for, for people who digdeeper yeah, I do too.

Speaker 2 (01:08:50):
I'm not sure I could go there.
We have talked about so manythings.
Is there anything that we'vemissed that you want to make
sure we cover?

Speaker 3 (01:09:02):
Oh, you know, there's something that's standing out
in my mind I was thinking aboutwhen I graduated from UNC.
The commencement speaker it wasthe CEO of Habitat for Humanity
and he had three questions thatI thought were so powerful and

(01:09:23):
they've just stuck with me.
And the questions were who areyou going to allow to speak into
your life?
How are you going to definebeing rich or wealth?
And then, what are you wired todo, like?
What has God made you withgifts to be able to do?

(01:09:46):
And I think those are good foreveryone to think through.

Speaker 2 (01:09:54):
Have you answered all of those?

Speaker 3 (01:09:57):
I definitely have.
I've talked with differentfriends and family and Andrew
about them.
Do you want me to answer them?
Yeah, go ahead.
Okay, let's see.
So the first one like who areyou going to allow to speak into

(01:10:18):
your life?
I absolutely fully trust Andrew, as my husband, to speak into
my life to you know, call me outwhen he sees sin that I need to
address things that you know Imay be needing to do differently
.
Like an example, I definitelydo a lot, have a lot on my plate

(01:10:38):
and sometimes he reminds me youneed to take time to rest.
So that's an example of Himspeaking into my life.
And then my parents, mybrothers and sisters in Christ,
who I just really get to havethe gift of walking through life
together.
So those are people in my lifethat I allow to speak into my

(01:11:05):
life.
And then how do I define likebeing rich or wealth?
And then how do I define beingrich or wealth?
I think we are able to havesuch rich abundance of life in
Christ and no matter what wehave material things that we
have, christ is enough and Ithink that's something that over

(01:11:29):
time in my walk with him thatI've come to realize.
But you know, I don't seewealth necessarily tied to money
.
I think it's in the life thatwe've been given and in the
people that we have around usand those relationships that are
invaluable, just in each day.

(01:11:51):
Each day is truly a gift, andgetting to do things that you
love and what you're wired to do, like I do, feel like part of
what I'm wired to do and in mystory has been to be a pediatric
genetic counselor and to beable to walk with these kids and
families who are going throughsuch great medical hardship and

(01:12:13):
helping them navigate throughthat and cope and educate when
there is a diagnosis or ifthere's not.
I've just had so much of thatthroughout my life that I'm able
to pour into the families thatI get to work with.
And then I think there's somany other things in life beyond

(01:12:35):
our job as well that we'rewired to be in relationship with
one another, and so that'ssomething that I really treasure
is the relationships we haveboth, you know, with my husband,
family and friends, andstrangers too.

Speaker 2 (01:12:50):
Yeah, Wow, what a rich life.
Rich, rich life.
Ashlyn.
How do people get in touch withyou if they wanted to Sure?

Speaker 3 (01:13:02):
Let's see you are welcome to reach out to our
shared email which Becca, yourdaughter, recommended when we
got married to have us share anemail which has been so, so
helpful.
So you can reach out to it'sandrewandashlyn2024atgmocom.
I think that might be the bestway, yeah.

Speaker 2 (01:13:25):
Yeah, that's good, because there are things that
you might be able to answer fromsomebody or or send them in a
direction or encourage them, soso thank you for that.

Speaker 3 (01:13:35):
Thank you for that so I can spell my name if you need
me to yeah, go ahead okay soit's a s h l y n?
Um.
So andrew, and spelling out,and and then ashlyn 2024 at
gmocom.

Speaker 2 (01:13:51):
All right, that's perfect.
All right, Ashlyn, if this wereyour platform and you could say
anything you wanted to, just asloudly as you wanted, and it's
just your chance to say it andcommunicate any kind of message
what would you want to say?
What kind of topic would youbring up at this point?

