Finding Hope After Heartbreak, Laura Husband’s Story
We all go through times of joy, blessing, and peace, as well as times of challenge, sorrow, and even tragedy. It's crucial to turn to Jesus in the midst of it all. Laura Husband has experienced both joy and sorrow. When she was 12 years old, she lost her father, Colonel Rick Husband, when the space shuttle Columbia broke apart 16 minutes prior to its intended landing. With the eyes of the world on her family, Laura had to grow up quickly. Her relationship with the Lord carried her through that difficult time and continues to sustain her today. Join Laura and host, Jodie Chiricosta, and learn how you can find hope and healing in the midst of pain as you anchor your trust in God’s plan and presence.
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Our Guest: Laura Husband
Laura Husband, currently based out of Houston, is working on projects in Texas and Tennessee related to film, stage, improv, and dance, as well as curating events that gather communities to discuss important local and global issues in culture. She enjoys telling stories that inspire hope and collaborating with fellow artists and visionaries to create something that immerses and serves others in joy, thought, and reflection. Additionally, with her unique passion and connection to space exploration, she serves as a STEAM advocate and seeks to find ways to bridge the gap between art and space projects. Laura has been performing professionally on stage the past eleven years in plays, musicals, and operas, and has been acting/dancing in film the past five. A couple career highlights include five years in TEXAS! Outdoor Musical, performing various works of Shakespeare, working on The Chosen, and voice acting for The Delusion series.
Key Thoughts and Scriptures:
“Sometimes our way lies in the sunlight. Other times it lies in the path of sorrow. Yet even sorrows turn to blessings when they make us less attached to the world and more attached to God. Then more than ever, we discover that Jesus truly is our friend.” – Rev. Billy Graham
- The Word of God played a pretty important role in Laura’s life, even at a young age.
- But there wasn’t some big aha moment. But when tragedy happened, Laura realized a lot of those verses had been hidden in her heart and started coming back to mind.
Isaiah 53:3 NKJV …A Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief…
Psalm 68:5 NKJV A father of the fatherless…
Psalm 147:3 NKJV He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.
Psalm 30:11 NKJV You have turned for me my mourning into dancing…
2 Corinthians 1:3 NKJV …God of all comfort…
Genesis 22:14 NKJV And Abraham called the name of the place, The-Lord-Will-Provide…
- Know that God’s track record is good, even in the hardest moments He does show up, He does provide, and He is present in those difficult moments.
- God holds all of us, no matter who we are or what age we are.
- “We weren’t so strong, but God was.”
Mark 9:24 NKJV …“Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!”
- “My dad achieved his astronaut dreams. He did really cool, big things, but what mattered at the core of it all was telling others about Jesus and that Jesus is real to him.”
- The combined reality of life is it is short and we’re not guaranteed tomorrow. So don’t waste time.
Jesus is the one who actually can align you in the right way to your dreams and also give you that hope when things completely fall apart too.
- The best thing anyone could do in the midst of tragedy is serving and loving well without even using words. Because sometimes words don’t fix it.
- Tragedy left an imprint on Laura’s life, but it didn’t define her.
- You keep chipping away at what God’s calling you to as you go. And He reveals more and more.
- God and His Word are a safe and good place to go.
- Look to God for guidance. Once you’ve connected with Him, you can then involve your community for support.
- How do we then let the Bible evaluate and change and heal us as we walk through our own daily things?
- Accountability is a lifelong thing.
- You already internally know what’s going on. So when you just acknowledge it, that removes some of that power the enemy wants to have over you, especially if it’s a sin related thing.
- God already knows and He can be the solution and help.
James 5:16 NIV Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.
Laura’s Questions for Accountability:
- Do it honestly.
- But it’s not meant to be a scolding session or to check boxes.
- It has to be someone you trust.
- How has your time in the Bible and prayer been?
- Also, how have your words been? Have they been uplifting or gossiping or discouraging? Or have you been encouraging?
- How have your thoughts been?
- Have you been disciplining your body in a way that honors God? Rest? Exercise?
1 Corinthians 6:19 NIV Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own
- Have you been consuming media that is life giving?
- What fruit of the spirit is lacking in your life and what fruit of the spirit has been flourishing that you’ve noticed?
- Also, what characteristic of God have you most recently noticed happening in your life?
- What scripture has been speaking to you?
- Are you being diligent in your finances? Tithing?
- If you know that there’s a certain area for you that’s more difficult, then it’s good to get specific and ask your accountability partner to focus on that.
We truly are made in His image, there’s something deep within us that draws to Him.
- So you just have to trust God knows what He’s doing and be available and show up and know that He’s working in everyone’s lives.
- It’s especially important to acknowledge your mistakes and be humble.
- Find ways to honor God through your imperfections.
Isaiah 55:11 NKJV So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; It shall not return to Me void, but it shall accomplish what I please, and it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.
- Just by getting the Word out to people, God works in their hearts in ways that we can’t see.
1 Corinthians 3:6-8 NKJV I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase. So then neither he who plants is anything, nor he who waters, but God who gives the increase. Now he who plants and he who waters are one, and each one will receive his own reward according to his own labor.
Acts 13:22 NKJV …‘I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after My own heart, who will do all My will.’
- When it came to repentance, David acknowledged the depth of his mistakes.
- People who are newer to the faith might pick up on something new in scripture that you’ve never thought about because it’s fresh to them.
- You also can cry out to God when things get rough and know that He is reliable and that He is the foundation. He is the strength you can turn to when things get hard.
- We get the privilege of being used by Him if we’re willing.
- Laura learned that even when she experienced a lot of death, she was still experiencing joy and continually seeing God’s healing in her life.
Laura has learned that even though it gets dark, it’s not hopeless.
