Walking with the Savior - Testimonies of Jesus Christ in Christian Lives
Christian guests share their stories, testimonies, and journey with the Savior Jesus Christ. Also on Youtube: bit.ly/44Pm0Ug Testimonies range from lifetime believers to inmates transformed by the power of Jesus Christ. Come join us as real life, everyday saints, share their modern day testimony of the Savior.
Walking with the Savior - Testimonies of Jesus Christ in Christian Lives
Why I Choose Christ Even thought Life is Hard: Kate Lee's Testimony of Christ
Host John Merill Kirkman sits down with Kate Lee to explore why Jesus is worth choosing in life’s hardest moments. Kate opens up about her deeply personal journey through financial struggles, the challenges of raising children, and the profound lessons she learned about faith, grace, and redemption along the way.
From facing seven years of financial instability to navigating the complexities of motherhood and mental health, Kate shares how the transformative power of the gospel and the love of Jesus Christ became her anchor. She reflects on her experiences serving a mission, the raw and real prayers that strengthened her relationship with God, and the pivotal moments that brought her closer to the Savior. Through touching anecdotes like the Widow's Might and her own trials, Kate offers inspiring insights into how faith can turn failures into growth and trials into blessings.
If you’ve ever asked yourself, “Why choose faith when life is hard?” this episode will remind you that the grace of Jesus Christ is always enough. Discover how embracing a relationship with the Savior can bring peace, hope, and purpose, even in life’s most challenging seasons. Join the conversation and be inspired by Kate’s unwavering testimony and her journey of spiritual resilience.
Tune in now for an uplifting discussion on faith, redemption, and relying on Jesus Christ every step of the way.
Kate's Book: We Are All Paralyzed
Heroic app: The App that Helps you Discover the Hero within YOU!
Christian Book of the Month: Forgiving what You Can't Forget
#overcomingobstacles #overcomingchallenges #motivationalvideo #timesofuncertainty #jesus
CHAPTERS:
00:00 - Introduction
00:55 - Kate's Mission
06:41 - The Recession and Losing Everything
11:55 - When Did It End?
17:30 - Lessons About Jesus Christ
21:51 - The Widow’s Mite Explained
25:45 - Choosing Religion: Reasons and Insights
34:54 - Viewing Failures as Experiences
36:40 - Success Through Failure: Closer to Christ
38:46 - Jesus Christ: Salvation from Our Failures
39:39 - Thank You for Joining Us Today
Welcome everybody to this week's episode of walking with the savior podcast. I'm your host, John Merrill Kirkman. And on this podcast, we interview guests weekly about their journey and their walk with Jesus Christ. We talk of Christ, we preach of Christ, and we podcast of Christ so that we can hopefully all. Come on to Christ this week. I interview a mother, Kate Lee, and her struggles as she deals with the challenges of falling behind in a mortgage, husband, losing job, struggling to make ends, Meet and wondering if she is enough as a mother. Have you ever wondered What life would be like if you could trade your life for somebody else's life. Have you ever wondered if you were good enough, have you ever wondered if life is hard with Jesus and life is hard without Jesus, then why pick a life with Jesus? That question and others are answered in this podcast let's jump in with Kate.
john_1_01-08-2025_173428:Kate, what are some of the challenges and struggles that have shaped your relationship with the savior Jesus Christ throughout your life?
