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Thriving Beyond Belief with Cheryl Scruggs


Jul 24, 2019

Hi everyone and welcome to the Thriving Beyond Belief podcast today! And as you know, if you're a regular listener, I've taken a couple of weeks off and one of the main reasons is because we were welcoming our new baby granddaughter into the world. This week, we're replaying an episode from Courtney Pray Duke. If you have not listened to her episode yet from about a year ago, you'll definitely want to tune into this episode — she has some great stuff to say!

Courtney has such an incredible story of God working through incredible tragedy to show His faithfulness. With three young children at home, Courtney received a call that forever changed the trajectory of her life. Finding out that her husband was in an accident, she rushed to the hospital, only to find out on the way that he didn't make it.

From this story of incredible loss and hurt, Courtney talks about how God was revealed to her through this loss and helped her treasure each day. From pain He brings so much purpose. She remarks that in the economy of God, nothing is wasted.

She discusses walking through widowhood and who she now can share in the loss with. She talks about the journey of healing and how time brings hope. This loss gave Courtney a new lens on life and she talks about the fact that we have an eternity to live for. It's remarkable how God uses unbelievable circumstances to show us how to full trust Him.

Courtney talks about what has helped her walk through this journey. Some helpful tools are being able to speak out loud about the circumstances. She also emphasizes her need for Scripture day to day.

We really focus on the change from surviving to thriving. Courtney can talk about knowing what it is like to thrive because she has walked through that journey of being in the place where she didn't know how to put one foot in front of the other, wondering if she would make it to the next day. When she leaned into the Lord through Scripture and church community, she has slowly been able to see the bright days begin to appear again.

From the darkest of days with loss to now being remarried and having a new baby, Courtney's story is one of constant redemption and God's grace and love. She talks about the phase of being content with the Lord and His plans and then felt she was finally able to open her heart to love another in this life. We discuss the trust of the Lord in the valley so that we see His plans and goodness fulfilled on the mountain top.

We end discussing how the call on God's life and the roles we play in our lives aren't mutually exclusive.


We should begin embracing our complexities and many facets the Lord created us as so that we can confidently go forward in the Lord's purpose for our life.

I believe this episode will touch so many lives. It will bring hope to those hurting and encouragement that God is there with us in every single season. I hope this episode comforts you today.