021 - Finding God's Strength in Our Weakness with Stephanie Jensen

In this week's episode, I talk to Stephanie Jensen, a single mother of two, and she shares her passion for running and outdoor activities. She discusses how the outdoors plays a role in her relationship with God, providing a space for prayer and reflection. Stephanie opens up about a challenging season in her life when her mother fell ill, and she faced personal struggles. She shares how she turned to God for comfort and found peace in His presence. Stephanie encourages listeners to trust in God during difficult times and seek His peace.

Follow along with her on Instagram:
Stephanie Appleby (@steph.nee.apple.b) 

Transcript

Kenzie Smith (KenziefromKansas) (00:01)
On today's episode of My Valley, His Victory, we have Stephanie Jensen. She's a Midwestern mama to two hilarious kids. She's passionate about running, health and wellness, minimalism, public speaking, teaching, and reading God's word. She's a huge fan of telling stories of God's goodness and faithfulness in the midst of suffering, grief, and loss. Thanks so much for being with us today, Steph.

Stephanie Jensen (00:25)
Yeah, thank you for having me.

Kenzie Smith (KenziefromKansas) (00:28)
Absolutely. I know I just read your bio, but why don't you go ahead and tell the listeners just a little bit more about yourself and who you are.

Stephanie Jensen (00:36)
Yeah, so I am a single mama to two kiddos, and I'm currently working as a broker for an advertising agency and just really passionate about running. That's something that I've taken on the past couple of years, but I live out in a little tiny town in Missouri and have just kind of...

buckled down and I've started enjoying small life with two kiddos and doing the daily, the small things and just enjoying, I guess, where I'm at.

Kenzie Smith (KenziefromKansas) (01:15)
Yeah, absolutely. How old are your kiddos?

Stephanie Jensen (01:19)
So my oldest is eight and my youngest is six. So, yeah. Yeah.

Kenzie Smith (KenziefromKansas) (01:25)
Okay, very cool, very cool. And are you guys from Missouri or is that a new place for you guys?

Stephanie Jensen (01:33)
kind of originally, like I graduated high school in Kansas City. I lived out there for about seven years and then I moved out west for college and then we moved back here after kiddos, like I guess before kiddos are born to be closer to family. So yeah.

Kenzie Smith (KenziefromKansas) (01:51)
Okay, okay, very cool. So tell us a little bit about your running activities. Are you, do you do races? Do you just like to do it for fun or kind of where are you at in your running journey?

Stephanie Jensen (01:54)
get them.

Yeah, so I have not done any races yet. My goal is to do a half marathon within the next year or two. But currently it's just kind of like a hobby. It is my, I call it my reset. If I have a hard day with the kids, I'm like guys I need a factory reset. I'm gonna go for a run. I'll be back in 30 minutes. But it's something I've done since, actually I, with my dad that's something that he was really into. It's something I kind of grew up.

doing with him. So, yeah. Yeah.

Kenzie Smith (KenziefromKansas) (02:39)
Okay, I love that. I need a factory reset. I'm going on a run.

Stephanie Jensen (02:44)
Yeah, it was really cute. On winter nights, it gets really cold here, so I have a YMCA membership. I would take them to the Y because they have child watch. I would be like, guys, we just need to go get your wiggles out, or we would run the inside track to help them burn off some energy. One day we were pulling in there and I was like, I need to go for a run. I've had a rough day. My daughter was like, does that mean you need to get your wiggles out?

It's like, yeah, it does, actually. That's a very valid way of describing that. I'll take it. But, yeah. Yes.

Kenzie Smith (KenziefromKansas) (03:20)
Oh, that's cute. I love the mind of kids. They're so cute sometimes. So, wanted to ask you kind of what outdoor recreation looks like for you. I know we talked a little bit about running, but what else do you like to do in the great outdoors?

