A Call To Leadership

EP290: Faith Lost and Faith Found with Cortney Jones

• Dr. Nate Salah

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After waking up paralyzed just days after a dream vacation, Cortney Jones was forced to confront life, faith, and legacy all at once. What began as a health crisis became a powerful reckoning that reshaped how she lives, leads, and loves. Her story is raw, redemptive, and grounded in the kind of perspective you only gain through deep struggle. Press play to uncover the clarity and courage waiting on the other side of surrender.


 Key Takeaways To Listen For

  • How paralysis and a near-death diagnosis reshaped Cortney’s life
  • Recording legacy lessons for her daughter during a health crisis
  • The spiritual discipline of being ready at any moment
  • Why perspective changes what truly matters in business and life
  • How faith grows through struggle and the power of carrying others when they can’t carry themselves


About Cortney Jones
Cortney is a seasoned real estate investor, educator, and coach with over 26 years of hands-on experience and more than 1,000 transactions under her belt. She’s bought and sold over 500 properties through creative strategies, including subject-to, lease options, private lending, tax liens, short sales, and more. As a former brokerage owner and active private lender, Cortney is passionate about helping others achieve real estate success while minimizing risk and maximizing returns. Outside of real estate, she dedicates her time to mentoring foster children and finding joy in life’s everyday moments.
 

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[00:00:00] Cortney Jones
Realize that your life-altering event isn't everyone's life-altering event, so you give grace to the people around you because they're not having that same experience and understanding things. It's really almost impossible to get someone else to see it from your perspective, unless you've gone through something like that.

[00:00:19] Dr. Nate Salah
What happens when you think life will finally turn the corner, and I will get to enjoy my family? That is. Is newly found when the doctors say, get your affairs in order. We don't know what's wrong with you, you're going to die. Well, this happened to our guest, Courtney Jones, who questioned God, why and how can I get through this situation? With the question of does God really care? It's not a question that should be. Lightly, and it's a question that many of us face when we question our faith. Courtney's gonna tell our story and vulnerably and with conviction, and through it, I'm inspired and I know you'll be inspired to, to learn how she became stronger in her faith through the trial of life. I'm Dr. Nate Salah and this is A Call to Leadership. Courtney. Hello. Hello. Happy to see you too, and hear you. 

[00:01:40] Cortney Jones
Yes, exactly. And where's home for you? Right now, Detroit. So I split my time between Detroit, Michigan, and Gilbert, Arizona. And since it's hot, I choose Detroit. Detroit. 

[00:01:54] Dr. Nate Salah
Yes. Yes. That's probably a little cooler than, Arizona for sure. Most days, yes. Summertime. Well, you know, your story is, is important to share because you're not alone in the journey of life and the journey of faith. Even before we were talking on our recorded part of the conversation when we were discussing that walk in faith doesn't mean you're walking on with a halo. Doesn't mean you're walking with perfection in terms of everything going flawless, it means means that you're walking in preservation, in presence through the trials and the challenges of life. 

[00:02:38] Cortney Jones
Absolutely. And it doesn't mean you don't question it sometimes, you know, there's things that happen in our lives that make us think twice about it all. But I think the important thing is coming back to the core of it, you know? 

[00:02:50] Dr. Nate Salah
Yeah. That's it. And so you're, you're no stranger to that, plight of the questioning. So many people. Face struggles daily. And I think more now, I don't wanna say than ever because that's a, that's a bold statement, but more now in terms of challenges with mental health and emotional health, especially post pandemic. And through the years you've experienced things, and we, I'd love to go back to, you know, two thousands earlier, early two thousands to your journey and just kind of unpacking. This, this, this faith journey, this questioning journey, the why God, I don't know very many people who are people of faith who have struggled and, and, and gone through deep trials, have not had that question.

[00:03:40] Cortney Jones
Absolutely. Yeah. I mean, I think if I think about it honestly, before, before my huge questioning was just simply my, my questioning as I became a young adult. Like I was always raised in a, in a Catholic family back then. And, I have a, a great aunt who was a nun and my mom almost became a nun, so I almost wasn't here, you know, so we, we have a lot of that history in our family. But in my early twenties, I started questioning all of that just from my natural way of thinking. I just didn't understand. The Catholic belief that there had to be an intermediary between me and God. And so I started questioning that. And when I couldn't find that anywhere in the Bible, I questioned the whole thing instead of just that belief system.