kate_1_01-08-2025_173428:There's a lot of small ones and there's some big ones, but I think one of my first. and challenges was probably actually serving a mission. I had a distinct impression many times was supposed to go on a mission, um, and to go to another country and serve people and talk about Jesus Christ. And for 18 months, and, I just really felt like that's what heavenly father wanted me to do, what God wanted me to do. And I was scared and didn't want to, but it was really clear that I was supposed to do that in my life. And, it was hard. It was super challenging. A lot of times people talk about like. That was the best time of my life. I'm like, you are a liar. That was not the best time of your life. But what I think people are meaning to say is that was the best time for me personally for growth. And that I a hundred percent agree with one hundred percent. It was the absolute best thing I could have ever done to become. Closer to my savior, to learn about other cultures, other people, to learn that we, my mom would always say growing up, you are just as good as everyone else, but you are no better. And I love that saying, and I say it to my kids, I went to Italy, and I loved, the people of Italy. I fell in love with those people. They loved me. I loved the food. I gained 40 pounds It was all worthwhile And they were so, the people of Italy are wonderful But, but there was a lot of hard, honestly, a lot of really hard. There's depression There's loneliness. You don't speak the language. I went out there, you get put with some other girl that Might be awesome or she might struggle and maybe I'm not awesome and she doesn't love me or I don't love her and And then and it's just work and it's and you pay for it I paid for it to go out there and do it physically, you know I had to have a job and you ask yourself many times. Why am I here? I could just go home This is a waste of time and a lot of people didn't want to hear the message I was sharing
john_1_01-08-2025_173428:Mm
kate_1_01-08-2025_173428:But I realized at the end of my mission that that mission was for me. It was mostly for me It brought me to the point of utter just Sadness at times and
john_1_01-08-2025_173428:mm
kate_1_01-08-2025_173428:and just heartbreak and different things. And the only person I had was the Savior. And so because of that, I became really close to my Savior because he was the only person I had to. And I remember sitting on the balcony of my little apartment and night after night and just going, I, this. Sucks, honestly, and I don't and that's how I talked to him I was like, I don't I what am I doing here? Why am I here? Why am I what am I doing and just I loved being really real with Heavenly Father and we would have Awesome good times and we'd have really hard times and every time he was there with me in it And he just became my dearest friend and I got a relationship with him. That was just And I love that there's times I might, I gotta be honest with you, I'm kind of mad at you right now. Like, I didn't
john_1_01-08-2025_173428:mm
kate_1_01-08-2025_173428:on this and I feel like I was duped. Like, so, you know, I'm kind of frustrated. But I, but then there were other times I go, okay, I see what you did there. Like I, I see how this is helping me. And okay, I can see that having a harder companion is because I need to learn to communicate. Oh, and I can see that she's not maybe the hard one. Maybe it's me. And I can see all these things and by the end of the mission, it's like, wow, that was the greatest gift I could have ever had. And it just, so it was one of the hardest things I've ever done and just brought me closer to the Savior really probably more than anything I've ever done in my life.
john_1_01-08-2025_173428:It sounds like your prayers changed a little bit. Can you tell me about that?
kate_1_01-08-2025_173428:My prayers changed. It doesn't actually. Well, I mean, they kind of just fluctuate in life. It's funny because, um, I've had people talk to me before about like leaving God, right? They go through something really difficult and it's hard and they're like, I'm angry. And I'm like, why, why can't you be angry and stay like, who said that you can't be angry? Have you not ever been mad at your dad? mad at my dad. My dad's been mad at me, and I love him more than anything in the world, right? So I'm like, that's not a thing that where you have to leave when you're angry or you're
john_1_01-08-2025_173428:Mm mm-hmm
kate_1_01-08-2025_173428:father. And it's also, I don't mean that in a disrespectful way. I'm like, he knows, he knows how hard this is. He knows how frustrating things, he can handle it. He can take it. and it's it's okay for you. He wants you even to come and say go. I'm really frustrated this is really hard and so there's prayers that I have that are like that and Most of the time and there's sometimes where I just end it like that and I'm like, I'm I'm just kind of frustrated right now Good night, you know and then and I don't mean that, you know Disrespectfully, but I'm frustrated
john_1_01-08-2025_173428:Mm
kate_1_01-08-2025_173428:knows it and he can handle it. And he knows I still love him. then there's times when I'll roll back over or I'm, you know, walking. I like to walk outside when I'm really frustrated and then I'll go. But yeah, I know, you know, you know, I love you, like, you know, I love you, you know, I'm just frustrated and I know you love me and I'm not really angry at you. I'm frustrated at this situation, but where are you? But
john_1_01-08-2025_173428:Oh mm
kate_1_01-08-2025_173428:you? know, and that's where, and you know, there's a profound time in my life also, where we went through in 2008, we went through the recession, like so many people did that wasn't unique to us. And we lost, we bought a house. We were like, gosh, we were kids like 25 and we had a brand new baby and we bought a house. Right at the height before the market
john_1_01-08-2025_173428:Oh no.