Stephanie Jensen (03:38)
Yes, so it's kind of funny because I would like to say that I love camping although I have not been in years. But the majority of my outdoor activity recently has just been playing with my kids outside or I will commission them to go on walks and runs with me outside. It's really nice because we live really close to the Katy Trail. I don't know if you if you don't, I'm sorry I'm not

expecting anybody else to know what that is, but they basically took an old railroad track that connects, it runs across the entire state from St. Louis to Kansas City, and they've just converted it into a walking trail. And so in the summers, we will spend a lot of our time outside. They'll take their bikes or scooters or whatever, and we'll just spend hours outside there, and it's fantastic.

Kenzie Smith (KenziefromKansas) (04:35)
Yeah, that's awesome. Is it paved or is it still? Okay.

Stephanie Jensen (04:39)
It is...well, parts of it are paved. Some of it is just like rock, but it's really nice because it's all super flat. I don't have to worry about really anything else other than making sure that they have like air in their tires and enough water and we're good to go for almost like the whole day, which is really nice.

Kenzie Smith (KenziefromKansas) (05:01)
Yeah, I was gonna say, I feel like most of the time they take those types of things and they turn them into like bike trails. That's why I asked if they were paved. So I know when we originally talked to you, also said you were a big beach gal, is that right?

Stephanie Jensen (05:07)
Yeah.

Uh, no. I... I don't know if that was me. I did go to Cancun with one of my best friends in April, which was fantastic, but I think given the option of Beecher Mountains, I'd probably take mountains. And I...

Kenzie Smith (KenziefromKansas) (05:32)
Okay, nevermind. I think I just remember you saying like, I don't know that I'm really outdoorsy. And I was like, well, do you like the beach? And you were like, yeah. And then I was like, well, technically, then that's being outdoorsy.

Stephanie Jensen (05:41)
I do. Yeah, if that counts. I'll take it.

Kenzie Smith (KenziefromKansas) (05:46)
Yeah, yeah. So you just said it, but you said the mountains are your favorite place. Is there a favorite place in the mountains that you've gone that you've just really enjoyed?

Stephanie Jensen (05:54)
Mm-hmm.

Um, so when I was in college, a friend of mine, her family owned a camp out in Montana, um, called Beartooth Mountain Christian Ranch, and it was out in a tiny town called Fishtail. And I worked as a photographer out there for a summer and I'd never been to Montana before, but it, we were like right in the middle of Snowcap Mountains. Um, just working with kiddos all summer long, and it was by far the most beautiful place I've ever been.

Um, I absolutely fell in love. We got, we drove in at night and I'd never seen it before. And I woke up the next morning and turned around and it was literally just like mountains everywhere and the sunrise. And I was like, Oh my gosh, this is gorgeous. It was, um, yeah, I don't know why more people don't live in Montana, but I kind of like that more people don't because it is so rural, like nobody had cars. They were just driving around in four wheelers and

Kenzie Smith (KenziefromKansas) (06:52)
Ha ha.

Stephanie Jensen (06:58)
There was more cows than people, but I would say by far that's probably my favorite place.

Kenzie Smith (KenziefromKansas) (07:04)
Yeah, Montana. Montana's a super special place for sure. So I know that you said that you kind of use the outdoors to kind of factory reset yourself and then also to get outside with your kiddos, but would love for you to share how the outdoors plays a role in your relationship with God.

Stephanie Jensen (07:08)
It is.

Yeah. So I would say probably one of the biggest ways...

is like I said the factory reset. I don't know what it is about just getting outside and moving your body and kind of forcing yourself away from distractions whether it be your cell phone or work or relationships or whatever but I found that when I'm able to unplug from everything and go outside turn on some music and run it is when I am the most like in tune with

my mind and my body and able to just be super honest with the Lord and praying. If I'm so agitated that I feel like I have to run, obviously there's something that I have not taken to the Lord. And so that is when I will literally just be like, okay, God, I'm dedicating this time to you. You have the next 30 minutes to speak to me or reveal something to me that I haven't brought to you or whatever I'm anxious about or sad about or whatever. I want to talk to you