- Counseling serves such a great purpose and God uses it as an amazing tool because it’s someone objective outside of yourself.
- Be a consumer when you’re looking for a counselor. It’s okay if you may not feel like it’s the right fit.
- And make sure that they’re affirming your faith and encouraging you in walking out what scripture would say is the right way to go.
- Pursue rest and move towards it; it’s something that doesn’t only have to happen as a result of exhaustion.
- Like our creator, we’re creative.
- God created six days and then He rested on the seventh. He didn’t create out of exhaustion. God created out of joy and out of a full place.
- Rest is worth doing.
- Honoring the Sabbath rest and trusting that God will provide in the moments that you’re not expelling energy.
Esther’s story
Esther 4:13-14 NIV … And who knows but that you have come to your royal position for such a time as this?”
- Esther was put in an environment that was unexpected, and the odds seemed to be stacked against her, yet she was worthy to become the queen.
- Laura loves thinking about that verse in her own life that this is the moment for which she is created.
- God put you here for a specific moment in time, and you can trust that He will guide that process and open the doors that need to be opened.
Proverbs 3:5-6 NLT Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take.
- As we lean into God and trust Him and seek to do His will, He guides and directs us in a unique way because each of us has a unique path.
- God is present in the midst of those hard things and He is there and loves you.
James 1:27 NLT Pure and genuine religion in the sight of God the Father means caring for orphans and widows in their distress and refusing to let the world corrupt you.
Romans 15:13 NLT I pray that God, the source of hope, will fill you completely with joy and peace because you trust in him. Then you will overflow with confident hope through the power of the Holy Spirit.
Links:
Books:
- Towards Rest by Alabaster Company
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Hey friends, welcome to the Her God Story podcast where you will always hear a good story to encourage
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and inspire you in your walk with God. I'm your host, Jodie Chiricosta, ministry leader at Somebody
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Cares America and international and author and traveler on this journey with Jesus. Would you do
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me a favor and rate or review this podcast through the link in the description or show notes? You can
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also do it through your favorite podcast streaming platform that will help others find this podcast
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too. And don't forget to get your free six-week devotional on Women of the Bible at hergodstory.org.
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The Reverend Billy Graham said, sometimes our way lies in the sunlight. Other times it lies in the
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path of sorrow. Yet even sorrows turn to blessings when they make us less attached to the world
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and more attached to God. Then more than ever we discover that Jesus truly is our friend.
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We all go through times of joy, blessing and peace. And we also go through times of challenge, sorrow
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and some even tragedy. We must turn to Jesus in the midst of it all. My guest, Laura Husband,
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has experienced both joy and sorrow. Laura is a performer and speaker who lives in the Houston
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area. And when she was 12 years old, she lost her father, Colonel Rick Husband, when the space
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shuttle Columbia broke apart 16 minutes prior to its intended landing. With the eyes of the world
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on her and her family, Laura grew up quickly and her relationship with the Lord is what carried
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her and still carries her through. Welcome, Laura. Thank you for having me. I'm glad to be here.
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Laura, your life has a clear demarcation line before the Columbia accident and after. Tell us
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about life before Columbia and when did you put your faith in Christ? Yeah, so I grew up in a very
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loving home, loving family. Both my parents followed Jesus, strong believers. I had a younger
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brother, but early, early on my dad was Air Force. So I was born in California at Edwards Air Force
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Base. And then the first place I remember is England. We moved there and he was an exchange
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test pilot in the Royal Air Force. So early childhood was in England. I had a British accent
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when I was little. And I remember going to church with my parents and there was this moment at four
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years old where I thought about just, okay, my parents have something that I don't, but it's
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something I want. And I remember going behind the couch and praying and just inviting God into my
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life. And my parents were a big part of that, of just demonstrating they had something in them that
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I wanted to. And as I grew older, that relationship just grew. And I grew in my understanding and
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closeness with God. But from a very early age, I knew God and walked with him, thankfully,
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my whole life since. But then we moved to Houston when I was four years old. My brother was born
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soon after and my dad had been selected to be an astronaut at NASA. It had been a lifelong dream
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of his since he was four years old. And so we found ourselves in Houston, Virginia, and we
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found ourselves in Houston, Texas, with all the heat and mosquitoes. And he started training and
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had his first mission in 1999. And he was a pilot on the Space Shuttle Discovery. They were the first
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to dock with the International Space Station. And then his second mission, as you mentioned before,
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was Columbia, which he was the commander of. And they did spend 16 days in space before they were
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supposed to come home. And then unfortunately, we lost them during that landing. But up to that
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point, my childhood had been very loving, very safe. I felt very safe. I felt very encouraged by
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my parents and supported and had a strong community around us at our church. And a lot really wasn't
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of concern to me, you know, up to that point. As it shouldn't be for a child, right? Thankfully,
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yes. For some, it's not. So up to that point, I didn't have many concerns or worries. The Word
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of God played a pretty important role in your life, even at a young age. You mentioned kind of
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really digging into the Bible when you were in sixth grade. What was that about? What instigated
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that? Yeah, in sixth grade, that was a year before my dad flew his second mission on Columbia.
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There was kind of this time period where I started getting frustrated about how the Bible didn't
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speak to me. People would say, oh, the Bible speaks to them and, you know, moves them or changes them
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in some way. And I just felt like it was a dry book that didn't really have much relevance to my
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daily life. And I wasn't quite sure what people meant when they would talk about the Bible in that
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way, as if it's living and affecting them in these deep ways. And so it really was a God-preparing
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moment because as a sixth grader, I don't know if it really was normal, but I started reading my
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Bible more and read it a lot that entire year. Just started diving into scripture more and more.
