Episode 36: You Were Never Accidental: God’s Hand in Every Chapter

🎙️ Episode 36: You Were Never Accidental: God’s Hand in Every Chapter 

What if your life is not random, not off-track, and not an accident, even if the chapter you are in feels heavy or unclear?

In Episode 36 of Unshaken, Tony and Kristy share a Thanksgiving-week reminder that steadies the soul: you were created on purpose, for a purpose. If you have ever looked back at your story and wondered why God allowed certain chapters, or if you feel like you messed up the plan, this conversation speaks directly to that fear. 

No one in heaven is surprised by the chapter you are living right now.

🔵 Explore this episode: 
https://unshakenpodcast.org/episodes/you-were-never-accidental-gods-hand-in-every-chapter/

Kristy anchors the episode in Ephesians 2:10 and walks through the idea of God’s intentionality, not just at the beginning of your story, but across every turn, pruning season, and detour. Tony shares why Thanksgiving is especially meaningful to him, remembering his own fragile beginning as a premature baby and how God’s hands were present even then. Together, they speak to the person who feels unseen, uncertain, or angry about disability, loss, or a life that did not turn out the way you expected. This is not a promise that hard chapters are easy. It is a reminder that God does not skip them. He steps into them with you. If you have been running like Jonah, or feel too broken to come home, this episode holds out hope: turn around, and you will find Him closer than you think.

🔶 What You’ll Hear in This Episode:

• Ephesians 2:10: you are God’s handiwork, created on purpose for good works prepared in advance
• God doesn’t skip hard chapters. He steps into them with you, even in the valley
• Pruning seasons are painful, but they are not punishment. They are love that produces growth
• Obedience doesn’t always feel good, but faithfulness matters and God walks step-for-step with you
• If you feel accidental, broken, or off-path, you can turn around today. God is one step away and glad you came home

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Transcript

Kristy 0:06

Welcome to Unshaken, the podcast where unwavering faith meets real life. I'm Christy, and together with my husband Tony, we dive into authentic conversations, offering biblical insights and sharing stories that inspire resilience, especially for families navigating the unique challenges of disabilities. Join us each week as we explore faith family and the journeys that keep us grounded in Christ. Don't forget to subscribe so you never miss an episode. Let's stand firm together. Hello, friends. Welcome back to Unshaken. This is Christy. I'm here with my incredible husband, Tony. And it's Thanksgiving week. Finally, I'm so excited. This is something that I've been looking forward to for such a long time. Thanksgiving is it's just a special time in our family for so many reasons, and we'll unpack that a little bit here in a few minutes. But today, really, what we want to talk about is just that everything about us was intentional. We were created by a loving God on purpose, specifically with something in mind. Every single thing about our circumstances, the circumstances of our birth, of our upbringings, just the ways that we live and the things that we do, the people that we've encountered, all of that has been, it's been for a reason. It's it's none of it has been for nothing. None of it was accidental. All of it was known far before we even were on the radar. Our God knew who and how we would be. And so we want to talk about that a little bit today and just talk about um how thankful we are for that intentionality, for all of the planning and orchestrating and just navigation and and growth and all of those things that God has managed across the ages for each one of us individually to be at the place and time we are today. Grounded in Scripture, we would like to share Ephesians 2, 10 today. For we are God's handiwork created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. So it's not just us, it's the work he has for us too, and that work is just the work of living.

Tony 2:26

So when it comes to Thanksgiving, it's always one of one of my favorite holidays. Beyond the food, right? Food's always great. But Thanksgiving always gives a time for just that reflection and spending time with family and really thinking about those beginnings that that Christy talked about. For me, the Thanksgiving is always special because I was a premature baby and I had to spend six weeks in the uh neo-intensive care unit. My parents got to bring me home for Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving, whenever it comes around on the ca on the calendar, it always kind of just reminds me of those moments, and it does really remind me of how intentional God was and is, because he was with me even in those moments. Christy last week mentioned travel that she always prays, you know, God, hold that plane in your hands, hold that car in your hands, help whatever vehicle get there safely. And I feel like God's hands were were with me and cradling me in that in those moments when I was just such a small peanut, like Christy likes to say. So it's just always a a really special time for me to kind of think back and reflect and and really to be thankful of God's goodness and of all that I've seen God do in my own life ever since. Uh those very fragile beginning moments.