really revolutionary I think with my walk with the Lord and also just like I mean I there are times when I'm really stressed out there's a lot on my plate and I've just come to learn that like I can either distract myself with like screens and tv and food and relationships and all these things they are available to me but I was like that doesn't actually fix the problem like what I really need to do is take this to God be honest about it

think of some solutions, problem solve, and have some time alone to really process through whatever's going on. And it just offers like a lot of clarity and a lot of peace. And it's weird to me that like the most peaceful I feel is when I'm like sweating and exhausted and tired after I run, but it truly is one of the times where I feel the most just, yeah, clarity I think is a good word for it. But it has been a time where I feel like the Lord has

really used it to kind of use that time to draw me closer to him and kind of help me to realize that I'm not in this alone, that the power of prayer is huge and ultimately if I'm not connecting with him about these things then I have no business carrying them on my own. So it's humbling. It's a good reminder, I think, for me to do that.

Kenzie Smith (KenziefromKansas) (09:53)
Yeah.

Yeah, no, I think that's a really good, a really good...

thought and I think that it's cool that you said, you know, if I have this unsettled feeling, it's like you chances are you have something in yourself that you need to take to the Lord. And so I think a lot of times we feel those things, but we just brush them off or we go and we get distracted or whatever. And it's like, no, like that's a signal. That's our body telling us that, you know, that we need to take something or we need to ask God like, Hey, reveal what is inside of me that's making me so anxious or

Stephanie Jensen (10:20)
Mm-hmm.

Mm-hmm.

Kenzie Smith (KenziefromKansas) (10:33)
stressed or whatever so that then you can also address it as well because that's really important. So do you have a story that you could share about a way that God has revealed Himself to you maybe on a run or through the outdoors in some way?

Stephanie Jensen (10:39)
Yeah.

Yeah, so I think something that's really powerful is I, for the longest time, kind of had this mindset of like, this is too hard, or this is too big, or this goal is too overwhelming, or just sometimes I would like default on thinking

I don't know, just like defeated mindset, which I would get overwhelmed and just kind of shut down. And I feel like through running, I've been able to kind of overcome that a lot with basically like you can do hard things, you can push yourself to do hard things, you can make progress and grow and it's not perfect and it's not linear. But I've kind of taken...

just this prospect of running and pushing through hard emotions and forcing myself to be outside and do things that are uncomfortable. It doesn't always feel great. But I feel like the Lord has used that time where I've kind of been like, you know what, I'm not going to shut down about this. I'm not going to get overwhelmed. I'm going to take it to the Lord. I'm going to run and I'm going to push through. And he has shown up every single time. And I feel like he has given me peace in those moments.

There's this children's book that I read to my kids and it's basically, I cannot remember the title of it now, but basically this family is going on a bear hunt and they have to go through these certain things to get there and the mantra of the book is can't go over it, can't go under it, you have to go through it. And so I feel like that has just been such...

A lesson for me over the past couple of years is I can't avoid these things. I have to embrace the difficulty and the challenge and it actually makes me a stronger person. It actually makes me better, more resilient. And so I just, I remember thinking, taking on running more regularly and I was like, I'm not going to have time for that. I don't have resources. I don't have blah, blah. And I felt like the Lord continually like.

was urging me to do that and when I listened it was very...

It was just a very welcomed change because I was like, it's not necessarily all bad. It is very much good to work through the difficult things and not all pain is bad.

Kenzie Smith (KenziefromKansas) (13:26)
Yeah, I really liked what you said. And I think that it's not something that a lot of people correlate, I think, as often as they do, but I think that usually the people that have the defeated mindset and have the, you know, the, oh, I can't do hard things or that's just too hard are usually people who don't do any sort of physical activity.

