Today we’d like to introduce you to Moniqueka Rucker.
Hi Moniqueka, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
A broken heart will eventually heal. (Beauty for Ashes). I work in the City of Atlanta for a prosecution agency, I have worked as Legal Specialist Senior and Terminal Agency Coordinator (TAC) for over 20 years, and I am a Licensed Christian Counselor/Therapist, and I am now currently in a master’s Pre-Licensed Program at Walden University for Clinical Mental Health Counseling. I started as a Warrant Officer, and I continued to grow and learn in the agency. I am very involved in the community outreach programs for the youth through our agency and the City of Atlanta. I love working with children. When I am not working with my agency, I devote my time to helping those who are wounded and afflicted my trauma and pain through counseling, which is my heart’s greatest passion. On December 24, 2021, my life drastically changed for me, my husband, our children and my family, when my first born and oldest son was tragically killed. While most were preparing to celebrate Christmas and make way for the New Year’s festivities, we were planning a funeral, I am a woman of deep unwavering faith and tremendous trust in God, so, for the first time I felt completely lost, torn and wounded. It to me was and still is a nightmare, because a parent never imagines planning a funeral for their child, no matter what. This all happened during Covid, so the dynamic was completely different. I was working from home, so it was a deep challenge because after funerals life still moves on, while I was at home working in complicated grief everyone else was back at work. I finally found myself boxed in with God.
He tenderly spoke to me and said that he would give me beauty for ashes and make everything beautiful in its time. While learning to accept my new normal and walking in a new way of trust, I was Diagnosed with Breast Cancer May 2023. I never complained, I just walked in faith and endured hardness like a good soldier, and I decided to believe what God promised me and live through moments, because it 24 hours in a day, and I CRIED relentless tears for a year straight until the Tears Burned.
I would then prepare for surgery, chemotherapy and radiation and now I live to tell, God does not make mistakes and he is to wise to fail on his promises.
When I look back, I spend moments of reflection primarily thanking God for my outstanding husband and children for their support and encouragement. I remember the funeral director in her closing statements saying to the people as we prepared to go to the interment service, she has been doing what she is doing for over 30 years and was able to witness something she had never witnessed that day, which is when she arrived, she asked did anyone want to pray? and she said ” This mother, Mrs. Rucker sent up sweet timber for her family as a grieving mother”. She went on to say how it had blessed her since she had recently lost her father.
Though the enemy has tried to slay me, yet will I trust him, My tears literally burned my face from the deep sadness, but, I allowed to engage with God , in the great exchange, I committed to give him my ashes for his beauty. He has proved faithful by allowing me to mentor and be a light through praise dancing where I have established community, I was reunited with my son daughter, whom we had not seen since she was 3 years old and she is now 13 years old, our middle son has blessed us with beautiful grandchildren (3 girls and a boy), our baby son got married last year and now we have 2 new additions to our family a bonus daughter along with a new grandson, our youngest child and our only daughter is graduating Mother’s Day weekend Pre-Med and I was a nominee and recipient for the 2025 City of Atlanta Woman of Impact Award. And now I have an honor to share my story with this wonderful magazine.
When it is all said and done, My Tears where necessary, I have gone on to counsel grieving parent’s, mothers etc and I have watched God’s beautiful exchange daily. Sadness and grief still comes off of the shelf for me, but I tenderly give myself permission to grieve and then kindly put it back on the shelf, to indulge in the beauty for ashes and God making everything beautiful in it’s time. Thanks for considering my story, Tears have tremendous power to heal and create foot steps of hope for the hurting. Pain is not permanent.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Struggles of grief is the hardest road a parent can journey, because it is not the natural order of life. Learning you have Breast Cancer that has no cure, on top of grief, is like a person being struck by a car twice. However, I am committed not to get stuck because the toughest battles are given to strong warriors (especially prayer warriors) like myself.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
Faith Hope Love Restoration and Wellness, Inc is structured in counseling through grief, anger, coping skills, relationships, individual and family counseling etc. I have a host of certifications, Anger, Life Coaching, Theft By Shoplifting Facilitator. What sets me apart from others is my resilience, secondly, though I am Christian Based, my biggest desire is to be a fisherman of the lost, prodigal and unhealed, to provide an experience of Jesus meeting you where you are! I respect all in their spiritual and religious journey. I offer the consoling hand, heart and feet of Jesus to see him doing the work that only he can do in their lives, I am just the vessel, and I pray for tools. Brand wise. Faith Hope and Love is the core of the brand, I walk it, like I talk, faith without work is dead, hope is always possible if you dare to believe, and Love never fails, no matter who or what else does, Love never gives up, it believes the best and Love always wins.
I am just really getting established with my brand and business, I was the turtle or the ostrich dealing with grief. Readers should not be intimidated by the fact that I am Christian Based Practice, what I would like them to know is that grief is universal and no matter what trauma or trials they are currently dealing with, there is healing restoration and a opportunity to be well and do life well. I do not take any credit for this, but I will share that had the opportunity to do a 12 week grief session with 12 orthodox Jews! I am a black woman and I had never met them a day in my life, however, I never brought up Jesus the Bible etc. I just asked them if they wanted to experience the power of healing through grief. I must say , they still reach out to me, because healing was there portion not color or my personal conviction.
So, before we go, how can our readers or others connect or collaborate with you? How can they support you?
I would love to see how we could network and have a meeting to explore possibilities.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.FHLWellness.com
- Other: Psychology Today
Image Credits
These are personal photos taken, The white is my headshot for my business and the other is the award for the 2025 Woman of impact award.