Kristy 4:08

There's a lot of joy in the traditions of Thanksgiving over the years. So when I was a kid, it was always, you know, it was always at my parents' house, and it was me cooking with my mom. It was whoever is the youngest, the youngest girls always were the ones who would rip up the bread for the stuffing. We would watch the parade, uh, the things, the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade, and we would cook all day. Um, and it's the same recipes year over year, and we mix in some things like every every couple of years we introduce something, and sometimes they're good and they stay in the in the rotation, and sometimes not so much. But just that has always been such a joyful thing for me. I really value sort of the passing of those traditions from woman to woman to woman in my family. Um, and no offense to the guys, like they're welcome to. It's just they never have been me to show up in the kitchen um in the morning there. But anyway, um, so it the location has changed over the years and um, you know, different kids have come and gone and grown and whatever. But um this year, this year is the first year that we have no kids at home. And that's been a really hard adjustment for me. And um, two-thirds of our kiddos will be home on Thanksgiving. We're actually we're going to them this year, which is also a first if we've never done it at one of our kids' homes before. And so I'm just grateful that, you know, that God has brought all of us together, that he's gonna bring us all back together. And, you know, some of those old traditions mixed in with um new places and new people. We have Felicity's Jack will be with us this year. Just a special time. It always is. It makes me so reflective and just really thankful, really, really thankful. Something else that I wanted to talk about before we move on too far. My story is pretty straightforward, right? I can, you know, I can kind of walk you through the arc of my life and, you know, the things that have happened, and they haven't all been things that I anticipated, you know, but God did. And I have a pretty clear direction on kind of where we're going as well. Um, but everybody doesn't have that. Sometimes people, you know, across their story arc, they feel like maybe things are a little unclear, like it's it's it's unclear what's coming or why things have been the way they have been. Or maybe it just feels sort of heavy. It's been a difficult burdensome time, or just sometimes it's hard to see the light. And I want to kind of speak about that for a few minutes too, because at this time of year, there's a lot of people who who have a hard time. If that's you, and if you're kind of in a season of uncertainty, every beginning doesn't feel hopeful. Sometimes we start out and we have no idea what the path is going to be like or where we're going. But I promise you that there is somebody who does know. You might not be able to see your feet in the dark, but he can see your feet on the path. If your thought is that your life is sort of accidental, or if it's sort of haphazard, or you've messed it up and you've got it off path, I promise you haven't messed it up and got it off path. Nobody, nobody in heaven is surprised by the direction that your life has taken. Our God, no matter how we mess it up, no matter how we change the plan, or we thwart, we think we thwart the plan, we're not that cool. We're just not that cool. We're not that powerful. And no matter what it is that we do or we choose, or mistakes that we make, or just kind of dumb things that happen in our lives that, you know, maybe we could have prevented, or maybe we feel like we should have prevented, or something like that. God loves you just the same. Tony and I listen to a lot of just a lot of sort of Christian music, right? Praise music, that kind of thing. There's this one song that talks about just always being one step away. And as those words play, I literally think about, you know, how many times have you been walking and you just stopped short or you've suddenly turned around. And at any moment, when you stop short, God is there. He's the one that runs into you because you stopped moving. He's the one where when you spin around, it's his arms that you turn into. And it doesn't matter what you've done. It doesn't matter if you've made mistakes, it doesn't matter if you've done something intentionally horrible. If you turn to him, he's right there. You don't even have to move your feet, just turn around and he's right there. And he always will be. He loves us so much. And his intentionality is so much bigger than anything that we could ever do. We can't change his plan. His plan is his plan. For me, there's so much peace in that. There's so much, there's just so much steadiness in that to know that I am my flighty self. I am all over the place. I do dumb things. I'm a little high energy sometimes, unfocused. I maybe don't get everything done all the time. I could list you the ways that I don't stick to my own plan. But no matter how bad I feel like I get it, and no matter how much I want to beat myself up for it, God, like he's got me and he's gonna make that path work. He always, always does. You know, before we were born, he's been leading us, all of us, every single individual person that ever has walked on this planet, ever has been alive on this planet, God planned that and he planned their path. And that is just mind-blowing to me. Just that he is that big and that good and that loving. Tony, can you jump in? I've said a whole lot of words here.

