Katie Faris knew that motherhood wasn’t always going to be smooth sailing, but she was more than ready to deal with temper tantrums and dirty diapers. What she wasn’t prepared for was receiving the news that three of her children had been diagnosed with a serious medical condition.
Katie’s story is deeply touching to me. She’s a pastor’s wife and a writer who has shared her journey with others through books like God is Still Good: Gospel Hope and Comfort for the Unexpected Sorrows of Motherhood and He Will Be Enough: How God Takes You by the Hand Through Your Hardest Days.
Woven through both books is her own family’s story as well as stories of others who found God to be trustworthy in the midst of their perplexities.
In this episode, you’ll hear how Katie has walked hand in hand with God through all the ups and downs of her journey, her advice for relying on your community, the power of prayer when hope is hard to find, and so much more.
TAKEAWAYS FROM TODAY’S CONVERSATION:
1. God walks with us through the unknown.
When Katie first learned about her children’s diagnoses, her kids were still very young. As Katie and her husband took their small children to get blood tests and treatments, they began to worry about what the future would look like. However, God carried them through this hard season, and as their children have grown up, they have not needed any of the drastic procedures or medical interventions that Katie imagined they would. Like Katie’s experience, being a foster parent comes with many unknowns that can be frightening. In hard times, we must lean not into fear, but upon the Lord.
“These are the times that help us see our dependence on the Lord. When we’re weak, when we’re weary, and we realize—oh, we don’t ‘got this’ on our own.”
2. Dispel life’s lies with God’s truth.
When life starts to feel overwhelming, we can fall into lies like “No one sees me” or “The trial I’m going through must mean I messed up somewhere.” But the truth is that God hears and sees everything. And sometimes, the trials you go through are merely evidence that He is working on bigger plans through you. In moments of doubt, we should remember that God has a perfect plan for us, and He will give us everything we need to fulfill the duties we’ve been called to.
“There’s so much that we can only see glimpses of, and yet God is doing so much more behind the scenes.”
3. Help your children tell their story.
As parents, we are always seeking to deepen our children’s understanding of the gospel. But in addition to reading Scripture together, it can be very powerful to share stories with your child of the ways that God has personally impacted their lives. Katie waited to discuss these topics with her children until they were old enough to truly grasp the weight of the discussion. When we find opportunities to relate God’s goodness to our child on a personal level, it can help them build deeper connections with Christ.
“Help them see where God has intersected with their stories. This is where God rescued you before you even knew to ask for help.”
- [BOOK] You’re Only Human
- [BOOK] God Is Still Good: Gospel Hope & Comfort for the Unexpected Sorrows of Motherhood (2023)
- [BOOK] He Will Be Enough: How God Takes You by the Hand Through Your Hardest Days (2022)
- Free resources for you from Katie
- Connect with Katie on her website, Instagram, or Facebook
- Join Team 3:10
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Meet Our Guest
Katie Faris is the author of God Is Still Good: Gospel Hope & Comfort for the Unexpected Sorrows of Motherhood (2023), He Will Be Enough: How God Takes You by the Hand Through Your Hardest Days (2022), and Loving My Children: Embracing Biblical Motherhood (2015), as well as a contributing writer to several blogs. A pastor’s wife and mother to five children, Katie lives with her family in New Jersey where they enjoy day trips to the shore.
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