kate_1_01-08-2025_173428:We had done everything right. Right. We had saved up. We had no debt. Both of our colleges were paid for. We both come from big families where our parents taught us how to work. And so we had done like we'd done it right. Right. So bought this out. We didn't even need to buy a house, but my dad was like, you got to get in, you got to get in the market before it, before it tanks. You gotta, you gotta hurry and do this, which is funny because I'm a realtor now and I'm always like. Don't buy something because you feel pressure of the mark or whatever. Do it because it feels right. Don't, don't just jump in. But anyway, so I, so we did. We jumped in and honestly, we didn't feel good about it many times and didn't listen and this house and we got in and The he lost his job like two months later and then the recession hit so I guess the recession hit he lost his job. I wasn't working. I had been so sick pregnant And so we were like, it's okay, we'll get something right. We can figure this out. And he got another one. It was the worst three months of our lives. Right. And then we went on to make a very long story short. We went on a seven year journey. Of never having solid income and selling our, selling our cars. And my brother gave us this purple, ugly old Stratus car that the window I had to roll down to see out of because the defroster didn't work. And so I'm like the middle of winter in Utah, like with my head out the
john_1_01-08-2025_173428:Oh
kate_1_01-08-2025_173428:I
john_1_01-08-2025_173428:my goodness.
kate_1_01-08-2025_173428:getting pulled over by a cop one time and I've got my little boy. And I think by now I've got two kids and it's freezing. The windows down there bundled up and. And he goes, I think I was speeding and he goes to give me a ticket and the poor guy like comes and looks at the car and looks at me and I think he just knew and was like, have a good day. Just walked up and I'm like, correct, correct. Just, there's nothing you can do to me right now. And so he did, which was, which was a blessing, but it was just, it was just the crappiest time. And it's just, my husband was depressed and we've got two kids now, and, and we're like, not even fighting with each other. We're like roommates in the same house,
john_1_01-08-2025_173428:Oh,
kate_1_01-08-2025_173428:depression separately. We're both just shells of people. And the hardest thing is we're trying to give it to the Lord, right? Like I'm saying, take the house. We'll sell the house. We'll give you anything. But we can't sell it and we've given up our cars. And so I remember one Sunday sitting and I was at church.
john_1_01-08-2025_173428:mm-hmm
kate_1_01-08-2025_173428:of teaching the girls, the young women, girls that were like ages 14 to 18, and I was over them and I was getting dressed. I was in the closet and I remember it just all of a sudden hit me so strongly and I just started to ball. my husband came in and I said, I can't go. I cannot go today. I had never done that in my life with church. And I just, I just said, I can't go. I cannot go and teach a lesson that if you do all these things right, you're going to be okay. And I said,
john_1_01-08-2025_173428:Uh, Uh, Uh,
kate_1_01-08-2025_173428:in this hole. I don't know if we're ever going to get out. I can't sell this house. There's nothing else we can do. And I said, do you know what? This doesn't hurt because we don't have enough faith. This hurts because we do. I know that the Lord can get us out of this. I know He can. It's the fact that He lets us sit in it that hurts. He's just letting us sit here. And that is what I believe. Hurts when you're in a struggle is when you do have faith because you're like A plus B is not Equaling C and it
john_1_01-08-2025_173428:Uh.
kate_1_01-08-2025_173428:stinks. It's just hard
john_1_01-08-2025_173428:So that was seven years of, wow. That sounds like a really hard seven years. What happened that day? Did you not go to church or did your husband talk?