Tony 10:05

I feel some kind of passion about this, but while you were talking, what came to mind for me is that in these moments, if we are struggling for whatever reason, if I'm honest, this year, 2025, has been a tough year for Christy and I. You know, our marriage is solid, and I'm so thankful for for our marriage, and I'm so thankful for this woman uh that I get to do life with. But I I I believe that I can speak for when I say like professionally, it's been a tough year for both of us. It has been a really, really tough year. We've learned a lot along the way. We're very thankful for those lessons, and the the point I want to make here is that in the hard chapters, God doesn't skip those chapters, He steps into them with you to say, I'm right here. If you are in a season of struggle, or if the holidays are a struggle for you because of whatever reason, I want you to know that God is not waiting for you on the other side, God's right there in the valley with you, walking with you, so that you can get to the other side and get past this harder chapter. The small beginnings, they matter.

Kristy 11:35

It's true. He um, you know, when you think about when you think about somebody who's gonna take a journey, there's there's people at the beginning that send you, right? They pack up your lunch and wish you well and walk you out to the to the car, you know, and there's somebody on the other side who is waiting for you and checking you and you know, watching your location as you get closer and closer to home. But if you're very, very lucky, there's somebody who who rides with you, right? Who gets in the car and takes that journey with you, that's God. I mean, in that setup, it's always God who's with you. And sometimes we don't feel him. And I I can't point to why that is. I couldn't, I can't say any words that would help you understand that or change it. But I can tell you that prayer matters. Prayer helps everything. And even when you don't feel him, he's there. You know, even in present circumstances, no matter what our situation is day to day, whether it's parenting, the stuff our kids do, you know, whether it's cool stuff they took their first steps or difficult stuff they got suspended from school for fighting, or, you know, whatever it is, he knew that that was gonna happen. You know, it's it's part of the process. And if we are parenting through that, and he guides us too, he's with us. Um when I think about marriage, I mean, when I think about my own marriage, even I was born in Illinois in 1974. Tony was born in New York in 1981. Um, you know, and he grew up under his circumstances, and his family moved, and my family moved, and he lived in Texas, and I lived in South Florida, and all of the while, all of the things that have led us to um to where we are today have made us who we are. And all of that was part of God's providence. It was part of his, you know, the the roadmap that he had for us. Um, because even before we existed on the planet, God knew of us and he loved us even then and was he was positive. And when I think about how Tony and I came together as the the best of friends, even before that, even before we weren't even the best of friends, we just kind of knew each other. Um, and over time became the best of friends. And, you know, just that over a season of struggle for me, for my, you know, for my immediate family with my kids after my divorce, just that he was there. And all the while God knew that he would bring us together as husband and wife, and that, you know, that we would live this beautiful life together. It's just neat, you know. He he brought Tony by way of Texas, he brought me by way of South Florida, and you know, with the educations and experiences and um and the kids and the previous spouses and everything that made us who we are today, you know, ready to be with each other. You know, he had that in mind for us.

Tony 14:51

If you guys have been with us for a while, you guys have heard our funny story with our with our first date and and what happened on our first date, and and you know, that's obviously a marker that you know Christy and I will never forget. But I want to move forward a little bit in our dating life. I want to just take you to a moment that I think was another kind of linchpin for us. Christy and I were we're kind of on a lunch date with her two girls and and still trying to figure everything out and and still pretty early in in our dating stage, and I think she was still trying to figure me out. I was still trying to figure her out a little bit through a set of circumstances that were unfortunate. God really showed me how much I cared uh for Christy and and her girls. I know for me it was a turning point to really understand that this was someone that I I really wanted in my life. He really just showed me how how important Christian and our girls had become to me in a relatively short amount of time.

Kristy 16:09

It was the same for me. That I mean, that's the day that I knew. And it's funny, in those moments, I I remember saying, God, please, if if if if you can just you know, just let me marry this guy. Like I know. I I just knew, like, if I could just get him to marry me, uh, I'd be the the luckiest.

Tony 16:34

Um do you want to share that story a little bit?