[00:04:23]
 Right, and so that, I mean, that was sort of my beginning of questioning and then I decided, no, I'm actually a Christian. I actually do believe in God. I believe in everything that you know, that he stands for. I believe that he gave his son and all, all of the things. I just didn't believe the way that the Catholics believed. So I then I understood at 21 that I could be a Christian, but I didn't have to be a Catholic, you know? So that was kind of the beginning of it. And then as my life went on, there were plenty of opportunities to question it more. But in, you know, in 2008 I had a probably the most devastating experience to really question it, and that was. I had gone through like probably five years of fertility issues and had eight miscarriages, and finally I had this precious little baby, while she was four at the time. And, we went to Disney World for a week for vacation. And when we came home, everything was great. We had this wonderful life. We were, my husband and I were working in our real estate business together.

[00:05:24]
 We were buying six to 12 houses a month for our business. And, I woke up that one morning after coming back from Disney World and I was completely paralyzed and, just could not get outta bed. 12 hours before that I was perfectly normal and everything was wonderful. And after about three months of searching for answers and being shuffled from doctor to doctor and no one being able to figure anything out, they basically said, look, we don't know what's wrong with you, but the way that your, your blood counts are dropping and everything's happening and your infections and everything. We don't think you have much time. So we don't, we can't tell you what's wrong, but we think you need to start to put your affairs in order. And I just remember laying in bed and thinking, you have got to be kidding me. You put me through all of this for the last five plus years to have this beautiful child. And I was watching her out my bedroom window playing in the yard, and now you're gonna take me from her at this age. Like that was truly. The biggest question in my life, like I just laid there in this deep, dark moment of you've got to be kidding. How could you do this to me, and how could you do this to her? You know? 

[00:06:34] Dr. Nate Salah
Devastating. Oh my goodness. Can't imagine. 

[00:06:38] Cortney Jones
Yeah, it was, it was terrible. 

[00:06:40] Dr. Nate Salah
You had every right to question like, Hey, why is this happening? Right. And even now, I just see even the emotion is still there. It's still stings that diagnosis, if you will. Yeah. However. You're still here? 

[00:06:54] Cortney Jones
I'm still here. I'm living on borrowed time as I like to say. So, no, I mean, honestly, today I live a pretty normal life. They never did figure out what was wrong. they were able to gimme some medicine that helped and I, it helps every day most of the time. But yeah, it was definitely a, a period of time to question, you know, all of the things. But then to come back to the faith that I've always had and say. I'm a firm believer in a couple of things. Like I, I'm a firm believer in what goes around, comes around, and I'm a firm believer in if it's meant to be, it'll be, and whether it's by choices of ours or accidents that happen, I think that it, it will be there. And so I kind of just within that, you know, short period of time, kind of just took a deep breath and said, okay, so based on your belief system, you know that there's a reason that this is happening. If you're not going to be around for much longer, what do you wanna do about it? And if you are gonna be around a little for a while and you're gonna fight this, then how are you gonna live? And you know, that was kind of the beginning of the next journey. 

[00:08:02] Dr. Nate Salah
Those are some really critical questions in life. And a couple things I wanna touch on that you had. First of all, thank you for your, your bravery and your, your transparency and even just sharing such a tender purity your life because someone right now is going through something similar, maybe even listening or watching. Two things you said that I really, I wanna like, just, just to hang on to one, you'd mentioned. The faith journey in terms of how I'm aligned with a, a denomination, if you will. And I've always, you know, I don't come, from a, a Christian background. I, I didn't grow up in the church and I, I was very fascinated, although when I became a Christian about denominations all these different ways, if you will, I learned to reconcile them as different traditions, different ways to approach the, the, the journey. Then when I read in the Bible where the parable of the talents, which is one of my favorite parables, from the perspective of like how we should approach our walk, and at the end of the parable it doesn't say, you know, there's these three, these three, individuals who are entrusted right, with a certain sum of money.