kate_1_01-08-2025_173428:know he went and just told the guy texted my leader and just said I'm so sorry I can't I can't go today. Don't I have nothing. I think I said to her. I have nothing to offer nothing to offer. I have nothing to
john_1_01-08-2025_173428:Wow. Yeah,
kate_1_01-08-2025_173428:okay You're great. Stay home. And I actually, I guess I did go to church that day in my closet. I sat on my knees in my closet and I prayed that entire time. And I just, just said, where are you? Where are you? Where are you? What do we do? I'm frustrated. I told him all my frustration. I said, if somebody, if one more person comes to our doorstep in a well meaning way and drops me off a scripture, I'm going to lose it. Like I do not need, I don't need another scripture. I know the scriptures. I need someone to buy our house. I need somebody to, you know, but all these things that we do and I'm like, I out of this. I need someone to buy my stupid house, like all these things. And so I just had a great conversation with the Lord. And actually I don't remember how soon it was after that, but, um, my,
john_1_01-08-2025_173428:going to be my, next question that you were wearing this seven years. Do you think this,
kate_1_01-08-2025_173428:uh, probably cause we had had two kids. So probably about four, four years in
john_1_01-08-2025_173428:so this isn't like an end overnight either, either? No, it's still,
kate_1_01-08-2025_173428:It was so horrible. And obviously we had little jobs, like we'd been blessed. My husband's brother was an electrician. So my husband started to work with him. Which side note, years later, we just bought a house and he was able to wire the whole thing. So, little fun blessing that because he was an electrician then, know, it's a little thing, but how awesome. Later it blessed our lives. It blessed our lives then, it blessed our lives now. anyway, he started doing that. And then another blessing is because it was so long, he had a business degree. He had a bachelor's of business, and then he decided to get an accounting degree, a master's of accounting. And he was never going to do accounting, but he thought, okay, well, this is work that's probably going to be steady. And so during that time, when he wasn't working, he was able to get a master's degree, which was a big blessing. So he did that. And then I did odds and end jobs that we could, but mostly we just racked up a ton of debt. Doing whatever we could to survive. And then, um, but the thing I do remember his brother at that time passed away unexpectedly was 44 and he had a massive heart attack during church basketball. And it was super traumatic and we had already been going through all this. My husband's dad had died when he was 13. has some difficult things he's gone through. So now he has this brother in law who was. the best guy in the whole world. And anyway, so he passed away and that threw us for this huge loop. But what happened for us in that circumstance is our marriage was struggling because we just were both suffering.
john_1_01-08-2025_173428:Yeah.
kate_1_01-08-2025_173428:I started to think like, Oh my gosh, I don't want to lose. I would never want to lose my husband and we're not okay. And we need to work on this. And, I remember one night saying a prayer and just going through the motions and just saying what I would always say, right? I wasn't, my heart wasn't really in it. And I said, please that Travis. That's my husband. I said, please bless that Travis and I will become closer I will never forget this. Instinctly having the thought that is exactly what I am trying to do. And I was like, oh my gosh We are going through this trial and I'm wasting it. I'm wasting it. Instead of us learning to become closer or better We're separating. We're totally this opportunity to become closer to learn and so after that I remember going to him and saying Can you can you come into the bedroom? And I'll never forget he had his arms folded and it just looked like he looked at me like, I dare you to say something to me. Like he just just on his last and I was not fun pregnant. And um, this was when I was pregnant with a second and I just looked to him and I think it was the first time I put him in front of me and my feelings and my struggles. And I was Throwing up the whole pregnancy so sick and that was just another thing and and I just remember looking at him and just going Are you okay? And his whole demeanor changed and his shoulder softened everything and he just looked at me and he goes no I said I'm not either and I just said what do we what do we do and Everything changed after that moment and it was so interesting. Not just everything changed with he and I But our house sold like two weeks later and things just started to fall into place. It would still take us years to get back on our feet, things like that, but our marriage, it was like, and I don't know, and I'm hesitant to say this because I don't want people to think like Oh, once you're, you're humble, things will just be taken, you know, but maybe sometimes they are. And in that moment, like things really, I don't know, it was almost like, I wonder if the Lord was like, ah, there it is, like, okay, now we can, now we can start taking some of this. I don't know. But honestly, after that, it was like, I don't want to say graduated, but it was just like, okay. Onto the next trial, you know,
john_1_01-08-2025_173428:yeah, Well, I think if I just add some commentary here, it kind of sounds like you were both, you had this huge wall in front of you that you're both trying to climb individually by yourself.
kate_1_01-08-2025_173428:yeah,
john_1_01-08-2025_173428:and in that moment when you're like, Lord, help us be closer together. He's like, and then. And then you're like, Hey, are you okay?
kate_1_01-08-2025_173428:Yeah.
john_1_01-08-2025_173428:And he's like, no. And you're like, no. And, and then after that, it sounds, maybe you, you started to climb the wall a little bit. Together
kate_1_01-08-2025_173428:Yeah,
john_1_01-08-2025_173428:and that's really what it takes to get over some of these journeys. And that's, that's really what we're designed for. But sometimes we see the conflict, uh, or the obstacle as, um, something that we got to solve ourselves and we forget our spouse and it's their fault and blame, blame, blame. And I think, I think what you did is. really miraculous. How you just said, are you okay? Such a tender moment where you let your husband feel seen
kate_1_01-08-2025_173428:Yeah.