Speaker 3 (01:14:14):
Well, my mind first goes to Jesus and for anyone who
doesn't know the Lord, just getto know Him.
It's truly incredible tounderstand what Jesus has done
for us, on our behalf, and thelife that he invites us into
when we're saved by Him.
And just I would highlyencourage people to get to know

(01:14:37):
Him and to read the Bible and toget to know other people who
are followers of Jesus.
If you have questions, I thinkanother good resource is
gotquestionscom.
But that's think what my heartum is just you know, wanting to
scream from the mountaintops isis get to know the lord um, and

(01:15:00):
I think too, just sometimes itcan be so difficult um in in the
life that we walk and there canbe so much suffering, and I've
just seen that the pains of thesuffering and just like
brokenness and ugliness of sin,how it's pushed me to see more

(01:15:21):
deeply the beauty of the gospeland really to hold tightly to
God's promises and reallyfinding refreshment in present
promises that we have and secureeternity that we have in Jesus
Christ and so just understandingthe precious blood-bought

(01:15:42):
salvation that we have.
When we reflect on that, likewe learn to trust God and His
care and sovereignty in our life, learn to trust God and his
care and sovereignty, and in ourlife so I just.
I know I've wrestled through alot, a lot of difficulty and
hardship throughout my life but,like I've just been drawn
closer and closer to the Lordthrough it all.

Speaker 2 (01:16:06):
Very good, very good, and I mean it just seems like
that when you combine yourscience knowledge and your
spiritual knowledge, then youjust have this blend of what can
help you put one foot in frontof the other.

Speaker 3 (01:16:25):
I'm together and you know who I am, who he's made me
to be, and I'm so, so grateful.
And I think something too inthe suffering like sometimes I
think it's important no matterwhat that kind of suffering or
hardship that it is if youyourself or know somebody who
maybe has a new diagnosis orjust has something difficult

(01:16:48):
going on just the importance tobe there, to be present.
We know, like the Lord ispresent with us and will never
abandon us, but it's sobeautiful to see how he can
provide comfort in those who cango and sit with and cry with
and rejoice with others, just tobe there and to really, I think

(01:17:12):
, find value in the life that wehave, even when things aren't
the way maybe that we would wantit to go, but to maybe
cultivate like a time that wereflect on what's something good
about today that I can be veryglad for and grateful for.
That's always something thatcan help us get through hard

(01:17:34):
times as well.

Speaker 2 (01:17:35):
Yeah, very true.
Thank you, Ashlyn.
You have to keep up with thenews.
You have to know what'shappening in the world A lot of
times things that impact yourscientific world and then how
you process through that andapply that and just know what's
going on.
So do you have a resource thatyou particularly like and that

(01:17:58):
you use and kind of turn to tostay in the know?

Speaker 3 (01:18:03):
That's a great question and, yes, I do have a
couple of podcasts that I listento as like my go-to news
resources, and I do a lot ofdriving with my job, so I have a
lot of time to listen to thepodcasts, and so those are the
World and Everything in it, aswell as the Briefing by Albert

(01:18:25):
Moeller, so I would highlyrecommend both of those.
So I would highly recommendboth of those, and they really
are podcasts that are done bythoughtful Christian journalists
and people who are really, youknow, looking at what's going on
in the world, praying for ourworld.
And, yes, those are the twopodcasts Do have to keep up to

(01:18:47):
date reading different researcharticles, publications and my
colleagues are always greatabout sharing stuff from a
scientific perspective and thenalways people you know, just
talking to the people who are inyour lives, and I think that's
always good, when you do knowwhat's going on in the world, to
have those discussions as well.

Speaker 2 (01:19:09):
Well, and it's kind of neat to have those
discussions as well.
Well, and it's kind of neat.
You've shared those resourcesbefore with us, and especially
with your uncle, tom, yes.
And so to have that kind ofgroup to kind of bounce things
off of and talk about sometimes.

Speaker 3 (01:19:24):
Absolutely.
Yeah, that literally made myday when I heard that Uncle Tom
listens to it every morning aswell, because we're probably
listening to it about the sametime and so knowing that and we
can have, you know,conversations about that in the
future as well, I reallyappreciate.

Speaker 2 (01:19:44):
Yeah, well, hey, it is great to have resources given
to you.
It's funny because you knowwhat were the resources 30 years
ago.
Some of them are still the same, but there's a lot of new on
the horizon, and so it's alwaysgood to have good, solid
recommendations.
So thank you for that.