And I think that those two things are so tightly related. It's like being able to do physical activity kind of shows yourself that you can work past the uncomfortable and you can work through the hard. And when you feel like you're at the end of whatever, you know, you're doing, it's like, no, your body still keeps moving and your body is far more capable of things that then you realize. And I think that once you start to realize that you have limiting beliefs about yourself in one area,


Kenzie Smith (KenziefromKansas) (14:25)
a lot of times you can start to challenge those limiting beliefs in other areas. And so I just love that you brought that up because I think that that's so important. And I think that it's just not, not addressed enough. It's like, you want to work on your mental health, work on your physical health, and then you'll start to realize that, that they're very tightly connected and that doing physical activity can teach you really valuable things about those limiting beliefs and about what you're capable of. And that

Stephanie Jensen (14:41)
Yeah. Yes.

Kenzie Smith (KenziefromKansas) (14:54)
Just because it's hard doesn't make it bad.

Stephanie Jensen (14:58)
Yeah. And oftentimes I find afterwards like you're grateful for it. Like I've never gone on a run or pushed myself physically and been like, that was a waste of time. I've never like looked back and been like, oh, I shouldn't have done that. Every time it's why didn't I do this sooner? Like why didn't I think of, you know, or why didn't I set a bigger goal or why didn't I

Kenzie Smith (KenziefromKansas) (14:59)
and

Right?

Stephanie Jensen (15:20)
pursue this harder because I've never come to regret any of my time really spent outside or physical activity.

Kenzie Smith (KenziefromKansas) (15:27)
Yeah.

Yeah. So I know you live in kind of small town Missouri and live, you know, kind of in the Midwest. Would love for you to share practical ways that listeners can start connecting to God through his creation, even if they live maybe in an urban environment.

Stephanie Jensen (15:50)
Okay. Sorry, ask that again. For people to connect with God even if they're...

Kenzie Smith (KenziefromKansas) (15:56)
Like if they live in a big city or, you know, maybe don't see that like that they live in like the outdoors, like practical advice to connect with God through his creation. Even when you're surrounded by like concrete jungle or, you know.

Stephanie Jensen (16:03)
Yeah.

So yeah, move to the country, obviously. No, I think, gosh, we think when we're like, we think it has to be extended amounts of time or whatever. But even just like a 15 minute walk in a local park or even just sitting outside so we can feel like the sun on your skin or even.

Kenzie Smith (KenziefromKansas) (16:16)
haha

Stephanie Jensen (16:36)
walking with a friend outside. There's times where I can't make it to the Katy trail because of my two kids, so I will literally just run laps in my neighborhood. But even that is so much better than just being at home or even running on a treadmill. I feel like a hamster on a wheel when I'm on a treadmill. But prioritizing trips too, like if you're able to schedule a weekend with a friend and go camping.

My friend's church in Tennessee quarterly does these backpacking trips where it's part of their ministry where they will literally supply everything that you need. You just have to show up and pay to rent some gear. And it's fantastic. They do like guided discussions. They do. They do a lot of Outreach, I think that way of kind of getting people thinking about the Lord and questioning different things. But for people that don't have access to that.

There are churches out there who would love to facilitate that. And I love that they do that. But yeah, yeah. Yeah, I know. I think the next one is in June. So yeah. Yeah.

Kenzie Smith (KenziefromKansas) (17:37)
Yeah, that's awesome. Can I come?

Sign me up. No, thank you for sharing that. I think that that's an encouraging word and a good piece of advice. Because there are so many ministries or things out there that can help you get outside and can help you start to understand or start to connect with God through the outdoors. And sometimes, yes, you do have to travel to like start to learn how to do that, but then I think you can transfer it to your everyday life.

Stephanie Jensen (18:02)
Yeah.

Kenzie Smith (KenziefromKansas) (18:14)
regardless of where you are.

Stephanie Jensen (18:17)
Yeah.

Kenzie Smith (KenziefromKansas) (18:18)
Um, so switching gears a little bit into the title of this podcast, my valley, his victory would love for you to share a valley or a season of wilderness that you experienced and just what God taught you or maybe prepared you for in that season.

Stephanie Jensen (18:35)
Um, everything's been fine. I've had no troubles. Um, right? Yeah, I don't know what you're talking about. Um, yeah. So, I mean, we talked about this a little bit previously, but there was a time where, um, just my family and me personally and everything, just the wheels kind of fell off for a little bit.