john_1_01-08-2025_173428:you were going to, instead of attack him, that you were going to see him
kate_1_01-08-2025_173428:Yeah.
john_1_01-08-2025_173428:feeling seen is so important in our journey as a family. You know, spouses.
kate_1_01-08-2025_173428:it
john_1_01-08-2025_173428:So, so from that point, uh, I know you, you're like onto the next obstacle. What did, what have you learned about Jesus Christ through some of your others and, um, as, as you continue on your journey?
kate_1_01-08-2025_173428:They continue on my journey. I think funny because I said, so those were our seven years of rough, like Joseph, right? And Egypt. And
john_1_01-08-2025_173428:Yeah. Oh yeah, that's a good point.
kate_1_01-08-2025_173428:years of plenty, like it's coming. And the funny thing is, it kind of was like, it really did. And we had this, like, like he had his, you know. He had his master's so then he was better qualified to get a job, right? And he started really low, but it was enough. Oh my gosh I've never been more grateful for like the most menial salary in the world, right? But we were like, yes, it was like half of what we were making with one of us like come on anyway But we were so grateful
john_1_01-08-2025_173428:Hmm.
kate_1_01-08-2025_173428:So I think it taught me gratitude when you don't have things like You It is the best blessing because you I mean how many years has it been? I don't even know like 15 years. I still At times just randomly walking down the street will go. Thank you so much for a good job Thank you so much for a good job, right because I know what it feels like not to have a good job and also like Heavenly Father sent us little reminders. One of my favorite things that happened during that time is, we were in that little purple Stratus that I joke about, but I was so grateful for, right? This car, and, and we were going to somewhere. I don't even know. Some, someplace. The store. And this guy pulled up next to us in, I don't know, cars, but my husband does. And I remember he was like, holy cow, that car is crazy expensive. They only made like 200 of them. So if
john_1_01-08-2025_173428:well,
kate_1_01-08-2025_173428:200 of them, then it had to have been not like, you know, 80, 000 expensive, but hundreds of thousands expensive. And so at the time I'm What, like 28 and I get out of our little Stratus, I take my kid out and he's probably dressed with mismatching socks and a coat that's torn and whatever, you know, cause I've never, I'm the ninth of 10 kids and it's just what you did. You just like grab, grab a sock on your way out or wear whatever. that's how my kids are and there's probably snot down the face and whatever and stuff on my shirt. And so I get out and this is, This guy gets out and he looks totally pristine and he's in this super nice car and I look at him, we make eye contact and I jokingly say to him, Hey, you want to trade? Like with our cars? And I'm just laughing, and I will never forget this cute, and he's probably like 35, and he looked at me with the most sincere, and it still makes me cry, but he looked at me with the most sincere expression, and then he looked at my, each of my kids, and my husband, and he looked at me and he goes, in an instant. And I just was like, oh my gosh, thank you. Thank you for saying that. Because I had forgotten what I had. I have so much more than that car. And I walked off and I just kept saying, Heavenly Father, thank you. I am so sorry. I am so sorry. Thank you. We have We have everything. And that just, I was so grateful Heavenly Father let me have that experience that day. And I've never forgotten it. Like, yes, we're struggling in this way but man, we're so blessed in this way. And it's never been One without the other. Never. so that is something that I've tried to remember and take with me. That blessing is someone else's trial. And my trial is someone else's blessing. And we just rotate. We each, we rotate trials, we rotate heartaches. we all just, you know, Learn and you do things do get better and things get worse and things a lot of times stay like this But but I'm grateful that the Lord reminds me throughout things of on Like you're forgetting you've been blessed and I love that reminder I want that reminder because I have and I want to be happy in any circumstance
john_1_01-08-2025_173428:mm.
kate_1_01-08-2025_173428:to be grateful in any circumstance. Otherwise, you're just miserable and I don't want to be miserable, you know,
john_1_01-08-2025_173428:I know, you've mentioned to me that one of your favorite stories is the widow's mite. Can you tell me a little bit about what makes that so important to you?