[00:09:19]
 So their job is to multiply and increasing it for the Masters glory. At the end of it, it doesn't say, well done, good and Faithful Presbyterian or Methodist or Catholic, or Baptist, or, you know, go down the list, right? Of all the different denominations. Seventh Day Adventist, it says, servant. Right. When we go to heaven, you won't be labeled by the denomination, and that's fine. Whatever denomination works with traditionally. However, what's most important is that you multiplied and increased what you are entrusted with, and that's really God's love, right? And at the same time, so that's the first part of my thinking on this. The second part is what you went through, questioned the fabric and the essence of God's love. Yeah, absolutely. Call it what it is, right? God, do you really love me? Right. I'm not feeling the love right now. Yeah, for sure. Yeah. And that's, that's okay. It's okay to ask that question. You know, it's okay to to be, it happened to my wife, like I've had. I've had great health for the most part. I've had some, you know, back injuries and whatnot.

[00:10:40]
 My wife has suffered tremendously lot, a lot of health issues, and I remember at one point in her life, I just saw it on your face. I saw that moment that I remember in her eyes. She had double ruptured, discs and, and, and had, emergency surgeries. And even the doctor, she was in a wheelchair for a while and then it was just, it was. It was hard and there was other things that happened too. Lots of other things along the way. And, and, I remember just like tears just streaming down her face. Just why, you know, why, why God. And, you know, I'm her husband. I care deeply and there's nothing, there's nothing I can say. There's nothing I can do. Because, you know, the old cliche right, problem solvers, right? We always wanna like, you know, if there's something, you know, a nail, we want to hammer it so we can, that's just, that doesn't always work, right? Here's the other thing. That doesn't always work. It's gonna be okay, because sometimes it's not gonna be okay.

[00:11:41]
 It's not gonna be okay, right? Yeah. The only thing that I could think of is that no matter what happens, I'm here with you and as, as, as much as I want to give you. Some kind of word that will make everything change. You know, this, someone listening knows this. That's, that doesn't always work. But here's what happened in that journey. I want to, I want, and I, and I want to, I want to hear this, this progression for you in that journey. I remember the words out of her mouth were out of job, and as the tears are streaming though, you slay me yet, will I trust you? Those were not or easy words to say, and they didn't come right away. They came through the deepest trial, the deepest challenges, the deepest sense of character building that God is working in and through us, through that trust that you can't teach that, 

[00:12:44] Cortney Jones
Right. Right.

[00:12:45] Dr. Nate Salah
You have to experience it. 

[00:12:47] Cortney Jones
Yeah, very true. 

[00:12:50] Dr. Nate Salah
And so for you people experience it, you don't wanna experience it, right. For you, talk about the in-between time, like what was it like at that time when you were like, I'm not quite sure. 

[00:13:05] Cortney Jones
Yeah, I mean it, honestly, it happened so quickly because I thought I was. Dealing with a end time. Right. I, I mean there it, based on what doctors had said, I thought I was dealing with an alarm clock going off shortly and obviously in my head and logically I knew that, you know, they don't know an exact date by any means, but I knew How old were you? I was 41. 

[00:13:29] Dr. Nate Salah
Wow. So yeah, you're like, Hey look, I mean, I'm just. Just really getting going here, if you will. 

[00:13:35] Cortney Jones
Right, Right. And really I did, 'cause I didn't have my daughter till 37, so I did kind of feel like that stage of my life was kind of just starting, you know? and when they had said a few months to me, that was, you know, at the end of the month kind of thing, you know, was sort of how I thought it. So I really sort of had to accelerate the process, if you will. And that's when I kind of said, okay, well. If that does happen, there's a lot of crap you haven't taken care of that you need to get taken care of, you know? And so I started kind of thinking about those things. I actually started recording a bunch of videos of all the lessons I wanted to teach my daughter through life that I would, didn't think I would be there to, to be able to teach her. So I started setting up and I was bed bound at that, at that stage for a really long time. And so I just. Set up a video camera. My husband would set it up and then I would just record lesson after lesson. And of course it was heartbreaking doing this, so I would constantly have to stop and, you know, restart and everything.