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And I didn't really know probably in those moments what that meant. Maybe I think it was just like,
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okay, let's see what's, you know, let's try to allow it to happen to me too, you know. But
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there wasn't some big aha moment necessarily. And then when tragedy happened, I realized a lot of
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those verses that had been, as people say, hidden in their heart started coming back to mind, such
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as he's a man of sorrows acquainted with our grief. He's a father to the fatherless. He binds up the
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brokenhearted and he turns our mourning into dancing. And all these, you know, he's a God of
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comfort and he's our provider. And all these things that I had read or heard about, but now I really
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needed them to be true and not just nice things to say. And that was kind of that moment, my mom
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refers to it that way too, is where the rubber hits the road with your faith of, okay, either these
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are just nice things to say or hopefully they are true and hold weight and stand the test of
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difficulty. And I hope God is who he says he is because I really need him to be those things
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right now. And I watched him do that over and over in different questions and hard things that I went
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through, that I walk through now, knowing that his track record is good, even in the hardest moments
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that he does show up, he does provide, and he can be present in those difficult moments. Even as you
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get, as I got older and did counseling, sometimes part of that counseling work that people will do
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is ask you to go back to those places. And, you know, if it's with the understanding of God in the
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picture, you can even just ask God where he was in those moments, maybe when you didn't sense that
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or feel that. And it's cool to see how God can bring healing retroactively into those moments
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where you can see where he was working, even if you didn't know it at the current moment, visibly
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how. So I feel like I've had those moments even since too.
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Yeah, and it really was the Holy Spirit preparing you for all that lie ahead. And it was quite a road.
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I mean, when you were in seventh grade, your father didn't return from that space shuttle mission.
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You were expecting him to, and there was no reason he had been before. There was no reason for him not
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to come back, but there was a problem. So share just a little about that day and the following
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months and what that did to your identity and your faith. I mean, God had prepared your faith to
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withstand a lot, even as a child, which is amazing and encouraging that God holds all of us,
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no matter who we are or what age we are. But share a little bit about how that impacted you
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and what you went through. The faith component and addressing that first, people sometimes would say
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to me or my family, you're so strong. That's really hard to hear, to be honest, because
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we weren't so strong, but God was. And again, with faith, we can't do it apart from his
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assistance. He gives us and bolsters that faith in us. That's why in scripture it says,
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help me with my unbelief. When the guy talks to God and is like, I need help with my unbelief.
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So we can be in those places where we feel very shaky, unsteady, not fully firm, but knowing we
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have a firm foundation in the Lord. And yeah, that day we expected to see my dad land. We were
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excited. I was 12, my brother was seven, and we were standing at the runway in Florida,
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waiting for them to return. And we should have heard a sonic boom at the at a minute out.
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That's kind of a time marker of them being close when they break the sound barrier. And
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the minute on the countdown clock counted down to zero. And then it started counting back up
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positive numbers. And we're kind of taking that moment in. And then I as a 12 year old,
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didn't pay attention to all of the mission control speakers, you know, the announcements
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happening over the speakers. And I hadn't really noticed that they lost communication
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with the crew already. And I went over to my mom and grabbed her arm. And I said, Mom, is daddy
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okay? Because I knew it was past the time they should be back. And she said, I don't think so.
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And I remember my stomach dropping and just feeling very out of control. In that moment,
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they rushed us to crew quarters, press were already trying to capture these early moments
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when we weren't even sure what was happening. And then they told us there wasn't any help for the
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crew. And so there was a whole variety of responses from our from the crew families just trying to
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process our grief. And even though I was 12 and didn't know everything, I grew up a lot that day.
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And but I knew God would take care of us. And I remember telling that to my aunt, that I said,
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I know God will take care of us. And I don't know how but I know he will. And I had a lot of
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questions like, who's going to help me with math? Who's going to walk me down the aisle one day? So
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big and small questions that all mattered, even if they were small or big. And it was just, yeah,
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pretty overwhelming. Just all the thoughts I think that bombarded at that moment of what's what's
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normal? What's this going to look like? Coming home to a house that was decorated to welcome my dad
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home and know that he was never coming back. And then, you know, floods of friends and family
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showing up. So there's just a lot of bustling activity and shock happening at the same time.
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And a lot of focus on us while we are trying to process this and grieve. And so it was that element,
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I think, especially grew me up more than some who might have gone through that at the same age,
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just because the pub public element of it for us. We had interviews, my mom never forced me to do
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anything, but there were times I was open and happy to share and talk about my dad. But it's still,
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there's this line of wanting to grieve privately. I didn't want to show my weak emotions or anything
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like that publicly. I wanted that to be private. I probably also felt very vulnerable and didn't want
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press to take advantage of that because they aren't always there for your best interest either.
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They want to some good press will give a good story and report the heart of someone's story.
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But there's others who want to evoke whatever emotion or tone they want to get out of you.
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So there were many things like that. And then meeting dignitaries and people, it was just a lot.
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So it really can grow you up. And each of the astronauts, as
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you know, is common left a message to their loved ones in case of the worst.
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And your father's words really strengthened your faith. I'm sure at the time it didn't feel like
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it was strengthening your faith, but it really impacted how you lived since then. What was that
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message and how did it impact you in the way you lived?
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Yeah, so all the astronauts have contingency papers. If something were to go wrong, they fill
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out their government document of what their last wishes would be. And all my dad wrote was,
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tell him about Jesus, that he's real to me. That's been a lasting message for my life of
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that's really what matters. My dad achieved his astronaut dreams. He did really cool big things,
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but what mattered at the core of it all was telling others about Jesus and that Jesus is real to him.
