With no food in sight…
Cainspirations by Kristi Cain, originally published November 4, 2021
DISCOVERING DESTINY.
Overcoming Darkness.
How are you overcoming the struggle to be thankful? Let’s journey together!
| November. A month of cool nights and brisk days. Of athletic and political contests. Gathering and celebrations. The harvest month. The month of Thanksgiving. To ancient pagans, it marked the start of the new year after the veil-thinning eve of Samhain. To modern holiday-loving Christians, it marks the start of a new season of celebrations and anticipation of a new year to come. On the high note of special occasions, it is easy to express your own unique flavor of joy and giving—much like Biblical salt, the intensity of our spiritual love and faithfulness. But what do we do when our festivities are hampered by hardships, and the joy that feeds our hearts has been drained without a morsel of relief? How can we learn to give thanks in all circumstances, as Paul urges us in 1 Thessalonians, when circumstances are disappointing at best or at worst, too painful to bear? For this, we can thank November for providing some answers of its own. While November is a month of many things, for families like mine, it is also Epilepsy Awareness month. A reminder of one of the hardest chapters of our lives and a never-ending story for far too many lives. A reminder of the years when we watched our daughter slip away beneath a barrage of seizures that left her comatose while some of the most educated specialists in the country scratched their heads in utter helplessness. A time when many labels of hopelessness were assigned to our child, like acute, rare, and refractory—or unresponsive to treatment. A time when I learned more about one very narrow area of medicine than any mother should have to. When I slaved over every ounce of meals measured out on a gram scale because we believed that the Ketogenic Diet was her only hope. Until that failed, too. How can those painful years have given us any cause for thankfulness? What use were any of the extreme measures we took to save her when they didn’t work? It reminds me of another story of seemingly useless hardships. A story of a child named Louie, the black sheep son of Italian immigrants. A boy who spent his entire childhood on the run, being chased by bullies who saw the foreign miscreant as an easy target and adults who found his sticky fingers a much more infuriating—albeit harder to grasp—target. How can such a rocky start lead to anything good? How can growing up learning all the wrong things about life with the whole world against you be of any use to a productive member of society? The answer was not only that Louie Zamperini grew up to become an Olympic runner. In fact, Olympic glory was only the beginning of his story. During World War II, Louie’s B-24 bomber was downed in the South Pacific, leaving him at the mercy of Mutsuhiro Watanabe, one Japan’s cruelest POW camp leaders and war criminals. But Louie did more than simply survive the unthinkable deprivation, degradation, and torture he was subjected to, he actually went on to defy all odds, receiving acclaim for his “unbroken” spirit as depicted in the 2010 bestselling biography and three separate films, including the 2014 box-office hit Unbroken, which landed three Academy-Award nominations. Much like athletes prepare for competitions, politicians prepare for hard-fought races, and soldiers prepare for war, God is also calling us to train for the challenges of discipleship, knowing the reward is more than enough to be thankful for. In Luke 14, Jesus reminds us, “whoever does not take up his cross and follow me cannot be my disciple… salt is good, but if it loses its saltiness, [what use is it?] ” Discipleship and the salting it entails is costly, but the rewards in both earth and heaven are greater than anything we could possibly imagine. Despite his feats of awe-inspiring heroism, God wasn’t done with Louie yet. The scars of his past tormented him after he was emancipated from POW camp. He struggled with severe PTSD which led to a vicious cycle of emotional anguish, alcoholism, and chaos. It was only after a chance encounter with Billy Graham that the true destiny of Louie’s discipleship began: a heart transformed by God’s saving grace and a man reborn with a life-long calling of ministering to others, with a special focus on troubled youth. And my daughter Katie’s story? Well, I’ll let you read all about it once my book is released (revisions are almost done by the way!) So, if the plate of your blessings seems empty this month, I want to remind you that the very fire you are walking through now can become the salt of your training as a hero in God’s kingdom tomorrow—a true disciple of faith with an eternal harvest from your very intentional, very needed, and very powerful life’s purpose. |
| Want to know your divine calling? Find out with my “Discover Your Destiny” Quiz! |
YOUR TURN!
Don’t make me do all the talking – I’d love to hear from you!
- How has God salted you for discipleship?
- Do you want to hear about anything else? Any prayer requests?
Just shoot me an email – don’t be shy! And I promise to reply!
BEAUTY IN TODAY
Check out these awesome photos from readers like you!
PHOTO CREDITS (top to bottom, left to right): “Sunlit Stream” by Jill Coulter, Tonsina Point, Alaska; “Autumn Hues” by Sue Lomperis, Missionary Ridge, Tennessee; “Amber Skies” by Kim Tram Le, Houston, Texas; “Dusky Dunes” by Roxanne Dingess, Destin, Florida; “French Broad Falls” by Ana Maria Lomperis, French Broad River, North Carolina.
Want to share your “Beauty in Today” picture or inspirational musings? Shoot me an email and you just might be featured in my next issue!
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Thanks for visiting with us today! I hope I’ve helped you feel encouraged! – Kristi
Want to join my Cainspirations family of heroes? Click here!
Work looks a lot like play for Kristi Cain and includes freelance writing for Crosswalk, inspirational blogging, writing fantastical stories of Christian fiction, teaching English to teens, and being able to say, “I’m a former journalist.” Home is nestled in the Smoky Mountain foothills with her husband and teenage children. If you ever want a little encouragement in your day, check out her newsletter. Hop over to her website for her latest happenings and join her Facebook group, a fun, faith-based community.
Cain’s life experiences and faith journey have lent her the lens through which she shapes stories of unlocking the light of destiny out of darkness. Through her writing, she hopes to encourage people to understand that the difficult places in life can be the very ingredients that shape the greatest destinies.
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PHOTO CREDITS (top to bottom, left to right): *Calf Creek Falls by Jessica Soto, Boulder Town, UT; Mountain Muse by Dylan Ross, Mt. Rainier, WA; Wildcat Lake by Linda Hill Link, Banner Elk, NC; Friendly City Sunset, by Jaimee Chrisman, Athens, TN; Harvest Basket by Stephanie Finch Bright, Athens, TN.
| * Like Jessica’s photos? Follow her at www.MyBestWifeLife.com! |
Want to share your “Beauty in Today” picture or inspirational musings? Shoot me an email and you just might be featured in my next issue!
Thanks for visiting with us today! I hope I’ve helped you feel encouraged! – Kristi
Want to join my Cainspirations family of heroes? Click here!
Work looks a lot like play for Kristi Cain and includes freelance writing for Crosswalk, inspirational blogging, writing fantastical stories of Christian fiction, teaching English to teens, and being able to say, “I’m a former journalist.” Home is nestled in the Smoky Mountain foothills with her husband and teenage children. If you ever want a little encouragement in your day, check out her newsletter. Hop over to her website for her latest happenings and join her Facebook group, a fun, faith-based community.
Cain’s life experiences and faith journey have lent her the lens through which she shapes stories of unlocking the light of destiny out of darkness. Through her writing, she hopes to encourage people to understand that the difficult places in life can be the very ingredients that shape the greatest destinies.
Cainspirations by author Kristi Cain 