[00:14:34]
 'Cause I'm, I didn't want her to watch these back fast forward five, 10 years and me be bawling the whole time, you know? So I started that process, but I also had to start in the process of what if they're wrong? And my, my mind went to what if they're wrong and you're going to live and this is your new reality. You know, your bed bound or wheelchair bound, and this is just what it's going to be. How are you going to live and how are things gonna be different? How are you going to survive? What is the day-to-day going to look like? You know, I mean, we were fortunate enough having our own business that we were able to be extremely flexible and my, my husband would have to come home two and three times a day to feed me 'cause I couldn't even move my arms, you know? And so there was a lot of that kind of stuff where it was like, okay, this is fine for this temporary thing, but what does this look like long term? And. How is this gonna work? You know, at the time we were running our business, just the two of us, and, well, we had two part-time salespeople, but, we didn't have those salaries per se, to take care of.

[00:15:38]
 They were commissioned. So we were kind of starting to have the conversations around what do we want this to look like if I'm not here? And, you know, my husband for the first time, he had left corporate America like three, three or four years before that and joined me in the business. And that was the first time he kind of had to face this head on head and say, he goes, you know what? I like doing this business 'cause I like the day-to-day with you, but if I have to support a daughter by myself, this isn't what I wanna do. I'm not an entrepreneur. I'm doing it because you love it. I wanna know that I'm gonna get a paycheck every Friday, and I wanna know that no matter what I do, I'm gonna be able to take care of our daughter. So it really started a lot of different conversations for us as well, and kind of going through that process, which was. Something we probably never would've done, you know? 

[00:16:25] Dr. Nate Salah
No. Yeah. Different. And then it's totally different mindset, the entrepreneur versus the, the wage earner, if you will. I mean, there's a lot of uncertainty that you have to be, comfortable in, at least deal with the discomfort in such a way that propels you forward. And there's all so many different aspects of it. Yeah. And here's what I'm curious about. You, you had to start thinking differently. 

[00:16:47] Cortney Jones
Yeah. I mean, I don't know. I think it's just sort of how my brain works. I'm a very big picture person, but then I'm really also kind of good at breaking things down to the day to day. So it was sort of like all of a sudden I just started having the, you know, I'm, I'm always, when you present, if somebody presents something to me, I'm always looking at the, okay, what are the pros? What are the cons? What's in between? Where's the reality? Where's the, you know, make believe made up sales stuff or, you know, I kind of, that's how my brain just works. And it sort of worked the same in this capacity, which when I look at it, it was kind of interesting. I mean, it, it just, it, it's another experience of wow, God is just so amazing in how he builds us, right? Because that's how my brain worked was, okay, well what if I do, what if what the doctors say is true, and I'm not here very long. But then also, what if the opposite is true? So how am I going to live, and what things need to get done? It created like two completely separate checklists of to-do, if you will, depending on where my life was gonna go. 

[00:17:45] Dr. Nate Salah
Courtney, this is actually the gospel in a lot of ways where Jesus is saying, be ready. Right? At any point now you know what it may be 80 years from now, whatever that number is, be ready today at the same time. Right. It's this, it's this. In your case, you had a pivotal perspective changing, life altering statement that was made to you, that required you. To shift into the, this thinking that Jesus has already prescribed in the gospels. And it's recent. Just recently, a dear friend of mine was diagnosed, with, stage four pancreatic cancer. And, I went and visited him at the hospital when he got the diagnosis. And I said, you know, how, how is this affecting you? I said, well, you know, massive perspective change. Yeah. 

[00:18:45] Cortney Jones
Yeah. 

[00:18:46] Dr. Nate Salah
Today, like today is like my entire perspective on life changes, priorities change, understanding change, plans change, all of it changes today, and it had a profound effect on me. I left the hospital, I went home, and my wife's like, you know, clearly she could see it, you know, on my, on my. How I was reacting. She said, this is really hitting you. I said, I care deeply about my friend and, and all that. And that's important. And I'm there for him. I'm there with him till, till the end. Whether I, here's what I say. I say, look, one of us is gonna get there first. I could get hit by a bus today. One of us is gonna get there first. Whoever gets there first catch you on the other side. Right? I mean, that's like, that's the, that's the healthy, happy way, right? To look at it. However, at the same time for me. As someone who is, has not had that perspective-changing diagnosis, it still impacts me and causes me to question, question my priorities, question my motives, question my decisions on a daily basis. If it was me, this is my, you know, my, my reflect, my reflection point, I'm going home and I'm like, what if you got that diagnosis, Nate, how would that change your day?

