When worry hits…
Cainspirations by Kristi Cain, originally published January 29, 2023
DISCOVERING DESTINY.
Overcoming Darkness.
How are you overcoming the struggle to win the war on fear? Let’s journey together!
| My daughter Katie just received her fifth college acceptance from the University of the South, the most prestigious school she’s been admitted to so far. Every parent probably has a story of a door opening for their child that made them proud, but Katie’s story is a little different than most. At the age of four, after an otherwise healthy childhood, Katie had her first epileptic seizure. Then another one. Then they began hitting her in clusters that her little body just couldn’t keep up with. And they wouldn’t stop. No doctor could offer an explanation or solution to a condition that robbed her of her speech, her ability to walk and attend school, and left her comatose for weeks at a time. We tried over six different medicines in various combinations. We did all the research. We even took her to the biggest research hospital in the world for neurology: Johns Hopkins. Nothing worked. After another year and a half, even Johns Hopkins gave up–and left us without hope. Without hope in a condition as serious as Katie’s didn’t just mean that she stayed sick and out of school. Without hope meant increasingly intense and irreversible brain damage. Developmental regression. A swiftly shortening lifespan. Without hope meant a low likelihood of ever seeing her sixteenth birthday or any taste of sweetness in a life-sentence of suffering and deprivation. At first glance, most people wouldn’t peg me as a worrier. But let me tell you, friends, no one understands the gut-wrenching reality of a reign of terror like a parent living under the bondage of their child’s incurable medical condition. But thanks to the grace of God, I am also well-acquainted with the walls his power can break down. Through the sheer power of prayer, our family was led to her miracle healers, two gifted neurologists we had never before heard of that completely cured her epilepsy. The moment I first met them, Dr. Zupanc, a petite, blonde spitfire of confidence, greeted me with words I’ll never forget, “We’re going to make those [her seizures] go away.” Friends, at that point, after having been essentially rejected by Johns Hopkins and every other celebrated specialist we had taken our daughter to, I was too battle-weary to believe her. I was too afraid to be let down yet again. I was even a little alarmed at her audacity in setting us up like that. But the Lord who had been hearing our prayers for years, made good on every word. And today, at 18, our girl has not only survived her teenage years, she is thriving, having received a 100 percent acceptance rate with merit-based academic scholarships to boot at every college she has applied to so far. Although it would be great to time-travel back to those awful days and sleepless nights and reassure my young, terrified family that God was in control and everything would turn out alright, the reality is that we, like anyone else, were going to have to walk through that season of fear in order to truly believe how great God’s restoring power can be. Friends, I don’t know what battles you’re fighting today. I don’t know if it is a medical situation or grieving the death of a loved one. I don’t know if there are daunting financial pressures, or fears from job loss, or a lack of basic security. I don’t know if there are dysfunctional patterns or vicious cycles you are struggling to break free of. I don’t know if it is relational brokenness or betrayal or loneliness. But we are all fighting something. Even after the battle with my daughter ended, it didn’t mean there wouldn’t be more to follow in other areas of my life. And speaking from someone who has lived through a fairly traumatizing experience, those basic flight-fight instincts can hijack your senses before you realize what hit you. I wish I could tell you that living by faith would give you a get-out-of-jail-free pass from hardship. But as long as this world remains fallen and pre-millennial, and as long as God grants fallen people like us free will, there are no safe harbors from the storms of life. But we do have the best captain we could ever hope for. And leaning on him will give you a get-out-of-jail-free pass from the prison of your fears and the enemy’s lies about the hopelessness of our victory. All we need to do every single day is remind ourselves of one simple truth. A truth we need to speak over our waking and over our worries. Over the what-if’s and the misguided struggles for control of a universe that was never ours to begin with. A truth we can surrender to so that we may walk in the boldness of its power and the comfort of its reassurance. That truth is this: our hope and power and treasure are already within us. And no matter what winds are blowing outside, He will always be with us to infuse us with love, and courage, and wisdom, and strength, and most of all: HOPE. Hope in a power that is bigger than every battle, bigger than every deceptive snare of the enemy, and bigger than death itself. A hope that my physician-angel spoke to our family when she told us we had nothing to fear about my daughter’s sickness. A hope the angel Gabriel spoke to Mary when he proclaimed for the sake of every one of us, “FEAR NOT.” |
| 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!
- What has helped you find His inner calm within life’s storms?
- Are there any techniques or specific verses that help you find your center when fear looms?
- 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): “Ice Castle Kiss” by Angela Ruth Strong, Midway Ice Castles, Utah; “Garden Room View” by Angela Boyd, Biltmore Estate Mansion, North Carolina; “Wintry Blue Skies” by Jim Rubart, Lake Chelan Valley, Washington; “Frosted Nandinas” by Melanie Gunter, Athens, Tennessee; and “Nori’s Winter Catnap,” by Wayne Thomas Batson, New Market, Maryland.
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
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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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Cainspirations by author Kristi Cain 