Kenzie Smith (KenziefromKansas) (18:39)
Said no one ever.

Stephanie Jensen (19:03)
But my mom had COVID pneumonia in, I believe, 2022. I don't remember the exact year. But she actually ended up being very sick and was put on the ventilator around the same time that I was starting a new job, which was really stressful.

It was something that I'd never done before. And so it was just like drinking from a fire hydrant, trying to learn all the things and utilize everything. And my supervisor was in California, so it wasn't really hands-on training. So it was a lot of like, it was a lot of failing, basically figuring out, trying to learn how to do this job and feeling like I was failing through and through. But it was just stressful also because

with my mom being in the hospital, when I would go up to visit her, I was utilizing pretty much all of my PTO days and still trying to get a grasp on this new career, but then also it was just a whole bunch of things. But when my mom got sick the first time, she was put on the ventilator and then taken off and everything was good and we thought she was like in the clear and just kind of like, okay, cool, let's keep an eye on everything and move forward.

when she got home, basically things took a turn for the worst. And for a while there we were not sure if she was going to make it. And so like two days before this happens, my boss pulls me aside and she was like, we love having you on the team. We think you're a great worker. It's just, it seems like there's just something going on or something's not connecting or whatever. And meanwhile...

They didn't know this, but my mom was in the hospital and I wasn't sure if she was gonna make it or not. And so there was just a bunch of stress and then I'm in the middle of a contentious divorce and there's mediation stuff going on and it's just a lot to process. And then with my mom being sick, it was just a lot. So my sister and I drove up together to go see my mom because my dad basically was like, this is not looking good. We need you guys to come up here. And doctors aren't saying that.

they think this is going to turn south but they also aren't telling me that it's not. So we would love for you guys to come up here and just kind of be here while we navigate this. So I drove up there with my sister to go see my mom and the night before we're all sitting around and talking and my dad gets really quiet. He was like...

So the reason I haven't asked you guys to come up sooner was because the day that your mom was intubated, I had lost my job. And then my sister and I are just kind of in shock because not only was he not employed now, things are looking really bad for my mom. And it just was one of those moments where it's like, as a kid, you always think your parents are so strong. And so they're the ones that always have the answers and they're the ones that like always have it together.

My dad is a rock. He's always been the one that we go to when we have questions. I just remember looking at him and he was just broken. It was just so scary to feel like, not only is my mom in the hospital, basically on life support, she's on a ventilator at this time, my dad looks just broken and weak. It just was so hard because I started to

like turn the wheels and be like, okay, God, like, you're it right now for me. Like you are the only resource. You are the only backup for me at this time. Like I don't know where else to turn but to turn to you. And that was the first time I think in my relationship with the Lord where I hadn't sought out other resources or I hadn't like talked to a friend or like researched something or taken this to therapy or like what does the Bible say?

Okay, God, I need you here now. Like I need your peace. I need your presence. I need to know that you're here. I need to know that you see me. I need to know that you have my family. I need to know that this is gonna be okay. But yeah, it was just a really, I remember falling asleep that night and just being so like caught off guard. I'm like, what is happening? Like a week ago we were celebrating and everything was not even a week ago. A couple of days ago we were celebrating. Everything was fine. She was recovering. Like things were great. And now...

this. It just felt like a giant bomb had been dropped on us. And I had been in the practice of like when things got really hard of just like forcing myself to say a three-word prayer out loud. I know it sounds so silly, but it really does work of just forcing myself to say, I trust you to the Lord. Because it would just take my focus off of what was going on or what I was feeling

put focus back on God and be like, I trust you. I don't trust my situation. I don't trust my feelings. I don't trust really anything else other than the Lord right now. And that's what I'm gonna look at. And that's what I'm gonna steal myself to and like use as a tether right now because everything else feels like it's falling apart. Like the wheels are literally falling off. But I remember the next day we went to go see my mom and