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And I also embrace that truth as well. And I did feel like it was a bit of an encouragement of how
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to live my life too. And so I think with that with the combined reality of life is short,
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and we're not guaranteed tomorrow. So don't waste time. I felt very motivated to
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share Jesus with my classmates, start prayer meetings, have Bible studies. I was in a private
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school, so it was easier and people were open to that. But not everyone at a private school is
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wanting to do that necessarily. And I just felt this push to want to share Jesus with others,
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knowing that he really is the difference when you hit these hard times. And he really is the hope
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you have beyond your biggest wildest dreams. He's the one who actually can align you in the right
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way to those dreams and also give you that hope when things completely fall apart too.
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Well, you mentioned that the shock took at least a year to wear off. And I'm sure the grief,
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you dealt with grief much longer than that. What really helped you through those times that the
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shock and the grief you personally? In some ways, that's that year is a blur to me. So
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I was, you know, 12. I was trying to go back to school. I missed a lot of school because
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and my teachers were very understanding. I was doing a lot of makeup work and traveling with
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my mom and we were doing a lot of memorial services and we went on to the Today show and
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my mom went on Good Morning America. It was in with the hope that we could honestly just share
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Jesus with people through at what we were going through. That's why we did those things. I flew by
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and I don't necessarily have, I have certain memories of people coming over, but yeah,
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it really all is a blur. But I do remember we were in England in that year after and I was
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sitting in our friend's living room and just it was sitting with me. Wow, I can't believe that
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really happened. And it just was still trying to settle in that they were gone. And that took quite
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a while. How did your community of faith? Did that have any ability to help your family through that
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time? Yeah, we, I'm very thankful we were part of a church family that for weeks and weeks, maybe
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months brought food, you know, and I remember my mom's roommates from college coming and you know,
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we had people almost like a highway coming in and out of our house from all over the place since,
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you know, my parents traveled in the Air Force. So we've known people from all over. So we were
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always having visitors from like every walk of life showing up. And my mom's roommates just were
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sweeping the kitchen, cleaning, doing subtle small things, quiet things without asking just to help
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my mom. And I picked up on that. And it's just, that's probably the best thing anyone could do.
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Is not specifically cleaning, but just serving and loving well without even using words. Because
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sometimes words really aren't, words don't fix it. They don't. Sometimes they can hurt it too. And
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you just have to have grace for people who are meaning well and not saying the right thing. But
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watching my mom's friends just love her well and fill in some gaps where it would just be hard to
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do some simple tasks like that. That was a really sweet way to see people showing up for us. And
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then a lot of people tried to show up for us that it's overwhelming, you know, and it's vulnerable.
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So not every person you feel is close to. So you just have to navigate even boundaries. So
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you just have to navigate even boundaries too within your own grief and who you feel comfortable
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with sharing what and as we were processing. But we did have some of those people that we felt very
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close to or even just could laugh with and enjoy moments in the midst of a lot of hard stuff.
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RG 5 years later, your mom remarried. And how did that impact you? Yeah, at first it was really
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difficult, mainly because it felt out of control again, it felt like a moment of not being in
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control. My mom didn't date around and it very much is a God thing. And I love Bill so much. And
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the end of the story is it's really good. And I'm very thankful for him. And it was the right
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timing even if at the moment it felt really hard. And I think for me it wasn't him specifically,
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there was a lot more than him. It was my grief. And it was realizing my dad's truly gone if my
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mom's remarrying. And not really wanting to open up my heart to another male father type figure
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either because I had felt abandoned by my dad. He didn't choose to leave, but he did leave via
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death. And that still feels like abandonment either way. And so I really didn't want to go
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through that again. So I think there was definitely some walls of even not wanting to hurt like that
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again. But God has brought it to a really sweet place with our family. But yeah, those early days
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were hard. I was 17 when they got married and I was trying to grow up in those moments too.
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Like I was about to go to college, grapple with, I guess life and what's next. And then this is a
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big life change too. Well, that tragedy certainly left an imprint on your life, but it didn't define
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you. You had a whole life ahead of you. And when you graduated from high school, you went to college.
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Where did God lead you and what did he show you during that time? It was very formative years
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for everyone. I was excited to go to school. And it's interesting the further away from
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the moment I lost my dad, the more things you could play the what if game. And I don't think
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I would have gone to this amazing school that I got to go to. There's a lot of things that
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may have not happened the same way. And so it's a weird feeling of what would life be like if he was
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here or wasn't, you know. But I was thankful that, you know, God opened the doors to go to a great
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school. I went to Trinity University in San Antonio, a liberal arts school and was able to study a whole
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variety of things from Spanish to music to religion, all the world religions and had a lot of
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had a lot of international students and on campus. And it was just a great environment to be in to,
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yeah, consider who am I? And what am I made for? And what do I want to do? And I think you keep
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asking that question the rest of your life. But so I don't know if that's always told to college
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students that you keep, you know, chipping away at what God's calling you to as you go. And he
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reveals more and more. But I really enjoyed that time getting to really dive deeper into things I
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was passionate about. And it wasn't always easy. I was a religion major. I was studying all the
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world religions and, you know, I was a Christian in that environment and really no one, hardly
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anyone else was. So sometimes my faith was seen as, I don't know, probably seen as a weakness
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where I, you know, had to learn how to really meet people where they were at in that academic
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environment and back up all my beliefs or research with, you know, strong, strong defenses.
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And but it made me a better researcher. It made me a better communicator. It made me
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dive into more of what do I believe and why do I believe it? And is there credibility to it? And
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I came back stronger in my faith and being able to, you know, explain and discuss it from an
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academic point of view and in a deeper way. So I'm really thankful for that environment.