Kristy 16:37

So um we were at lunch and my big girl got a message that um um that her dad was gonna go to a hockey game. He was, I mean, that's we're big hockey people. And um her dad was going to a game and um he was it was a date with his um with his new girlfriend and and her daughter, and it just hit my kiddo the wrong way. Um I think he would, you know, he was excited and thought she'd be excited too, but it kind of hurt her feelings that um, you know, that he was going with another kid and whatever. It was just kind of an emotional time, you know. And Tony couldn't like he he saw her start to cry and like it just broke him, you know. And he gave me his wallet and he said, Christy, get us tickets, get the best tickets you can get. You know, so we uh we ordered tickets and we went to the game and we sat darn near on the glass and we had a great time, um, Tony and me and and the two kids. But just the way that he jumped in and and loved my kid as a parent, like in a protective, like I can't stand to see you hurt sort of way. It just really spoke so much to me about his character and just the way that he loved all of us. And like you said, this was early on. Um, but I just knew if I could get him to marry me, I would do it. And it, it, you know, it worked out. But um, you know, but again, it's those, it's those things that God brings to us, right? It's situations that allow us to see his love reflected in somebody else or that just make sort of transitional settings for us, right? Um, something happens and it takes that set of circumstances to to bring out the the characteristic or or the circumstance or the the behavior in somebody else that we need to see. And there's nothing else that could have shown that to us, that could have put light on that. Like those are divine moments. And I, you know, that day at the pizza place was was a divine moment um for us, I think. You know, and and it happens um, you know, in terms of disability. Um, you know, it might be um progress that you weren't expecting to see in, you know, in a situation or a new therapy, or, you know, I see it a lot with my students at the school. Like if we've had kiddos whose whose parents were told all of their their child's life that their, you know, their kid um, you know, didn't have the capacity to learn. And, you know, we've kiddos that are 15 years old and have been taught their colors and shapes and numbers, you know, for years and years and years. And, you know, they learn spelling to communicate. They get a form of reliable communication. And you find out these kids are brilliant. They're they're as smart as anybody else. They just were never able to communicate what they knew, you know, and to watch those moments, it is truly like watching God just unfold it for those families and and um for you know, for me too. And all of that, you know, it's it's divinely orchestrated. It it just is. He brings, he brings the things that we need, you know, to make the decisions in his time so that everything comes together. It's like he's got this elaborate schedule right before it's time for us to to get somewhere, to be there for somebody or with somebody or, you know, to take part in a situation. He just makes it happen. And I'm so thankful, just so, so thankful for all of the ways that God has brought me here. And like not to get too sappy and cheesy, but I mean, I just never, you know, five years ago, I would not have thought that I would work actively with kiddos with disabilities. And I I would never have thought that we would, that we would be launching this ministry, that certainly that we would be co-hosting a podcast like this. I mean, it just my life looks so different than I thought it would. But when I look at the path that God has brought me on just professionally and education-wise, this is this is where he's been steering me for, I mean, for much of my adult life. I don't know. Someday maybe we we'll do an episode and we can kind of talk through that because it's just it's just remarkable the the series of events and the series of just circumstances and hirings and and um layoffs and just educational approach, things that have popped up just kind of that led us each to this place. Um, I would love to talk through that with you guys. Um, but for today, you know, it's it's not just God's intentionality isn't just about origins, right? It's not just about how we start out, or that um Tony was meant to be born, or that Tony was meant to be born early, or that, you know, that he was meant to be in the hospital and come home specifically at Thanksgiving or anything like that, right? It's it's it's ongoing. He he plants us, he sprouts us, he grows us, and then he prunes us and shapes us and you know, turns our branches the way that he wants us to go. You know, plants, plants grow toward the light. I am for I have an ivy that sits in the window of my office that a really nice lady gave to me. And I turn that plant. Like every couple of weeks, I turn it because it grows toward the light. And he is our light. You know, he turns us and shapes us. And and um as we reach up our our arms to him, you know, he grows us that way. He he grows our our direction and our trajectory in the way that is going to make it work out according to his plan.

Tony 22:27

Sometimes our story doesn't feel so good. Sometimes our story feels heavy or unclear. And we have to remember that there are going to be seasons where God is pruning us. And in those seasons, it's not always gonna feel good. But if he doesn't prune us, then we're not gonna grow to our full potential. That's what a gardener does with plants, and because and they don't do it out of meanness, they do it out of love because they want to see that plant grow to its full potential. And so if you're in that season, you know, just know that that God is is still with you in that. It can be okay to feel like this is a grind. It can be okay to feel like hey, this doesn't really feel that good. I heard earlier this week that obedience doesn't automatically mean happiness. The analogy that I heard, and it's a good one. When you're a kid and you're told by mom or dad to, hey, get in there and go go wash those dishes. And as a kid, you don't like to wash dishes. But you get in there and you do it anyway, you're not happy about it. You're muttering to yourself, you're but you're still in there doing them. You're still in there doing the dishes, right? So you're being obedient to to what your parents ask you to do, but you're not happy about it. And so and I think that God does call us to that obedience, and sometimes that obedience isn't gonna feel good all the time. I mean, yeah, there are there are times where when we are obedient, it does feel good because God does show us the next kind of pieces of it. But sometimes we it may not feel that good, and that's okay. We're just called to be faithful, we're called to be obedient. And I think the most comforting thing is when we are obedient and when we are faithful, God is walking with us right there step for step. He's not just sending us into the kitchen and saying, Go do it, and go do it on your own. He actually will roll up his sleeves and come in the kitchen with us and wash the dishes with us as we're doing it. So I I I think it's something that not every beginning or not every season is always going to feel hopeful and bright and all this other stuff. But it is still on purpose, it is still intentional, and it is still what God is calling us to do.