kate_1_01-08-2025_173428:Yes. So, um, I, one time was, um, actually I'll share really briefly. I was young women's president. So over these girls, there was like 35 girls in my, um, in our church. And I was the president over this, these, all these girls. And it was super time consuming. And at that time I was writing a book. Our house had flooded twice,
john_1_01-08-2025_173428:Oh,
kate_1_01-08-2025_173428:husband, yeah, we were doing the renovations ourselves. We have four kids by now. This is, I mean, we're probably like 35 by now and, and, um, there was just way too much my plate. I joke that I was a jack of no trades. Like I was doing a million things and none of them well. And so remember going one time to the temple and just needing peace. And I went in there and at the time I was feeling very overwhelmed with this calling that I had over these girls. I felt so much guilt because my kids were getting thrown by the wayside while I was taking care of other people's daughters and
john_1_01-08-2025_173428:how do you think your kids were?
kate_1_01-08-2025_173428:um, my kids were our oldest child was probably 10. So I was like 10, 8, 4, and or something. So
john_1_01-08-2025_173428:That's a, that's a bundle of
kate_1_01-08-2025_173428:you're
john_1_01-08-2025_173428:you're in it.
kate_1_01-08-2025_173428:You're in the
john_1_01-08-2025_173428:That's a bundle of work.
kate_1_01-08-2025_173428:and I've got the baby on my lap while I'm putting up wood work on the walls and trying to write this book and just doing all this stuff anyway. And I remember going and sitting in the temple and just going, Heavenly Father, I am so sorry. I know we're not supposed to be weary. and well doing, but I am. I am so weary and well doing, and I want out of this calling, and I do not want to do this. I'm my kid, and I, and we have a son who was really struggling with mental illness, I felt like, okay, here I am helping all these other girls, and I'm failing my son because I'm not here for him, and then I remember having the thought, um, after I said that I'm really weary in well doing, having the thought, will you also go away? in John chapter 6, people may or may not be familiar with this, but Jesus is talking to the disciples and some of the disciples have chosen to leave him, leave his side. And he says to John, um, will you also go away? to, sorry, to Peter. He says it to Peter, to Simon Peter, and I have it right here in Simon, it says, Then Simon Peter answered him, Lord, to whom shall we go? Thou hast the words of eternal life. I remember when I had that thought, will you also go away? I just whispered, where else would I go? You are everything. And the truth is life is going to be hard with or without him. I can't do it without him. can't. I don't want to. And so it was kind of this profound moment for me where it was like, well, if you're going to stay, this is going to be work and you're going to be weary at times and it's going to be hard. So. Do you want to stay or do you want to go away? And it was really good for me because I was like no No, i'm here. I'm in this and maybe it's up to me to learn how to balance And maybe it's not so much lord. Take this away. Maybe it's kate. You need to learn to How to balance and not do 400 things at once, which I still haven't learned. So there you go, but i'm trying But anyway, you asked about the widow's might so fast forward to
john_1_01-08-2025_173428:Well, I want to ask you this real quick and then we'll jump to the widow's mite. It's, it's interesting. Cause the student just asked me this question yesterday. So I'll ask you.
kate_1_01-08-2025_173428:Yeah.
john_1_01-08-2025_173428:He said, he said, Hey, a friend of mine asked this question. He said, life is going to be hard with God and religion and Jesus. And life's going to be hard without God, Jesus and religion. So why would I choose religion? Why would I choose Jesus? What would you say to that?
kate_1_01-08-2025_173428:I just, because I want peace and he has all the answers. He knows me perfectly and without him, that just feels like I'm like, he has the manual and it's why would I ever want to go without the manual that just like the whole you do you. I hate that saying. I hate that saying because I'm like, you do you. Like. That is the stupidest thing I could ever do, is do Kate, right? Like, no, you do God. Like, you do God because God knows who I am. Way more than I even know who I am. So, I do not want to go through life without him by my side. I have to have him. His peace with me even in times of trouble and it just, I, I really, truly do not know how to do it without him. And I, I hope I never find out because I just, just need him every minute.
john_1_01-08-2025_173428:Amen. Thank you. Continue on with your widow's mite story. You were
kate_1_01-08-2025_173428:I
john_1_01-08-2025_173428:said, move into that now.