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Yeah, it really solidified your ability to communicate all that you believe and why you
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believe it. So you came out of that and what was next? After that, I definitely kind of did a very
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different thing than that. I went to some place called Canuckuck Institute, which was a biblical
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studies grad program. And so it was faith based. The people in the program were Christian. So then
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I spent a year studying the Bible with other, you know, fellow Christians and looking at that
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as how do I let that be the foundation of my life? You know, as almost like a launching board before
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I start any kind of career. And so that was a really special year of diving into the Bible,
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letting the Bible be the textbook. We weren't reading a bunch of Christian authors. We were
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reading the Bible, which was great, because sometimes that's what we like do the least
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when we're looking for answers. And that really is the answer. And I got to dive into that
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deeper and deeper and ask hard questions. We had panel panels at the end of the year where
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we would be asked real life scenarios and what scripture would we use to help encourage or,
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or, you know, like provide to somebody who might be going through something. And all we could use
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was our Bible. We didn't have these other things we were pulling in. So it was a great year of really
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strengthening us and understanding that the Bible is the safe and good place to go first.
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And God is a good place to go first rather than, you know, horizontally, but go vertically and then
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bring in your community. And then after that, they also implemented accountability. So as we're doing
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that whole year of, you know, studying scripture and understanding that it has power to it, it has
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strength and answers in it. How do we then let it evaluate and change us, heal us, as we walk through
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our own daily things. And so we were assigned accountability partners. And I really loved the
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structure they built around that. They, you come up with the questions yourself to have your
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accountability partner ask you. And then you can't be mad at them when they ask you about those
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specific things, because it's already, it's, it's pre-prepared. And the whole point is for you to be
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able to confess or be open or celebrate whatever is happening in your life before the Lord, and
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then have a witness really present. They're not there, the other person's not there to scold you
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or correct you. There, there is just a witness really to hear you as you're sharing what's going
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on in your life to God. And then you're able to together see the ways that God then moves through
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those progressive meetings of accountability and see each other grow and be able to be healed from
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things or overcome things. And so that's something I took with me after the Institute. And I have an
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accountability partner, another girl who also went through Canock Hook Institute, and we, we still
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touch base and do accountability questions roughly once a month, give or take. And it's, it's a
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lifelong thing that I hope to continue to do, because I think it really gives a lot of, it feels
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very freeing actually to just be open. You already internally know what's going on. So when you just
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acknowledge it, it removes some of that power that the enemy wants to have over you. Especially if
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it's a sin related thing, it's, it's so important to just openly say that with another human being.
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Knowing that you're talking to God and that he will, he already knows and he can be the solution
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and the help in that. And then celebrating too, those moments of seeing God flourish or work
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through you, because you were in the right place and you spoke up and said something to someone and
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then that encouraged someone else. You know, those, it's really cool to be able to highlight and
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really see those moments where God is working and it helps when you share it with someone else,
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because then you're not passing it by. You're really celebrating and acknowledging movement from God.
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Yeah. Well, there is a scripture that says, confess our sins one to another, right?
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Yes.
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But share, just so our listeners who may have never heard of this concept, or may be really
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intrigued by it and saying, how can I implement this in my life? I'd love that. Share just a few
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of the questions that you've come up with or that, you know, one of your accountability partners
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have come up with that you use on a regular basis in your life.
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Yeah, we roughly do 10 or so questions and they honestly, it is very much something you can tailor
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to what you know are your needs. And definitely do it honestly. You can just like ask soft
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questions so you can give soft answers. But it's not meant to be a scolding session either. But
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so we go through and it's not meant to be legalistic. I guess that's the other preface I want to say.
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This is not to check boxes. It really is an organic conversation with another person, just like
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God is in relationship with us. That's an organic relationship we can have and talk to him. So we
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ask, how has your time in the Bible and prayer been? So we ask about like time studying scripture
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and prayer life. We ask about how have your words been? Have they been uplifting or gossip or, you
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know, discouraging? Have you been encouraging? How have your thoughts been? How have you have
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you been disciplining God? I'm sorry. Have you been disciplining your body in a way that honors God?
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And so treating it like a temple. Have you, you know, been doing things like rest and exercise?
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Have you been even like consuming media that is life giving? You know, those types of things.
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What fruit of the Spirit is lacking in your life and what fruit of the Spirit has been flourishing
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that you've noticed? What characteristic of God have you most recently noticed happening in your
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life or what scripture has been speaking to you? And then we ask, how are your have you been diligent
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in your finances? Are you tithing? You know, are you honoring God? Are you being kind to God?
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You know, are you honoring God in that way? So I think it kind of covers all senses and all areas
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possible. And if you know that there's a certain area for you that's more difficult, then it's good
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to get specific and ask your accountability partner to be like, hey, I'm trying to budget.
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Ask me if I filled out the budget form, you know, something like that even is really helpful.
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And you really has to be someone you trust, right? Yes. Because you're bearing your soul to them.
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Yeah, it needs to be someone who also agrees that this is an effective tool that God uses in our life,
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which is that confessing and being open before the Lord and knowing that he's the,
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he's the problem solver, not us. And then it's someone trustworthy, because yes, you're sharing
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deep things that maybe you haven't shared with anyone else. And you want to be able to create a
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safe environment for that. And and be able to, you know, honor that other person by being a safe
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space for them. Yeah. Well, that practice of accountability was so beneficial to you as you
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started and still is. And, you know, you moved from the biblical studies world, and you went into
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a totally different arena when you entered the world of theater. Yes. So how did that happen?
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And what have you seen? How have you seen God use you in that arena, which is, you know, very
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different from the heady world of biblical studies? Yeah, very different than heady. Yeah,
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that's for sure. It's not necessarily academic in that way, but also wonderful in so many other ways.