[00:20:11]
 Right. Live in that, like almost forcing myself into a new reality in that moment to say, what do you reprioritize today? What's most important today? You know, the first thing I thought, 'cause I thought, you know, you go through these things. These things, right? All the things like, okay, I'm an entrepreneur too, and I, I've owned a business for 30 years, would I go back to work? Right? And at first I thought. No, I wouldn't go back to work. I was like, but no, actually I would because I, I enjoy the work I do. I enjoy the people I get to work with. I enjoy the clients we get to serve, and I think it blesses me and it keeps me active. And so I was like, okay, well check. I wouldn't stop doing that. Well, what would you do more of? Well, I definitely spend more time with my wife and my, of course, my son, and it's like, okay, well then do that. So it's okay. Leave work at a normal time. And go do that or stop in the middle of the day and send a text and say, Hey, thinking about you, right? The intentionality of life absolutely begins to change. And you know, I wonder for you, you know, how much of that, it sounds like that was in the works as you were, as you were working all this out. Like, okay, what's, what do I have to be intentional about? 

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[00:22:14] Cortney Jones
Yeah, and the, you know, it's funny, when you were just telling your story, what made me chuckle was you go through this, you went through this with a friend, but yet at the same time, not everyone has the same moment of. How would this affect me? Right? So it's like all of a sudden then my perspective change is because I'm going through that, or your perspective changes because you watched a friend go through that and it hit you hard. You've decided I want to be more intentional with and spend more time with my wife and my son. Then you try to do that and your wife and your son aren't there yet. They haven't had that same epiphany. And they're like, dad, get off me. Like I'm fine. Leave me alone. Right. Or your, you know, your wife's like, no, I have plans this weekend. What are you talking about? You know? And so when you start looking at that, you, it's funny because you realize that your life-altering event isn't everyone's life-altering event. Right. And so you kind of have to. Give grace to the people around you because they're not having that same experience and understanding things. For me, it was just simply a matter of, obviously, here I am all these years later, I don't even, I, I lost track. I used to keep track, but it's, it obviously, at least 12, 13, 14, 15 years later, I'm still here.

[00:23:29]
 I joke all the time that I, you know, I'm living on borrowed time, but I just live my life every day like. I do, and I know that my perspective has forever been changed. You know, it doesn't mean that sometimes I'm not in the moment where, you know, I'm acting insane as, as we entrepreneurs sometimes do about getting things done, or, you know, generating cash flow because I can't make bills or what, whatever the issue may be. Right? And, and then I'll just kind of take a moment and be like, okay, wait. This isn't what's important anymore. But I've definitely, in my day-to-day life. There are so many small things that have changed that are forever changed. You know, I used to be. Just, I'm, I'm a extremely organized kind of checklist type person and all that, and I'm still that, like, I don't think that core has gone away. But there's a lot of things like, you know, I used to be super weird, this is telling about myself, but I used to be like super weird about how, how and where everything was in the pantry and how and where everything was in the kitchen cabinets, and how am I, and now I could care less. Like, you know, my husband, sometimes my husband will be like, wait, what do you mean we don't have pasta?

[00:24:33] 
You didn't, you know, and, and I'm like, oh, sorry, did I forget to do that? Like before that would've never been like it would've been, you know, something I would've really obsessed over. And so just simple things like that. I'm a totally different person about handling those things. Even within business, there's a lot of times when. I'm very much now, like I do a lot of volunteer work with foster children and I do a lot of mentoring of foster children, and in fact, I spend probably more time doing that in a week than I do my actual business anymore. And I try to get kids to understand all the time, you know, the truly important things. Most of the kids I mentor or. Nine, 10 to 12, 13 ish years old. And it's just really a different perspective seeing their minds going into that part of life where their level of importance is put on so many of the things I learned during that period that it's not important anymore. You know? So it's, it's really interesting to kind of see that in others, but you, it's really almost impossible to get someone else to see it. From your perspective, unless you've gone through something like that. 