kate_1_01-08-2025_173428:Yeah. Yeah. So, um, I mentioned that I had a child that struggles really bad with some mental illness and we've realized now as it's been years that this will probably be a lifelong thing. And, um. I sat, I'm going to show this picture. I think people know the widow's mite, but I brought this down here because this is my favorite picture. This is James Christensen. And then for all those that are just listening, they're not going to get to see it. But James Christensen, you can look it up, did a widow's mite picture. And I think people are familiar with the story of the widow who brought her little, I think the uttermost farthing, I think it was just, I don't know how it's said in the scriptures, but basically she brings a penny and everybody else has a lot of, monetarily to give and that's all she has and I sat there and Sunday and it was it's been a rough week and we have a lot of rough weeks and on a good We're lucky if we get a good day in a week Honestly, we're really lucky if we get to but most days are are hard
john_1_01-08-2025_173428:Wow, oh
kate_1_01-08-2025_173428:But it's hard to have a kid that's really struggling and suffering a lot of people relate to that whether it's mental illness cancer a child whatever it is as a parent and um You I sat there looking at that picture and for the first time I looked at it differently and it wasn't about money. And I just said to my husband, she's me. And I just started to cry. And I just said, she has very, very little to give. She does not know the answers. She does not know how to help this child. She is not equipped to help this child. She is so ill. And not only that what makes it worse, she makes it worse at times for this child without meaning to, or she's at the end of her rope, it's just, or she's not giving enough to the other kids and it's just And I just sat there looking at her and I said, I'm her and she has nothing except this little night. And even as I said it, the spirit just in me just went, and yet. God knew that. knew all of that. He knew I had no clue how to deal with this. He knows I don't have the answers. He knows this is so far above my knowledge or pay grade. But yet he sent that child to me, and I just thought my might is enough. Somehow my might is enough because his grace and his Makes up for all of the rest of it and it does it has so many times I mean this last week has been hard, but I cannot tell you the peace that has been in my home That's not always the case A lot of times it's not, but this week it was just filled with peace, just like this most wonderful and even joy, despite what was going on. And I just thought, gosh, that is so neat that my might enough and everybody's might is enough. And I think it's amazing how much grace. Is a part of our relationship with our heavenly father. It's so much bigger than we realize. And I think it's, there's not really many ways to learn that, except by going through really difficult and hard things. And just to go, I I don't know how to do this. I don't have enough. And he goes, I know, I know. And it's just the most, beautiful and awful thing at the same time to realize you are not enough and to realize I don't need to be. And it's just, life is really this spectacular, awesome nightmare. Like of all things, and I think it's exactly how it's supposed to be, is just beauty and ashes, right? It's just this difficult, beautiful thing and But I think in that widow's mite also it's interesting because I had a lady in church the next day comment about and she's like 70 right and she said I feel like a failure and I'm like oh good I get to still feel that even when I'm 70 or what
john_1_01-08-2025_173428:no,
kate_1_01-08-2025_173428:like
john_1_01-08-2025_173428:oh no.
kate_1_01-08-2025_173428:and I'm just kidding but but really listening to her so I shared my experience with the widow's but I thought you know. It's interesting as women because we think we failed so many times. And men maybe do too. I don't mean to single out men, but just as a woman, I think we have that propensity to feel like we failed. And I think we think we failed because we want things to look like the way we think they should look, right? So my child's not going to church anymore. What did I do wrong? Where did it? Did I not teach them that? Did I not? My child's not getting up. My child is depressed. What did I do? What did I? My child is hurting. I'm going on a mission. I yelled at my child. I'm not doing this. And so it's all these things are like, Oh, failure, failure, failure, failure. Like I failed. And it's not just women. It's I failed because I can't provide for my family. I know my husband is the person that supports and you will understand those feelings more. And I don't know if you guys have gone through financial, but man, that is a huge trial for a man. To not be able to provide for a family as hard as it was for me. It was a million times harder for my husband to go. I have a wife and two kids. I can't fathom what that would feel like to be a provider. I knew the mother part. I didn't know the provider part. I'm grateful. I don't know that part. he felt. Right. And there's just all these feelings of, I have to get out of this. So I must have done something wrong. So how do I fit, what do I do to fix this? Because I did something wrong. Cause I'm experiencing this. And you're like, no, no, we're just experiencing life. We're just, we're just going through life. And one time I, I was talking, had the thought of like, All these things I had gone through, I'm a writer and I had written two books