It was just really hard to see your parents not doing well. But I remember sitting with her and like, again, the only thing I could think of to do was just to pray. And so I remember praying over her and I again, like, just kind of in shock of like, what is actually happening right now? I had one more day of PTO that I could use before I had to leave and like at this point,

We weren't sure if she was going to make it or not. I knew like if I left that day, I didn't know if I was going to be coming back to Ohio for a funeral. And so I was just trying to enjoy this time that I had with my mom. Um, and I just remember praying over her. And if I'm being honest, like I was really ticked at the Lord. Um, I felt like he was not present. I felt like he was not there. I felt like he was not listening. Um,

But every single question that I threw at him when I was praying, he threw a verse back to me. And so I just remember being like, God, where are you? And immediately I will never leave or forsake you. And then I remember praying like, God, I don't know if I can make this, if I lose my mom, like what will happen to our family? And immediately to live is Christ, to die is gain. And I remember just constantly like wrestling with the Lord of like,

where are you? Why are you doing this? And then the Lord does not willingly bring affliction on his children. And just like, it was like a 10 minute like wrestling match of me with the Lord of like, I know that you're good and I know that you have good things for us. And I know like we're talking about earlier, like not all pain is bad, but it just feels, it was just really hard to kind of trust him in that moment. And I look

back now at that season and I can say that like he was so faithful and he was so kind and he did show up in big ways and I'm grateful for it in a weird way of like it really helped me to like fundamentally trust the Lord and not lean on other things but to really seek him first and trust him at his word. But it just...

Yeah, it was a rough season. I would love to say that like everything was fine after that. And praise the Lord, she did like less than 1% of people actually survive COVID pneumonia, which is wild, but she did. She still has symptoms. She's still healing even a year later. My dad, eventually a year later was eventually able to find a job. But even then in that year long process of my dad applying and my mom healing and like me hustling at work and like, it wasn't easy by any means, but

Kenzie Smith (KenziefromKansas) (27:04)
Thanks for watching!

Stephanie Jensen (27:35)
God was faithful to sustain us in all of it in really sweet ways. He was very kind in the ways that he provided for me and my family. Have you seen the movie about Harriet Tubman? Okay, it's on Netflix. Okay, you need to watch that movie. It's fantastic. But Harriet Tubman, it's like a biopic of her life.

Kenzie Smith (KenziefromKansas) (27:52)
Hmm.

What's it called?

Stephanie Jensen (28:04)
but she was like an incredible woman of faith. But there's two things that come to mind whenever I think about that because the first one is Jacob when his name is changed to Israel because he like wrestles with the Lord at the bank of the water. And he basically is like, I'm not letting go until you bless me. And then fundamentally there, his identity has changed. But the same

as she escapes first by herself. And after slaves escaped and went to the north, they were able to change their name. Her name originally was Minty, but she changed it to Harriet. I think it was the second time she had gone back and was taking more slaves to freedom. They went through this really tetris cross in the river. 

Kenzie Smith (KenziefromKansas) (28:54)
Thank you.

Stephanie Jensen (29:33)
Yeah, where she, they didn't want to follow her because it's a really treacherous pass in the river. And she basically is like praying the whole time like, okay, God, I trust you, I'm going to cross this now. And so she makes it across the others follow her and they were like, how did you know to do this, Minty? And she's like, no, my name is not Minty anymore. It is Harriet. And like, I don't know, you can just see like her identity shifting there and changing her kind of at a fundamental level of...

like her trust and wrestling with the Lord and obedience to him basically changes you as a human in really beautiful ways. So I don't know, I just love that maybe so much. You need to go watch it right now.



Stephanie Jensen (30:25)

Yeah, so I think going through what I've gone through has changed me as a human. It has made me rely on the Lord more than I ever thought possible. And it's, I don't know, I'd say I've wrestled with the Lord a lot over the past two or three years and I would say I'm not the same human that I was when I started.

When I started this, I think I had a view of him that was very transactional. And that is not how God works. So it's been a lot of relearning about who he is and kind of who I am.