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I have always had arts in me since I was little, I did ballet and tap and choir and singing all
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growing up. So arts were always present in my life. And even in college, I classically trained in
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voice. I even though I majored in religion, minored in Spanish, I classically trained in
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voice and did theory classes, maybe not very well the theory part, but did those and did recitals
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and all those things. And even the year at Canuckuck Institute, I was able to serve in lead
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worship, play piano and sing. And it's just something that really feeds my soul. And I feel
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really alive when I'm in that kind of setting or environment of storytelling, creativity for the
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sake of just creativity or, you know, doing an actual show. So that fills a whole range of like,
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I enjoy even just cooking at home. And I consider that creative to working with your hands doing
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things and seeing something come to fruition after you've worked on it is, is just a sense of
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satisfaction. And so yeah, the year at Canuckuck Institute, I had known about an outdoor musical
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show called Texas in Palo Duro Canyon, I had grown up seeing it some, it's near Amarillo, my family,
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both my parents are from there. I always thought it would be so cool to be a part of that show.
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And so I found that the closest audition to me would be in Oklahoma. One of the girls at the
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show came with me, we drove there, auditioned, and then I got cast and that set the ball rolling for
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the next five years and the start of my professional performing arts career. So I don't know if I knew
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that that was next. But it's been in my heart since I was very little of enjoying that kind of
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experience. And it isn't even necessarily like how I was only training at college, but I'm so glad
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that that is the direction God led it. But yes, the environment shift was very drastic. It's not an
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environment that everyone believes the same as you. But similar to my university, it was almost
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also that way, a whole mix of beliefs. Then I went to Canuckuck, all Christians, went back to
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the theater environment, a whole mix of beliefs again. I kind of enjoy the ebb and flow of that,
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because it reminds me of God working. And we see evidence of him working even in people who
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aren't necessarily following Jesus at the current moment. But you see when you meet people who are
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not following Jesus, you can see glimpses of what God is still doing, because he is sovereign. He
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is in control. And if we truly are made in his image, there's something deep within us that draws
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to him. That's why we all really love a good story. And usually a good story has some element
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of sacrifice and good triumphing over evil. There's things in us that are drawn to things
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of who God is, whether or not we realize it. And it wasn't easy always. Some people knew I was
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Christian and might have written me off right away, but others not. I had really great friends
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we believed very different from one another. And we could have really amazing conversations,
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really amazing discussions. And it breaks down walls and barriers of you're this way, I'm this
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way. You can just love them. And also I love doing something like a show, because it's something we're
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collectively unified on and we're doing together. And we might not agree on all the same things,
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but we love doing the same thing together. And we can share that. And that is a really beautiful
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common ground place to be, is arts. So I hosted a cast Bible study for five years while I was there
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and always invited whoever wanted to come be a part. And yeah, it was really cool because people
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would come who are like, well, I might not believe this, but I'll come and like discuss. And it's,
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it always was great. It always went well. It was always good discussion. There wasn't this big,
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you know, I don't even know what people might assume would happen, but God would use those
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moments. It was really cool. It was discussions, not arguments and fighting. Right. Right. It was
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productive. Yeah. And encouraging. It didn't leave people in a worse place. It ideally was better
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after we were done with our discussions. So I'm, you just have to trust God knows what he's doing.
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And so you can just show up and be available and know that he's working in everyone's lives,
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including just because you're a Christian doesn't mean you're perfect. So in fact, when you're
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messed up in those kinds of environments, it's especially important to acknowledge your mistakes
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and be humble and, and try to regroup because eyes are on you. And it's important to highlight
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that because I think a lot of people who aren't in the church or following Jesus, a big struggle is
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hypocrisy is what they see. And so if you don't acknowledge when you make mistakes, that can be
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very harmful. So even in those moments, finding ways to really honor God through, through the
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imperfection. And you know, there's a scripture, I can't remember where it is right now, but we'll
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have it in our show notes that says God's word goes forth and always accomplishes what he intends it
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to accomplish. Just by getting the word out to people, God works in their hearts in ways that we
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can't, we can't see, you know, some water, some, some, so some water, some get to harvest, but all
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of us have a role as long as we're following Jesus and living our faith, like you said, which is not
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always easy when the world is watching, or even just when Christians are watching, that's probably
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even harder to be authentic and honest and honorable and in every way, because we, we want to
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pretend we're perfect.
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Yeah. And that's almost worse actually. So yeah, you are in an environment that's non-Christian.
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It's really important almost to, to do your due diligence of, I think of David when he made the
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mistake with Bathsheba, the repentance he expressed after that and that, and God, he was referred to
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in scripture as a man after God's own heart, and he wasn't a perfect man, but when it came to
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repentance, he acknowledged the depth of his mistakes. So I think that's really important so
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that hypocrisy isn't something people are left with, because we will make mistakes. It's just
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inevitable because we are not perfect people. We live in a fallen imperfect world and we're going
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to make mistakes. So, but I also will say to people who are newer to the faith or maybe not in it,
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it can be a really interesting environment because they might pick up on something in scripture that
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maybe you've read a million times and then they just noticed something new about it that you've
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never thought about because it's fresh to them. So that's also kind of a cool thing when you have
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people in your life who maybe are willing to look at scripture with you and then they have
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observations that can help you in your own faith too.
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And you know, The Lord had you at Texas, the show during a really key season because you were
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living your faith there, you were representing the Lord, when there were several tragedies
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that the cast experienced together, which was hard. Share about that season and how God has
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continued to the healing process in your life, even through those tragedies.
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Yeah, it was pretty heavy. My first summer there, our final week of our show, we run for about three
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months, our show six days a week. And our final week, we had our cast party on our day off.
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And that evening when we were all headed back, it was hosted at a place out a ways in the country.
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And so we were on farm to market roads. One of our cars of our cast members, they had a car
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accident and five of the six in the car died in that accident. And it was horrible. It was devastating.