and I didn't go anywhere and I thought they were gonna go big and I was gonna make money and I was gonna get us out of that situation in 2008 and this must be why I have this talent why it came to me and it didn't, right? And I wrote one book and it didn't then I wrote a second book and it didn't and then there's failure because I neglected people and I was writing this at night. Why did I do that? What a waste of time and All these things and then I wrote a third book and I'm like, I'm just an idiot by now. Who does this three times, you know, different things and, and that book did get published and it touched people's lives and it wasn't a bestseller and it wasn't a million copies and things, people wrote us and people emailed me and talked about this exactly what I needed to hear. I needed to know the Savior was with me. I needed to know. And you realize, Oh, that's. That's what this is about. Not being huge or making money. It's ministering one on one. It's just like the Savior did. It's teaching people and and being real and talking about hard things and and but anyway I was talking about my experiences. I was preparing to go speak to a group and talk about my experiences and I started to write down I had all these failures and the minute I wrote that I had the thought what if everything that I perceive as failure the Lord sees as experience and I was like Oh my gosh, I've got to write that down and I wrote it down and I was like, that be true? What if every single thing we think is failure in life is really just experience? Like even my, my uncle wrote me after I said that and he was like, do you know I have always thought my marriage that failed. He was like, I've always thought that was a failure until I read what you, what the Spirit said to you. And he goes, this is the first time I looked at it as that was an experience. That wasn't failure. What did I learn in that? And the truth is anything that you think is failure, I think is failure. If we learned something, just experience. There is no failure. It's all experience. Even really hard things that we do or go through. It's experience and it's and not that i'm saying like go out and fail like go out and do things experience, you know But I love that mindsight and so or hindsight that I got and with the widow's might I just love looking at that because i'm like It's just experience. It's all just experience and we're offering our little might and we're showing up Every day and the Lord loves that we're showing up and it's all experience for our good.
john_1_01-08-2025_173428:So I want to add to that because I just had a, uh, uh, I thought that came to me. If a failure brings us closer to Christ and God, that's a success.
kate_1_01-08-2025_173428:Yeah, yeah,
john_1_01-08-2025_173428:And on the, uh, on the other hand, if a success. Texas away from God and the savior Jesus Christ in the end. It's really a failure.
kate_1_01-08-2025_173428:really a failure. Yeah, you're right. I
john_1_01-08-2025_173428:Now
kate_1_01-08-2025_173428:that.
john_1_01-08-2025_173428:those things down the road can switch right failures can turn into Successes and successes that. really were failures could turn into successes. It's it's an experience. It's a journey But what a different perspective, right?
kate_1_01-08-2025_173428:Yeah.
john_1_01-08-2025_173428:Like, we go and we think everything's going to work out this way, and we have the picture of success, um, but if we climb that wall with the Savior, and we don't reach our end objective, and we quote unquote fail,
kate_1_01-08-2025_173428:Yeah.
john_1_01-08-2025_173428:man, if we come out closer with the Savior, And the big picture were really a success.
kate_1_01-08-2025_173428:Yeah.
john_1_01-08-2025_173428:And I look at your life and your faith through all these trials and the struggles that you're still going through and the way you radiate and shine light. I see you as a huge success and a huge light and a blessing for us to listen to today, to share your faith amongst the real struggles of a faithful disciple of Jesus Christ, that it's not easy road, that life isn't easy. You know, just gonna, you know, smooth along and just be really smooth and easy. If you're a good disciple of Christ, it's going to be easy. I just don't see that. And so I thank you for your witness today of Jesus Christ and, and for everybody out there who feels like you're offering a widow's might. I want you to know it's enough that Jesus. Says you're enough
kate_1_01-08-2025_173428:Okay.
john_1_01-08-2025_173428:your enough with his enough,
kate_1_01-08-2025_173428:All right. Mm
john_1_01-08-2025_173428:reality, Jesus Christ saves our failures. He turns failures into successes. He turns failures into meaningful relationship with him. And if we have meaningful relationship with him, then that's what this life is really all about. Like, can we have a meaningful relationship with Jesus Christ? And I think that's why getting real with God in prayer, the way you talked about is, is what it's all about. Is. Like, he just wants us to be real. Quit the, quit the, you know, when, when Jesus showed up, it was the ritualistic Jews that he was trying to like, come on, come on. No, I'm right here. You do all these rituals so that you could know me. I'm right here. And in the end, Jesus just wants our heart and our relationship. With him. So thank you so much for your witness today. And I want to thank everybody for joining us this week on walking with the savior podcast. And I want to encourage everybody to have a great walk with the savior. Have a great day, everybody.