Kenzie Smith (KenziefromKansas) (31:14)
Yeah, I think that...

I think that that's valuable because I think that even though we know in our brains that's not how it works, it still somehow creeps in. And whenever you get in those moments, it's like, well, God, how could you do this to me? Or how could you let this happen? And it's looking at it. The one thing that I've really, really tried to learn is when I'm going through something hard is

trying to have the perspective of, God, what are you trying to teach me here? And, you know, I'm not saying that, you know, all, all death and all tragedy is a lesson to be learned, but I think that sometimes there are things inside of us that God is trying to break down. And in your case, you know, it, it forced you to come to the Lord in a new way to declare trust in the Lord when you truly had no reason to trust that anything was going to be better or change.

And it's, you know, making those statements when everything in the world looks at says the opposite, but still knowing that there's a greater planet play. And you know, I love you. You mentioned this first when we talked the first time, but you your honesty level, you said grew with the Lord. And it wasn't this like, you know, you came to him and you said, you know, I need you. You're the only thing that I need. Like I

and you didn't turn to all of those other things. And I think that that's a really valuable place to be. And I think that's what God wants, right? He wants us to come to Him first, and He wants us to come to the throne with boldness, and He wants us to lay it all there and say, not my will, but yours be done, or...

Stephanie Jensen (33:08)
Hmm.

Kenzie Smith (KenziefromKansas) (33:09)
He wants us to say like, in my weakness, you are strong because I think so often we look at situations and it's like, how can we fix it? Or how can we, you know, make everything better? And a lot of times it's not until you're in a situation where you, there's literally nothing you could have done, you know? And anyways, I just think that that's, you know, we need to, we need to start.

figuring out how to do that as our reflex in all situations instead of waiting until something like this happens to where we're kind of, that's our only option. But I think that once you, in your story, once you're there, it probably does become, because you've now seen what God can do with the worst possible situation. And so now it gives you the confidence to come to Him with anything else.

So thank you so much for sharing that and for talking us through that season. I would love for you to just share, you know, looking back on your journey, what words of encouragement or hope would you offer to someone who's dealing with a similar situation where it seems like their whole entire life is falling apart and they're, you know, dealing with

million different things at one time and potentially, you know, maybe the loss of a parent or a child or a friend or family member

Stephanie Jensen (34:45)
Yeah, so something that I've come to realize is all throughout scripture there are so many promises that the Lord is near to the brokenhearted and He has a soft spot for those who are knee-deep in grief and loss and doubt and suffering. He has a heartbeat for people who can't make sense.

of life. But also like in searching scripture, like God never promises us comfort. He never promises an easy life and like it says when you face trials of many kinds not if. And so there's just kind of a guarantee there that if you're walking with the Lord, I don't care if it's cancer or loss or doubt or financial struggle or divorce or disease like

you will be touched somehow by suffering and God does not promise us comfort but He promises us peace and that peace that comes from Him is the sweetest gift when you have no idea what your next day is going to look like, how you're going to make it through the next 12 hours. Like there are so many promises in scripture that the Lord Himself will.

be near you and give you more of himself and eventually that will give you the peace that you need to carry on. I think our culture does a really bad job of teaching us that like if you're a Christian you're going to be comfortable like walking with the Lord you know it's going to be we try so hard to avoid any sort of pain or struggle or discomfort and I think we miss out on a lot of interacting with the Lord when we do that.

Kenzie Smith (KenziefromKansas) (36:42)
Yeah, absolutely. So did that piece for you come through prayer, through reading the Bible, through other people? Like what did that look like for you specifically?

Stephanie Jensen (36:55)
It was a little bit of everything. So it got to a point where I was just like, I would, when going to the Lord in prayer, I was like, I need more of you. I need you to show up in big ways. And I need to, I need to be near you because I know that's the only place where I'm gonna be okay. Like I said, you can have lots of distractions. You can do all the things, but truly only being near to the Lord. So I basically would be like,

I don't care how you show up today. I don't care if it's through a phone call with a close friend. I don't care if it's through a sermon, a podcast, a song, scripture, prayer, like just inviting him in any avenue possible was huge. And being okay with shutting all the other voices out. I'm not going to watch TV right now. I'm not going to distract myself with food. I'm not going to listen to this music right now. Like I'm at a place where...