[00:25:38] Dr. Nate Salah
Yeah, it's a really good point. And it's really that piece of vision, right? That's caught not taught. Yeah. And so you catch it through experience, whether it's yours or you're impacted as I was, deeply by experience of someone else. And then when the perspective begins to change and shift, it illuminates what was once monumental that now has become trivial, and vice versa. 

[00:26:06] Cortney Jones
Right. 

[00:26:06] Dr. Nate Salah
And, and there's a liberation in that. And for me, I found liberation. I've always found liberation in the idea of death. And it can be con considered morbid. And my son would always be like, you know, it's so morbid dead. You're always talking about death. I'm like, oh, not always talking about it. However. Maybe I am, but not from the perspective of, oh, I feel bad about it. It's, it's a, there's a freedom that comes from not being tied and bound by everything that you thought life had to be because someone else put a label on it. Absolutely. And so part of that goes back to the vision and I tend to like go to the deathbed vision. So on my deathbed, or my tribute or how I, my epitaph, or how I want to be remembered, list all the things. That are important on that epitaph and that tribute, and then decide, okay, what of all those things am I doing now enough of, yeah. And so now granted, you don't wanna, you know, in my opinion, I, I don't wanna like not be a productive human being.

[00:27:11]
 At the same time. I don't want it to rule my life, and I don't want worry and anxiety to rule my life either. It changed a lot of perspective pieces. Say, for example, I had an unhappy client, because we all do at some point, right? Of course. Yeah. Yeah. I think, okay, well, when I'm dying, or even beyond that, you know, when I'm gone and in heaven, will this matter? And if the answer's no, then how about if I just take the approach of God, this is your business, and I'm just stewarding it. I'm shepherding it, I'm entrusted. To manage your investment, right? And if your investment, if your greatest investment is me, if your greatest investment is Courtney, if your greatest investment is us, because you have invested your love and your gospel and your good news of redemption in and through us. And if I look in the mirror and every morning or every day when I look in the mirror, and I say, Wow, what a blessing it is that you've entrusted me to manage your investment. Then all I'm doing, no matter what the situation is, I'm just honoring God. Hey, God, you know what? This situation happened, and it didn't go the way we expected it to.

[00:28:34]
 We're gonna do the best we can. And we're not gonna try to control all the outcomes because you know this as well as I do, Courtney. It's an illusion. Yeah, exactly. Goal is an illusion. So what can we do? We can give our best. I love the way Paul says, you know, work at it with all your heart. Right? As if working for the Lord, I think we are. And one day, whether it's today or whether it's in 2030 or 40 or 50 years, our work will be finished here. And until that day. Rejoice. Rejoice in the moments we've been given to do a good work no matter what they are, and release it. Release it all to God. And it takes perspective to do that. Absolutely. It takes the perspective that says, this could be my last moment, or it could be in 30, 40 years, and no matter where it is. I'm gonna walk with you and I'm gonna trust you. That's the, the, I think the challenging part, and I want to hear your perspective on it. Challenging part is just not forgetting that. Yeah. Routines. You get back into the cycle of life, and it's like, oh shoot, I forgot. 

[00:29:45] Cortney Jones
Yeah. I think I'm. I maybe because I have to take daily medicine. 

[00:29:52] Dr. Nate Salah
Maybe you can't forget. 

[00:29:53] Cortney Jones
Yeah, I can't forget. Like I maybe for that reason I've been lucky enough and gosh, I never thought I'd say that's a blessing, but maybe for that reason I've done, I. I've done a great job, I think, of being able to keep that perspective on a daily basis. Not to say it doesn't ever, but you know, there will be times when I'll think to myself, man, I haven't stopped for three days or whatever, and then I'll be like, oh, you know what? It's temporary. Like it's just that crazy little season, but it's not gonna be that way forever. I think that I'm just extra attentive these days. Paying attention to that. And I, I don't know, maybe that it, I've never thought of it till you just brought that up, but maybe that's why, because I have a daily reminder of keeping that perspective. And so it kind of like, I don't know what would happen if I stopped taking that medicine. So I don't want to, you know, test it. But maybe that's the daily reminder that I need, to kind of keep those things into perspective, you know? 

