Welcome back to another episode of Struggling Well. We're glad that you've joined us today and we trust that this has a way of stirring you some things in you.
Do you know I don't know if we've mentioned this recently but the ministry that we have is called tandem spirituality and this podcast is an arm of that but in tandem spirituality our hope and our desire is to be able to come alongside individuals or pastoral family pastoral families and just encourage and give people a place to talk about where they are struggling and like we've said many times we're not counselors we have to make that very clear that we are not but we've been doing this listening to people for 50 some odd years and God has given us some insights for sure but so we want you to remember that we're we are tandem spirituality you can find that online and struggling well the podcast is just an arm of that
yeah and part of the mission for tandem is help to cultivate healthy relationships to impact the kingdom of God. And that's what we pray that these podcasts do. They keep moving you towards Jesus and cultivating healthy relationships with him and with others so that we collectively and individually might impact the kingdom of God. so as we get going this morning, Suzi, we you and I have had this conversation recently in a car trip about what growing up was like and the foundation or the lack thereof that was there in both of our lives. And in particularly we you tal we talked about having a baseline of where you were as a young girl were encouraged or weren't encouraged. And
my mind goes to the sermon on the mount the closing illustration that Jesus uses. It says everyone who hears his words and puts them into practice is like a wise man. The wise man foolish man. either house built on the rock or house built on the s sand. What was that like for you? And when did that when did that foundation shift for you in your life?
Well, we all have stories. We all have a backstory of some kind. And there's not a person on the face of the earth that doesn't have some hard stuff in their backstory because we didn't grow up with no one grew up with perfect parents. Even if you grew up in a family that love the Lord, love the church, love the Bible, love one another, there's still We're all sinners, so we struggle all the time. But, I don't think my background is very different from many, but my parents were, did not know who God was in a personal way. They didn't know Jesus personally. And so, they did the best they could. some of it was pretty awful, but they did the best they could. But one of the things that was lacking, and some of you may identify with this, is, growing up, whatever was accomplished by me, and that wasn't a whole lot because I didn't have a ton of motivation, but it was something that I was I went for. There wasn't somebody saying, one of my parents, my mom nor my dad were saying, Suzi, you are so good at this and this is what I think you were designed for. you have a gift here. Go for it. and every now and then, that lack of a baseline of encouragement and pointing, if I can use that word that way, every now and then through my lifetime, it would rise up and be really hard. Like I would look at other people who came from really cool backgrounds, solid backgrounds where a parent would say to them, "Hey, you're good in art. Paint your little heart away or you're good in sports or whatever." But when I was a teenager, late in my teens, and I've shared that my story before, I came to know Christ and it changed everything. The baseline or foundation that I did not have was replaced with a foundation. And that foundation was who I was in Christ. Because as John says in his gospel that when Jesus came, he was the word, he was with God, and he was God. and he talks about how we needed to we need to be born new, not in a fleshly way, but in a God coming into my life way. That changed everything for me. And so what happened is then after I became a Christian and I believe that Jesus was my savior and I was in desperate need of a savior then a foundation began to be laid and as I was discipled and I was discipled really well by a woman who I don't know if she is still alive but her name was Brenda Klein Schmidt and she lived in New Jersey and she discipled myself and a bunch of other girls and it was the stuff all of a sudden I had solid ground below me it was incredible and from that disciplehip that summer, well that fall I should say was a whole year from fall into the next summer. It was interesting how the foundationless upbringing that I had that began to fade away and what came in its place was the foundation that I now had in Christ and it changed everything.
Yeah. And so again I love that I love that story which obviously I know well if we look at our lives a house being built.
and the foundation that you had, humanly speaking, was not a was a shaky one, much like Jesus in the sermon says, the foundation built on sand. And it's when the storms come in life. But when you came to know Christ and then were discipled, it was a brand new foundation that was laid.
Yeah.
And that's what you build upon. Now, I know you and I you know myself even in that there are times when storms come when we can default back.
Yes.
But our hope and prayer is that as you think about your life and many of you who are listening maybe have kids now and you're trying to lay that foundation based upon God's word and who he is and who Jesus is and you're not seeing the results you want to see. Don't give up.
Oh, don't give up. I'm telling you, I just got this picture in my head of in those early days after I came to know Christ, it was like there was this whole new grouping of people and they each brought a cement block. H this is maybe crazy, but I felt like they each brought a cement block and they laid it down at the foundation and laid it down and laid it down. I had a whole community of people that were intent on me growing and giving me this solid foundation built upon who Jesus is. But they kept adding more and more and more. So I got discipled. I had people that were interested in me. I didn't have anything. I wasn't bring anything to the table. I was a wandering lost young woman, but people saw something in me and they encouraged that in so many ways. I remember being at Bible college. We have dear friends that don't live in Charlotte anymore, Walt and Patty. And this was a couple that they were my youth pastors for a while. And That was crazy. I promise you, I was just a little waif of a girl with not a whole lot to offer. And Walt and Patty, they had a vision for me. And no one was praying for me to have people like Walt and Patty, but they came into my life. And these people loved me, invited me into their home, showed me the foundation they lived on, and they nurtured me and loved me. And we've been friends. They've been in my life since I was 16. And way over 16.
Yeah.
And they were part of found of the foundation builders and Jimmy mentioned a minute ago about people, you know, as parents, you're trying to build a foundation for your kids. Well, continue to do that, but also remember to pray for those that they that your family, your kids will meet along the way that will be bringing their cement block to add onto that foundation of who Jesus is. And trust the process because to me my life is a miracle. and I'm just getting excited just talking about it and I wasn't two minutes ago.
Yeah. No. And I think that's there may be those listening who much like Suzi would say that your upbringing didn't give you a good foundation, but we're here to tell you that rather than living there,
live in the reality that a new foundation in Christ
can make a difference. cuz you've come to know Jesus as your savior. He is also the sustainer of life. And if I'm going to build on something, I want to build on the foundation that he laid. Whether it's as I go to his word, which I certainly hope that you do, but and as Suzi just said, it's a community of people around you that can be the ones who build into that foundation, that solid foundation, so that when the storms of life rage against your life, you hold because of the foundation you have in Christ. And our prayer this week is that you lean into that foundation that only Christ can give you.
Before we go, we want to give a shout out to somebody that we love dearly. Jimmy and I got an opportunity to take a trip to New York City with our youngest granddaughter. And while we were there, we spent time with our niece Katie, her husband Sam, and her new baby Nora. And Katie listens regularly to our podcast.
She says daily.
She says she does. I mean, I hope so. I mean, if she, you know, that's between her and the Lord, but she is she's way younger than me and she's my niece. But I'm telling you, she has been somebody that has poured into my on my foundation and she is a delightful young woman. And I want to just say Katie, we love you. Sam and Nora, we love you. And if you want a shout out, just let us know because it's part of our fun. to be able to acknowledge that you support us by listening to Struggling Well.
Have a great week.