Rita Mercer

L'AMOR WOMEN OF POWER

The main goal of L'amor is to encourage every woman to love herself as she is. Every woman is worthy, full of power, strength, and beauty - she simply needs to look within herself and let it radiate to the outside world. This page spotlights women whose life story serves as an inspiration to others.

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Rita Mercer

My journey of self-love has been a lifelong process—a journey of learning how to trust myself, be true to myself, and find my voice. But if I’m being honest, the road to get here was hard. I mean, it was super hard. Many times, I had no idea how or if I was going to make it. But God, somehow, at each fork in the road, at each challenge I experienced in life, had angels guiding me the whole way.

Being a teen mom and walking through years of trauma, emotional abuse, physical abuse, sexual abuse, and divorce, I struggled to overcome fear, shame, rejection, insecurity, and porous boundaries. Among everything that I’ve been through, two moments changed my life: becoming a teen mom and going through divorce.

My journey into womanhood began when I became a teen mom at age 16. I knew I needed help to love and care for this beautiful baby that God blessed me with. This is the moment when God really became real to me, and I accepted Him into my life as a Christian. Another pivotal moment in my journey of self-love came after my last divorce. After almost two decades, I had fallen into patterns of codependency and putting others' needs before my own—sacrificing my needs, desires, and happiness just to please others. I got tired of being sick and tired of not being happy. So, I changed. When I made the difficult decision to leave a marriage that I had poured my heart and soul into, it almost broke me to my core. But I learned that letting go would be my greatest act of self-love—of learning to love myself and show up for myself with authenticity, scars and all. Laughter came back, peace came back, and the colors in life became so much more vivid than ever before.

Through all those pivotal years of development, God counseled me, comforted me, and taught me. But most of all, He became my friend and carried me through many seasons of life. I no longer identify solely as a teen mom, a divorcée, or a victim of trauma. I know I am a fighter. I now wear my battle scars as a badge of honor, knowing I showed up to the fight and didn’t give up—even when it was tough. Now, looking back, I am thankful to God for helping me find healing and self-love through the power of counseling, lots of prayer, and connecting me with healthy relationships.

With nearly a decade of experience as a wellness and mindset coach and as a licensed counselor (in Ohio), I now have the opportunity to help lead other women through their healing journeys, connect with healthy relationships, find their voice, and embrace a holistic wellness lifestyle.