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We all were coming back to Canyon, Texas, and called up to the office in this little small Texas
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square. And we heard the news and then started hearing the names of the people in the car and
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just triggered a lot of things similar to what I walked through with my dad of a group of people
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all dying at once. And they were living into their dreams. And all of a sudden, they're just not here.
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And that was, it's hard because they're not sick. They're not deteriorating slowly. And I know it
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doesn't diminish that way of losing life either. But it is whiplash when you
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don't expect it. It's just unexpected. So I do remember that night was just so difficult. And
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I remember praying for our group. And I think God had me there because I could relate already,
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I hope. And I definitely understood pain and loss. And it's still been quite the journey for all of
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us who have gone through that and for the parents who lost their children in that. But I did see God
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show up in a variety of ways. And even like that Bible study, we were a part of, two of the people
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in that car were in the Bible study that summer and just cherishing those moments that we had
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prior. And yeah, again, it's just this highlight of life is short and you just don't know how much
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time you have. And you want to know who you also can cry out to when things get rough and know that
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God is reliable and that He is the foundation. He is the strength you can turn to when things get
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hard. Like in poetic ways, God showed up. The next day we didn't do the show, but then the following
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night we decided we would do the show privately for family and friends with all the gaps of the
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people who would be missing on stage, which was very hard. But it was a very difficult
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show. It was very hard, but it's an outdoor show in a canyon and it started raining when we started
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the show and it stopped raining when we ended the show. And it was just poetically perfect. And it's
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just even in that way, God was meeting us through the weather. It was comforting because it was
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drowning out a little, the loud sobbing and just cathartic. And for the way we were feeling,
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lost our friends. There's just, you know, the timing of that was just too perfect to not be God.
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And we ended up doing the show the next three nights and re-spacing it and going to funerals
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or memorials during the day and then doing the show at night. It was very difficult. And I don't
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think I'll ever do anything like that again. But it was, yeah, it was really hard. But again, I
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watched even one of the guys that Summer in the Bible study later reached out and just talked
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about how his faith has grown since. And just things like that. It's really encouraging to see
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God's working in people's lives in ways we don't see ongoing. And we really are just, you know,
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hopefully we get to be a small piece of the puzzle in that. And it's not that he needs us,
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it's that we get the privilege of being used by him if we're willing. And yeah, then that's really
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a life-giving thing to be a part of. So yeah, we went through many things around that show.
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Two summers later, we lost our stage manager in a firework explosion on site. And it was a horrible
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accident that happened. And yeah, it's a lot of tragedy to just happen. And you could ask the
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question, God, why so much death? I lost probably close to 30 plus people since my dad, including
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him and the crew. And I had to process in counseling. Okay, this is not a normal amount of
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death toll for life, usually, unless you're in war or, you know, different circumstances. But it
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definitely started becoming what felt like the norm of like, who's next? And whose funeral are we
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going to next? And I had to understand that, you know, even if it had been a lot, I was still
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experiencing joy, I was still having healing. And even now, just, I continually see God's healing in
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my life and my joy for life. And even in the, I've, you know, dealt with anxiety and depression, but
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he still works through all of that. He still is the answer through all of it. And even though it
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gets dark, it's not hopeless. He's still present in all of it. Yeah, after five years, you just
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felt like the Lord had said, that's enough for the Texas show. And you moved back to Houston to break
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into the Houston scene. But as a part of that, you also continued that counseling process. And
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it took a little effort on your part to find the right fit. Yes, to make sure that you had somebody
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who you could really connect with in that, explain that process as well, a little bit, and also share
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about what God's teaching you lately. If you are considering counseling, or maybe you're begrudgingly
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considering counseling, because I don't know many people who are super pumped to go do counseling.
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If you are, that's awesome, because that's a step, a step ahead of most. Counseling serves such a great
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purpose. And I think God uses it as an amazing tool, because it's someone objective outside of
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yourself and your family and friends who doesn't have to be emotionally invested the quite the same
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way that you have dealt with all this tragedy or trauma or whatever you've walked through.
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And especially if they have good training, can help you pinpoint those ways that maybe there's
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there's roots to that or even, oh, by the way, you're not crazy for reacting that way, because
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this, this and this, you know, happened. So it's like validating in some ways of like, okay, well,
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I'm glad that my response, you know, was merited. It just like helps you understand yourself more
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and just pick up on things. And I've even done the counselor I go to now, EMDR work, which is
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rapid eye movement work. It's similar to when you process when you're asleep and dreaming, your eyes
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move and your subconscious basically files away your memories. This helps create that around some
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trauma situations if you have had trouble releasing those. And that's been very helpful.
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But it's, I found an amazing counselor now, but it took a little time. I,
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I, you know, be a consumer when you're looking for a counselor, it's okay. If you may not feel like
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it's the right fit, you don't have to stick with one person and just assume that it's, it's all on
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you. And you need to adjust to them if it really doesn't feel like a safe space for you to open up.
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Or if they're just being a yes man only, or they're, you know, being negative towards you or
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making you feel uncomfortable. Like those are all flags or red flags, you know, to try someone else.
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And I know it takes a lot to reopen up, share those hard things with a new person, but I do think it
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is worth it to yourself to find that good fit. And yeah, I had some interesting versions of
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counseling that were not good fits until I found the one that I'm currently with. And it's, it's
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okay to, to shop around and feel that out and make sure that you feel comfortable.
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And make sure that, you know, for, for your faith, make sure that they're, they're affirming
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of your faith, affirming of your beliefs and, and encouraging you and walking out what scripture would,
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would say is the right way to go.
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Yeah, that really helps for me because then I'm not having to
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explain that element with my counselor. And I did have one that was not of the same faith at one
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point. And I often found that I was kind of, I had just a different, I wasn't fully open. I was,
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I was trying to think of what I needed to explain as, as I was processing versus just being able to
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process. So it does help if you can just eliminate some of those things, if you can find that. That's,
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I know it is harder. It can be hard, but I encourage you to, to look for it if you're able.