Kristy 25:13

It's true. We may not know why, right? For me, I love to know why. If I'm told to do something, I want to know for what outcome. Like, what is this driving toward? And we don't always know. I think more often than not, we don't know. But it does comfort me to know that I may not know why, but there is a why. It's not just for nothing, it's it's never just for nothing. I mean, think about Moses in the in the wilderness. Like, you know, how long did they wander around? And he's like, nope, take another lap. You're not ready. You know, and and they had to have wondered why, why are you doing this? Like, why are you making us do this? This is, it's gone on and gone on and gone on, you know, but it was for a reason, and it always is for a reason, even if we don't know that reason. If we're lucky, if we're very lucky, we find out on the backside. Sometimes we may never know what it was, but I promise it was for something.

Tony 26:14

And it points to this thing of that we are not an accident. And I know because I've felt this. So, especially if you're dealing with a a disability that either you were born with or maybe came came later on in life. Let me just talk to you one-on-one for just a second and just say, I know that tension. I feel that tension, I know that hurt, I know that anger, I know that frustration, and it's okay. I need you to hear that it is okay to feel those emotions, but I also need you to hear you are not an accident. Your life and your purpose is very much intentional and very much God ordained for you to do something great with your life if you will follow him. Please know that your story's not too broken, your life isn't too broken, no matter what you've done, you can make a a new start right here, right now, in this moment. If you've been like Jonah and you've been like running away, trying to get away from what God is is asking you to do, you can turn around right now and go back to where God wants you to be. If you're the prodigal son that like has been running away, and we've all been there, we've all been the prodigal son at one point or another running away from God. Hear me when I say that, like, we've all been that person. You can decide today, right now, in this moment, that you're gonna go back. And just like in that story, God is not only going to wait for you with arms open, but he's going to run when he sees you coming towards him, he's going to run towards you and close that distance even faster. Because he's so happy that you're coming back home. If you're in those tough seasons and you've been running away because you think you're too broken, you think you're an accident, whatever it is, turn around right now.

unknown 28:40

Yeah.

Tony 28:40

And let God do something great with your life, starting right now.

Kristy 28:44

What God will never say is, why did you go away? Why did you do this? What God will always say is, I'm so glad you came home. I love you. I'm so glad you're here. Sometimes we don't know, right? We don't know what's happening, we don't know what to do, or or maybe we're not sure of our own direction or what our own direction should be. But I do think that um with prayer and with just being aware, listening for the for the voice of the spirit, for me, it's for me, I hear something and I think, huh, that's interesting. But if I hear it twice, I always tell Tony, I've heard it twice now. Now I'm paying attention. And sometimes I get it a good third time and I'm like, okay, got it. Um, you know, but if we listen, if we listen for the for the guidance of the spirit, if we pray that God would direct our steps or that he would um, you know, create a path or show us the path or just show us the opportunity or bring something so obvious that we couldn't possibly miss it. Um, Tony and I pray that he would light it up with stadium lighting so that we couldn't possibly miss it. He will. And I feel, you know, I feel funny. Um, because I don't know how many of you guys that are listening are believers. I hope that every one of you is. Um, you know, but if you're not, I feel kind of funny telling you, like, oh yeah, just ask God and he'll show you. Like, I know that sounds hokey, but you guys, it's not. I have never, I'm trying to think before I say this out loud. I have never asked for clarity on something. I've never asked him to show me and him not shown me. Uh, never, zero times. Sometimes it takes a minute, and sometimes it is not what I wish he would show me. Um, you know, but if I say, like, I need to know, like, show me, show me what we're doing, show me my path, show me what comes, you guys, he always does. And I never, you know, as I've gotten, I think, older and a little maybe more mature just as a person, um, and also, you know, as a Christian, and maybe a little, I don't know, maybe just more aware, aware of my circumstances. I don't know. The closer I am to him in my relationship, in my walk with him, the closer my relationship with God is, like on a daily basis kind of a thing, the more readily I hear his voice. And it's not that he didn't talk to me, you know, back in the time, maybe when I wasn't paying such close attention. He still talks. He talks to all of us. But really, if you if you listen and you're in tune with him, it's like with any relationship, right? It's with, I mean, think about like a spouse or a partner or um, you know, that kind of thing. Like when you go through your days and and you're kind of out of sync, you don't hear those sort of intimate thoughts and you don't connect in those silent ways. And um, you know, it's it's it it can feel a little disconnected and it feels bad. But as you bring that back together and as you are intentional about um, you know, about seeking each other, about, you know, spending time together and, you know, kind of sharing with each other and and just really focus on being intentionally connected, um, that communication comes rushing back. And all of a sudden you do, you have that back where you're like, oh, I know exactly what he's thinking, I know exactly how he feels right now. Um, and it's the same with God. Like if you seek him, if you are intentional about hearing him and um and being close with him and just sharing your your days and your thoughts and your heart with him, he is right there and you will hear him so clearly. Like the closer you come, the easier it is to hear. Um, and so if you're a Christian and you know, maybe you just needed a reminder, like there you go. But if you're not, if you're not a believer um and you you can't hear his voice, just come a little closer. Just, just lean in, just ask him. Um, you know, even if you're not ready to make the commitment, you can still talk to him, ask him, just say, you know, God, if you're there, let me hear you. And he will let you hear him, he will guide you, he will show you because he has a plan. It's not random. There's nothing accidental or unintentional. And if you ask him to show you, he will show it to you. That is enough soapbox for now. Sorry.