[00:30:49] Dr. Nate Salah
That's good. Yeah. How about that epiphany, huh? Alright. Well, and, and for those of us who perhaps do not have that daily reminder, you know, what is it, what is it in the day that helps us to pause and walk in the gratitude of the moment as a gift, really.

[00:31:13] Cortney Jones
Yeah. Right. For sure. I think everybody has to find. That thing, you know, I, I've always kind of been that person who. Would stop and driving the, the car and pull off on the side of the road to enjoy a sunset. You know, kind of just a m my husband calls me the big mush, you know, and so I've always sort of been that person, but now I definitely notice it a little bit more. You know, I think that for in general, I try to impart that on my daughter who's now 21. who to say, you know, it definitely is about enjoying those moments. Who, where, you know, you just. I just go, wow, this. Thank you for the beautiful sunset, Lord, this is amazing. You know, and I think it's just important to have those things. So whatever that thing is for you, or you know, if it's, you know, you're walking to work and you see a, you know, a, an animal or a tree or a flower, or you know, whatever those things are, that if you can just find those small moments to go, wow, and just take it in for even just 10 seconds, just pause for 10 seconds and take it in and acknowledge the beauty that we have all around us. To appreciate it for a minute. 

[00:32:22] Dr. Nate Salah
You know, that reminds me, I had laser eye surgery back in oh three and I, I had not terrible vision, like 2040 in one eye and 2060 in the other, so it wasn't terrible, but I definitely needed glasses. And I remember when I had the laser eye surgery in the first glimpse, if you will, a few days later of clarity. 'Cause you have, I had cloudy eyes for a little bit. First thing I noticed, Courtney, was the silhouette on the tree leaves and the, just the outline, the crispness of the leaves. And I was driving back from the doctor's appointment. I was like, wow, that's so beautiful. It's so beautiful to see clearly and vibrantly for the first time in my memory. Really? Wow. That's awesome. And I wanted to tell everybody about it, right? I was like, you gotta get LA If you had anyone with glasses, you gotta get laser iceberg. You gotta even, I remember having a, in one of my, team members years ago, I had a mortgage company and I said, I'm gonna buy your laser eye surgery for you. And she was like, I don't know if I wanna do it. I'm like, I'll pay for it. She's like, ah, I don't. It was so exciting to see with clarity and to see the beauty of the world for the first time, I couldn't help but share it with everyone. Right. And I think in that same way, rekindling that appreciation for whatever it is that. We can see and feel and hear and touch and sense, and smell. Like if you just took the five senses and you didn't have one of them for all your life, and suddenly you were given that fifth sense, just think of the amazement and wonder and gratitude. Yeah. First time to people to hear. 

[00:34:23] Cortney Jones
Yeah. 

[00:34:24] Dr. Nate Salah
Able to see, to be able to, to, to, when you hug someone to feel the warmth of a human, and yet how do we take it for granted? No, stop. Right, right. That's what you're talking about. That's that essence of wonder and joy for what we would consider to be an afterthought in any given day. 

[00:34:48] Cortney Jones
Yeah. It's sort of like, you know with parenting when you're parenting your child, you realize as much as we'd like to take all of their negative and bad experiences away. We can't, they have to go through them. Right. And I feel like it's, what you're talking about is sort of the same thing for people in life. It's like not everybody is going to have a life-changing moment to make them start to appreciate things. Not everybody's gonna have someone close to them, have that moment. It hits them differently. So it's like we want to impart that on everyone. Like you saying like, look, look, everything's so beautiful. You know? We want everyone else to see it from our perspective. But then we realize like the parent mode, it's like we can't give that to somebody else. They've got to get there on their own. But I always say, even if just me recognizing a pretty sunset makes somebody else go, that's interesting. I would've never noticed that. Wait, shouldn't I notice that? More like makes them think that way than maybe I've done my part, right? 

