You don't have to get very far in to Lauren Akins' book to figure out pretty quickly that she's a private person. And simply by nature of her husband, country music superstar Thomas Rhett's career, she has become a very public persona. With millions of followers on Instagram and a NY Times best-selling book, Live in Love: Growing Together Through Life's Changes, the public has fallen in love with the sweet and charming Lauren Akins.
Opening Up to the World Through Lauren Akins' Book
When asked how difficult it was to share her life story in a book, Akins tells Franklin Lifestyle, "The process was not hard. My cowriter Mark is an amazing writer and became a really good friend of ours over the course of this project so talking about my life with him was just like I was sharing it with a friend. Our hearts connected from the beginning and I knew it was something he would be great at. So that was easy. But the day that it was released to the world, that was harder. It was something I really believed was supposed to happen.
I really felt the Lord opened that door in front of me and asked me to walk through it. I wasn't sure what was gonna happen on the other side of that door.
She continued, "Thankfully, it's been a really sweet experience. I really am glad that I did it."
Lauren Akins: Mission, Care in Africa and Love One International
Akins does not hold back, sharing very intimate details of her life from her childhood, her marriage, her husband's fame and her beautiful family. She opens up about her life-changing experiences doing mission work in both Haiti and Uganda, working with Love One International.
"Love One operates in Uganda, taking care of malnourished and vulnerable children. We are currently in the stages of growing quite a bit. The need is so great in Uganda. Our dream is to have a bigger center where we are able to care for more children. Right now, we can care for 12-16 kids at a time, but we want to take care of a whole lot more and resettle them back in their communities with their families, or find one to care for them. It's been an incredible journey just to get to be a part of taking care of children. It's a huge part of my heart. Willa Gray is from there."
She continues, "This year has been challenging. We've had to put the brakes on making major decisions since we can't really be over there {due to Covid} to make sure things are working the way we want them to and using donor's money well. But hopefully, we'll get back over there in the next few months and get that ball rolling again. The future of Love One looks really, really bright. We're so thankful to all the people that have invested their time, energy and money to Love One."
Lauren Akins' Homelife During the Pandemic: Coping and Growing with Family
Akins has learned a lot in this Covid year. And most especially, she's learned from her girls. "I have learned lots of patience. To give up control. I fought so hard in the beginning of being a mom to try to make things look like they are supposed to look. Like have Willa Gray's hair done perfectly every day. Or have Ada James eat all the vegetables on her plate. Or clean up the playroom after every session we played in there. It's exhausting. I look back and was like, 'Did I even play with them today?' I was so busy doing damage control and trying to keep everything in order. Ya know what? Let them leave the lids off the markers, let the play-doh dry out. They're happy and I'm happier, and I'm a better mom when I let that go.
Let them run the day. Chose their clothes and how they wear their hair. And maybe you'll get some judgment about how they look out in public, but they're happy kids. And they only get to be this little for so long. A lot of what they've taught me is just to let some things go.
Where the Future Lies for Akins
So what's next for the mother of three? "Over the last year I've really learned that my most important job on earth is just parenting these three little girls the best way I know how. And for me now, that means turning down a lot of things. My priorities right now are my kids and Thomas Rhett and Love One. We're taking this year to spend time with our kids before Willa Gray starts Kindergarten and Thomas Rhett gets back on the road. I'm not planning and I'm not predicting."
But she says, they can't wait to have a day in Franklin. "We love to be in Franklin. Walking around the square and eating at restaurants. I love the beauty of Franklin. It feels like southern and home. I just want to walk around and be."