Tony 33:29

That's great. And I love that. And and you know, it r reminds me of of the scripture. Here I am, I stand at the door and knock. Whoever opens the door and lets me in, I will come in and I will eat with him. And that's what Christy is describing. So if you don't have that relationship with God, you can invite him in. You can open the door and say, God, if you're there, come on in. And guess what? He will show up, he will grab a seat at the table, and he will share a meal with you. It'll be a game changer. If you want some more information, if you want some help with that, if you need some guidance there, let us know. We would love to come alongside you in that journey to kind of help you, um, and just give you some some guidance steps to to get you started there. We certainly want to uh see anybody come into God's family. Uh there's always room at the table for one more. Um, so we we absolutely uh want to see that happen. Uh so if if that's you, uh please don't be afraid to reach out. Well, we would love uh to be able to come alongside you and help you in any way possible. Unshaken Family, we are so thankful for you. Um if not for you, if not for you pressing play, we wouldn't be doing this. We are so so thankful for you. Enjoy this Thanksgiving holiday, soak it in for all it's worth. Know that you're not an accident, know that you were created for a purpose, for some good work that God wants to do in your life, and know that we, along with everyone else in the Undertaken family, is cheering you on, is rooting for you, and above all else, we're praying for you. And so, with that, Christy, would you just pray us out?

Kristy 35:37

God, we come before you today so grateful and thankful for each other, for this group of people that we um that we're feeling so connected with, um, but that we we may never have even met in real life. Um we are just grateful for your presence among us. We're grateful for um just for your love and your intentionality and everything that we do, the way that you guide us, and that we know you have a plan for everything that we do. Um, God, we are so, so thankful that we can ask you, that at any time we can come to you and and ask for clarity and know that you will provide it. Um and that whether, you know, whether we're believers or not, that you're just right there, ready to catch us if we turn around and just want to be in your arms. Um please protect uh everybody who's traveling this week for the Thanksgiving holiday. Please be with people who are having a hard minute, um, just with the holidays near, um, you know, maybe tough family situations or, you know, a loss that is particularly painful at this time of year. Please just touch those hearts, um, care for those people and um just love on them, bring people around them that will bring joy and safety and peace to their hearts. Um, and as families come together and friends this week, um, just bless the travel, bless the time together, and just please be at every table. Um, you know, be among us. We know that you love us and you want to do life with us. And so just be among us this week as we are so very thankful for all of the many blessings and and just everything that you've you've given for us and and to us. We love you. Um and um uh above it all, just thank you so much for um for your son, for Jesus. And um just this, I can't imagine the the sacrifice when I think about it, but we are so very, very thankful for it. We love you. Um, and we will um continue to to reach out and to ask for your guidance and your um your clarity um with every step. And it's in Jesus' name that we ask all of these things. Amen.

Tony 37:58

Amen. Thank you guys. Hope you guys have a great week, great holiday, and uh we'll see you next time.