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Yeah. Now that you're back in Houston, you're getting into the performance scene there. And
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in the midst of that, God's been teaching you about rest, share how that works together,
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trying to break into a theater scene and, and rest.
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Yeah. I've been working now in the theater scene in Texas since 2017. And I've been doing film as
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well. So I, I split my career time, I guess, between film and stage now, but that neither
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of those careers are naturally restful. They are not nine to five either. So there's no wall or
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structure around when you stop, when you go. And recently I read a book called Towards Rest from
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Alabaster Company. And it's encouraging, you know, as you pursue rest and move towards it, it is
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something that doesn't only have to happen as a result of exhaustion. And it also, rest should not
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be something that you do just so you can start being productive again. It should actually be
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just worthy because it is rest. And just like we are, like our creator, we're creative.
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He created six days and then he rested on the seventh and he called things good. He didn't do
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it out of exhaustion. He didn't create out of exhaustion. He created out of joy and out of a
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full place. And then he chose to rest not out of necessarily need, but out of worthiness that rest
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is, is worthy to do. So that's something I'm trying to implement more in my approach to my work is,
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you know, you get auditions coming in that you have to do a quick turnaround and prep for, but
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honoring, finding Sabbath rest, finding that, that day to unplug and in ways and just trust that God
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will provide in the moments that you're, you're not expelling energy and you're just
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worshiping and spending time with him or you're doing restful things. It's, it can look different
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for different people, but that's something I'm navigating and that affects you physically. It
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affects all effects, mental, emotional, spiritual, and then ultimately hopefully makes you a better
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creative in your work because then you're creating out of a fullness, not out of a depletion.
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Well, as we close Laura, would you share about a woman of the Bible who's inspired or encouraged
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or taught you something lately? I've been thinking a lot about Esther. Esther was put in a
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was put in an environment that was unexpected to her, that she didn't ask for necessarily.
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And the odds seem to be stacked against her too. And yet she was worthy to become the queen.
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And there's this verse, Esther 4 14, perhaps this is the moment for which you were created.
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And I love thinking about that verse in my own life of this is the moment for which I am created
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and which you are created. And so what does that look like in your life? And just like Esther didn't
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know the outcome, even walking into the king's court, not knowing if her bravery and courage
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would be honored or shunned, just embracing, trusting God through things that where odds might
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feel against you, or you have a giant unknown ahead of you, or you're not even sure exactly what
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you were made for. God put you right here right now for a specific moment in time. And we can
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trust that he will guide that process and open the doors that need to be open. Amen. Well, that
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reminds me of a very often quoted Bible verse, Bible passage really in Proverbs 3 verses 5 and 6.
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The New Living Translation says, trust in the Lord with all your heart. Do not depend on your own
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understanding. Seek his will in all you do and he will show you which path to take. And as we lean
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into God and we trust him through situations we don't understand and seek to do his will,
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he guides us and directs us in a unique way that each of us should go because each of us has a
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unique path, don't we? My path, your path, everyone's path is different. That was my dad's
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favorite verse. He wrote that on all of his astronaut photos. And so that's a perfect
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verse to share. It's one that I've carried with me too. Yes. Yeah, it's such a great reminder of
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when our understanding is one way, God's is above it and can guide us through. Well, Laura, would
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you take a moment and pray for our listeners? Dear Heavenly Father, I just thank you so much for
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today. For everyone who's listening, God, you know exactly what's going on in their life,
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where they're at, what their struggles have been, what they're going to face tomorrow. I think about
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the times that you put things in my life to prepare me for what was ahead. And I know you
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do the same for others. I pray that they would see and notice those moments that you are working
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in their life in ways that maybe they were blind to before. But you can open their eyes to see that
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you are present in the midst of those hard things and that you are there and that you love them.
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And perhaps this is the moment for which they were created and they can feel that sense of deep
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purpose beyond their circumstance in the moment. And if they have fear that it can be a moment
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of fear, that it can be left at your altar, they can release that to you and then trust that what
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kind of identity you want to put on them is one of strength and courage and bravery. And that can be
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empowered by your Holy Spirit to feel that strength in them and know that they can trust you as they
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take steps forward, not knowing what's ahead quite yet, knowing that you are good in Jesus' name.
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James James 1, 27 tells us that pure religion is to care for orphans as well as widows,
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and to refuse to let the world corrupt us. That is why Somebody Cares started the Widow and Orphan
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Fund. Together we can do so much to help those with great needs. If you haven't done so yet,
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would you consider joining us with a special gift to help widows and orphans through our fund?
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Just go to the hergodstory.org website and click on the Widow and Orphan Tab at the top of the page.
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Thank you for tuning in. In our show notes at hergodstory.org you'll find scriptures and the
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other information we talked about. And remember, I would love to hear from you. So please email me
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at hergodstory at somebodycares.org. If you want to get that free six-week devotional on Women of
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the Bible, you can find it on the website or purchase a 12-week devotional that we'll send to
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you for just $12, knowing that all the proceeds go to our Widow and Orphan Fund. We'd love to pray
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with you on our 24-7 prayer and text line. So give us a call or text anytime at 855-459-CARE
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or email us at prayer at somebodycares.org. And now, dear friends, I leave you with a prayer
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found in Romans 15 verse 13. I pray that God, the source of hope, will fill you completely with joy
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and peace because you trust in Him. Then you will overflow with confident hope through the power of
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the Holy Spirit. Her God Story is a ministry of Somebody Cares America and international. To find
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out more about or support the ministry, go to somebodycares.org.
