How Confronting Death Changed One Woman’s Perspective On God

Following conversations with Amanda Seyfriend, Lea Michele, and Mindy Kaling about self-confidence, InStyle magazine has launched a video series in partnership with I Am That Girl, a self-love initiative to encourage women to find and support their inner selves. Each video features a woman recounting a story of personal triumph — a time she lived through some kind of trial, only to emerge smarter and stronger. In the video above, Brittany shares how seeing her mother and grandmother struggle with serious illness changed her relationship to spirituality for the better. Following her mother's diagnosis with breast cancer, Brittany was forced to reevaluate her idea of god. The benevolent, white-bearded man she'd always imagined didn't seem like the type of person who'd give her mother cancer, she explains. As Brittany realized that no one person can or should make these decisions, her perspective shifted. It isn't one person or one force that determines the course of our lives, it is more like a system, she explains — one that makes changes in order to find balance and bring people together. This point of view helps her "be more present because it makes me feel like I'm supposed to be here." It was only in learning to cope with sickness, death, and loss that Brittany came to this conclusion, but through this hardship she has emerged more mindful and aware of the forces at play around her. Check out the full series here.