I have no capacity for that. I truly need to make space for God to show up in my life. And so it got really quiet for a while until I felt like he was able to kind of show up and be present.

Kenzie Smith (KenziefromKansas) (38:11)
Yeah, I think that's a good reminder because so often I think, you know, we don't, I've probably said this a thousand times in this podcast now, but we don't usually like create that space for him to come into our lives. Like we stay distracted and you know, I'm so thankful that you were able to shut out the noise and you took the, um, you took the noise.

life by the reins and you said, you know, I'm not going to do that right now and I'm not going to do this and I'm not going to distract myself with this. And I'm truly opening the doors for the Lord to show up because like I said, I think so often we don't do that. We just fill our lives with distractions in those hard times. And it's like, those are the times where, you know, we really need to be closest to the Lord. But in order to do that, we have to create the space. And so I think that's a really good reminder for the listeners that

if you're going through a hard time. Sometimes it's okay to, you know, get off your phone, put it in airplane mode. Don't answer that call, don't answer that text, don't, you know, whatever it is. And so thank you for sharing that.

Anything else you want to add before I wrap up?

Stephanie Jensen (39:32)
Um, not really. I just, I think that a lot of times, believers, myself included, I've had other friends who've walked through tough times and we can tend to see hard times or struggle or grief or loss as a sign that we are not doing something right or that something is wrong. Um, and I just want to

push back on that so hard. And like I said, scripture does not say if we if we encounter trials of many kinds, but when we do. And so I just would invite anybody who is currently in a season of struggling or suffering to like, use that see it as an invitation to take it to the Lord and interact with him and kind of see what he has for you on the other side. So

Kenzie Smith (KenziefromKansas) (40:31)
Yeah, I think that's really important. I think that, like you said, that is, you know, part of, I'll say, an older teaching, but it still exists and it still is a maybe cliche or what's the word I'm looking for? A false view that some people have, right? And so I do, I think that's so important to know that it's not a punishment.

for something that you did. That's not the way that God works. It's, yeah, like you said, an invitation. And I think that that's, it's a beautiful word. Beautiful word. So thank you so much, Steph, for sharing your story and for walking us through the hard times and this season of just kind of life falling apart for you and how God showed up in it. I think that...

Stephanie Jensen (41:00)
Mm.

I'm sorry.

Kenzie Smith (KenziefromKansas) (41:28)
This is so important because I think so often on this podcast, we talk about one area of our life falling apart. But you know, it was kind of a lot of things were crumbling for you and you still, you know, went to the Lord, stayed faithful and you kind of took it to him. And I think that we can all learn a lesson from, from your struggle and from this season of life and whether it's, you know, the smallest thing of anxiety that I'm feeling today to, you know, my whole entire life falling apart.

I need to take those things to the Lord and I need to come together with him in that time. And I just thank you so much for emphasizing that for us and for being vulnerable to share as well.

So for the listeners who maybe want to follow along with you or connect with you, where can they find you?

Stephanie Jensen (42:22)
That's a great question. I am terrible at keeping up with the social needs. I do have Instagram, but that's pretty much it. I'm not super active on Facebook. But yeah, I'd say Insta is probably the place.

Kenzie Smith (KenziefromKansas) (42:24)
Thank you.

Do you know your username?

Stephanie Jensen (42:46)
It's Steph, Nee, Apple, Bee, with like a period in between each, like s-t-p-h dot n-e-e dot apple dot bee. So. Let's go. Ha ha

Kenzie Smith (KenziefromKansas) (42:59)
Awesome. And we'll also link it in the show notes, so don't worry about it. Well, again, I just wanna say thank you so much, Stephanie, for being here and for sharing your story.

Stephanie Jensen (43:11)
Thank you for having me.