[00:35:46] Dr. Nate Salah
Yes. Amen. Yeah, I was literally just, just yesterday we were taking a walk and there were some clouds and sometimes when there's a cloud and the sun setting behind it, there's sort of a purplish red orange sort of hue in the cloud. Just beautiful. I just stop. Just stop. I know it, like you said, it sounds kind of sappy or whatnot. It just, it's ju it's an appreciation of, of this, of God's beauty. Yeah. And wonder and pausing. That may be the, that may be the only inspiration you have in that day. You might have had a crappy day, just everything that you thought was gonna go a different way. Didn't, that's part of the problem is that we have expectations. Things will go better than they. Oh, yes, for sure. Better is also a, you know, it's a loaded word, right? And so looking for that and finding that, I think what happens then is our, level of joy. Can increase in life and no matter the circumstance. And I think that's a place where God wants us to be. God wants us to be in a place to where no matter what we're facing, that we can see the joy in and through us and around us, of the beauty of the world. And, and even in the moments where perhaps your perspective isn't shared, that's another place to find joy and beauty and wonder, because it's a journey for everyone.

[00:37:17] Cortney Jones
Right. 

[00:37:18] Dr. Nate Salah
And to be a willing participant or a guide or someone who just plants a seed or shows as, as an example where you are and where you've been, is equally as edifying, then simply imparting and saying, well, you need to get that LASIK surgery because I got it. No, it's like, Hey, you know what? In, in God's good time.

[00:37:45] Cortney Jones
Yeah. I mean, I think that's what, when I'm working with the children that I work with, that's, that's what I have to remind myself constantly because I'll say to them, let's just sit here and enjoy the sunset or whatever, and they're like, what? You know, and so I, I always, when I'm driving away, after dropping them off, I'm always thinking to myself, I know they think I'm corny as I'll get out, but hopefully at least someday, 10 years from now, they'll be like. Remember that crazy woman that used to come over and help me all the time? She always wanted to watch the sunsets. She's right. Sunsets are not, you know, or whatever. Maybe it hits at some point, you know? 

[00:38:19] Dr. Nate Salah
Amen. I love that. And so today, today our message, it sounds like it's pretty clear that even if there's a struggle, even through the struggle, it's okay. It's okay to say why, to cry out at the same time. It's okay to return. And say, I get it now. I don't get all of it. 

[00:38:42] Cortney Jones
I don't get all of it right for sure. 

[00:38:44] Dr. Nate Salah
I get enough. I get enough. And sometimes I don't know exactly what I need in the moment, but I do know that I need to be someone who not only lives. In a world that has faith. Sometimes if I can't carry my own faith, then perhaps, it will be carried by someone else. Perhaps it will be when I'm stronger. Perhaps I can carry someone else's faith when it's too heavy for them to lift themselves. 

[00:39:23] Cortney Jones
Yeah, absolutely. And honestly, sometimes I think questioning things. Then coming back to it makes it stronger. 

[00:39:29] Dr. Nate Salah
Yeah. Yeah. It's that tension and almost in a sense, in a sense, you're taking part of the foundation of your life that has some maybe cracks and holes in different areas in it, and you're cleaning it, sifting it, going through it, and then you're strengthening it because you've got a newfound. Understanding and appreciation through those storms, through those challenges, through those trials and tribulations, that strengthened in fact your struggle muscles. 

[00:40:06] Cortney Jones
Yeah, for sure. 

[00:40:08] Dr. Nate Salah
Yeah. Well, Courtney, your inspiration and I'm so thankful for you sharing enough of your story, I should say. I'm sure there's so much more there to inspire. I know someone's, someone's blessed today, but before we go. I'd like to ask a question for you, and one day, you and I will be at the end of the journey, this side of heaven, and you can see all the people who you are, that were in your life. What is one thing that you would have, you would like others to have said about Courtney? 

[00:40:48] Cortney Jones
That's so funny. I think about this often. I'd say the one thing I would like others to say about me is that I left every person and every situation better than when I arrived, somehow, some way. 

[00:41:02] Dr. Nate Salah
You are on your way. Thanks, Courtney. Thanks for being here, and thank you so much for your message and your mission. I pray blessings for you and your family as you continue on. 

[00:41:13] Cortney Jones
Thank you very much. 

[00:41:14] Dr. Nate Salah
Thank you so much for supporting this program. I'd like to pray for you for just a moment. That God realigns the heart away from pressure, pride, performance back to his presence. Let us grow in God's wisdom. Let us give from our overflow, and let us go love radically in every place God sends us. Make us holy Lord, set us apart, not just successful, but surrendered. In Jesus' name, amen.





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