Dear TNQ podcast team,
I’ve never been brave or strong, but I’ve always wanted to be. People have told me that I’m both, but I’m not. The only reason I’ve continued to get back up and fight on after multiple hardships, trials, and physical ailments that have tried to kill me (or at least do a lot of damage) 7 times so far is because I have no other choice really. It’s either get back up, loose every thing and become homeless or die. I have only my faith in God’s plan for my life to rely on. No husband to cover and support me, no parental home to go back to if I give up on life, no other options. So it’s not because of bravery but it’s out of necessity. I’ve had a more challenging last 11 years than almost anyone else that I am personally acquainted with and somewhere along the way I began feeling a bit battle-worn and sorry for myself. In the darkest season a friend recommended the book Lone Survivor. The dark cloud of pity that had shrouded everything was shattered. What I had gone through was nothing in comparison to what Marcus had survived. I’d like to say that from there on out I saw every hardship as something easy to conquer, or that I remained unaffected by the trials, but the onslaught of the negative insurgency kept coming so fast that it was all I could do at times just to get back up, let alone fight like a warrior. I’ve now passed one and a half years without a major health crisis, but the hardships and heartbreaks have not let up. It was this year that I found the TNQ podcast. Marcus, Rut, and several of the guests have fired me up, brought tears to my eyes, and have robbed me of breath on more than one occasion, leading me to become addicted to these podcasts. Instead of sharing my never quit moment I wanted to share how your podcast has accomplished in my life what I believe you’ve set out to do with it. My never quit, woe-is-me story has simply become “life is hard, suck it up buttercup”! And I’m both proud and slightly scared to say that I don’t feel like I’ve lived a never quit story yet. Not to diminish the pain of the trials I’ve been through, but rather to say that as I’ve stopped holding what I’ve been through captive to my pain and pity, and have allowed God to bring healing, those trials have become a source of strength propelling me forward. Thank you both for all you do. I wait with anticipation each week for the next episode and am beyond grateful for the kick in the pants I get each time.
God bless
-Emily