Speaker 3 (01:20:03):
Yeah, absolutely.

Speaker 2 (01:20:05):
One more question.
If you had a superpower youhave it for 24 hours, you can
use it both professionally orpersonally what superpower?
You have it for 24 hours, youcan use it both professionally
or personally what superpowerwould you choose?
How would you use it?
And I always love to know why.
Why would it be your choice?

Speaker 3 (01:20:22):
Oh my Well, I am going to have to take it two
different ways.
I'll start with professionally.
I think one of the biggestthings I encounter that like
sometimes I really wish I couldhave, is like the ability to see
the future.
A lot of times these familiesare asking you know, what is

(01:20:44):
this going to look like?
You know, a couple of yearsdown the road, 10, 20, you know
they, they have a lot of big,heavy questions and we're not
God and we, we can't, you know,answer that fully.
We, we can answer as best wecan from what we know, from a
medical or scientific standpoint, but we, we have to have

(01:21:06):
humility and knowing that we'renot going to be able to predict
everything.
And I say all that thinking toothat sometimes it is nice to
not know all the specifics andfor me at least, it's allowed me
to, you know, press deeper intoGod and trusting Him with my
life.
And I think sometimes, if wedon't know too, we can really

(01:21:29):
just focus on each day, the giftin each day, taking things as
it comes.
So that's one thing, I guess,seeing into the future.
And then, personally, I've, likealways wanted to fly.
I just even as a little girl Igot to be in our community
theater and my dad also knewthat I always wanted to fly and

(01:21:54):
we were working on a set, forPeter Pan was the play that we
were doing and we brought in,like this amazing group that was
able to set up so that many ofthe actors and actresses could
fly, and they needed a tester.
I was not one of the maincharacters, um, but they needed
a tester and my dad volunteeredme, so I got to fulfill that

(01:22:19):
dream and I got to fly aroundthe stage.
So I'd still love to to do itagain, but maybe without all the
wiring, um, there's just a lotof uh, just freedom, and I have
actually gotten to fly.
In our county there's a placethat you can go paragliding and
you just run off the side of amountain, and I got to do that a

(01:22:41):
couple of years ago and it wasso peaceful, just to soar up
with the birds.

Speaker 2 (01:22:48):
It's the landing.
That's a little scary.

Speaker 3 (01:22:51):
Yeah, yeah, my dad got to do it too and he got
carried up, up, up, up so highthat he didn't get to land where
they normally would land.
They had to go, like, pick himup somewhere far down the field
and he uh, he said they almostran into like a power line, but
it was fine, they directed himaway from it, so all good Wow.

Speaker 2 (01:23:15):
Ashlyn, this has been absolutely fabulous and I thank
you so very much for takingtime out of your day and sharing
just your heart and and I, justI we.
You have made a difference tolisteners today.
I'm positive, so thank you.

Speaker 3 (01:23:30):
Thank you, Amy, for inviting me and just letting me
to share my story.

Speaker 1 (01:23:37):
Absolutely of my own drum.
I got my pockets full of dreamsand they're busting at the
seams, going boom, boom, boom tomy own song.

Speaker 2 (01:24:09):
Find Stat Keys Podcast on Spotify, soundcloud,
andunes or anywhere you get yourfavorite podcast.
Listen you'll laugh out loud,you'll cry a little, you'll find
yourself encouraged.
Join us for casual conversationthat leads itself, based on
where we take it from family tophilosophy, to work to meal, to

(01:24:30):
beautifully surviving life.
And hey, if I could ask a bigfavor of you, go to iTunes and
give us a five rating.
The more people who rate us,the more we get this podcast out
there.
Thanks, I appreciate it To allmy wants and all my dreams Like

(01:24:50):
an old song.

Speaker 1 (01:24:52):
Everything will be alright when.

Speaker 4 (01:24:57):
I let myself go with the night.
Gotta stomp to my own drum.
Stomp to my own song.
Stomp.
Hey, gonna, put on my boots andmove.
Gotta stomp to my own songStomp.
Hey, gonna, put all my boots inthe room, stomp no-transcript.