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Tag: SpiritualGrowth

141. Is OCD Keeping You From Reading the Bible?

Written by Carrie Bock on . Posted in Blog, OCD, Podcast Episode.

In this episode, Carrie explores how OCD can disrupt regular Bible reading, leading to either obsessive or avoidant behaviors. She offers practical advice for engaging with scripture in a healthier way.

Episode Highlights:

  • How obsessively engaging with the Bible can feed the OCD cycle and strategies to manage this behavior.
  • How past experiences or distorted beliefs might influence your OCD symptoms and relationship with God.
  • Techniques for limiting your Bible reading to prevent it from becoming a compulsion while still engaging with spiritual practice.

Episode Summary:

I know how much you want to make Bible reading a regular part of your life, recognizing its importance as a spiritual discipline. Yet, OCD often gets in the way, complicating this sincere desire. Let’s dive into this issue together.

In episode 78, we touched on moving from “should” to “want” in Bible study. Today, we’ll look deeper into the struggle when OCD disrupts your Bible reading.

OCD often manifests in one of two ways for Christians: overdoing or avoiding. Some feel the need to read the Bible for hours, obsessively studying and over-analyzing every word, driven by anxiety and the fear that they’re not doing enough to please God. On the flip side, others avoid Bible reading altogether, overwhelmed by anxiety and intrusive thoughts when they try.

For those who find themselves overdoing it, it’s crucial to set limits on your Bible study time. While it may feel uncomfortable, this is necessary to break the OCD cycle of compulsive activity. Remember, your relationship with God is not about how much you do, but about resting in His grace.

For those avoiding Bible reading due to anxiety, start small. Engage with scripture in ways that feel safe, perhaps focusing on specific verses about God’s love or peace. Gradually, as you feel more comfortable, you can expand your reading.

Whether you’re overdoing or avoiding, it’s important to examine the underlying story you’re telling yourself about God and your relationship with Him. Are your thoughts rooted in grace and the truth of Christ’s work, or in performance-based theology?

Remember, healing is possible, and I’m here to help. Reach out to me through carriebock.com, and let’s work together to find a healthier approach to your Bible reading and spiritual growth.

Explore Related Episode:

78. Bible Study from “Should” to “Want” with Keith Ferrin

Transcript

Hey Christian, so you want to read your Bible, you know it’s an important spiritual discipline. You’re striving to have this in your life on a regular basis, and then bam, OCD gets in the way. Let’s talk about it. Insert the jingle here. Happy to announce to you all that carriebock.com is live. We will make sure you have that link in the show notes.

I always like to tell people verbally, it’s Bach, like the chicken sound, not like the composer. Anyway, this website project has been massive and ongoing to combine my counseling practice website and podcast website together. What’s really cool is if you go down to podcast breakdown, it’s a page. You can actually search all of our episodes, so if there are specific topics you were looking for like prayer or ERP or ICBT, you can search for those specific episodes, which is really cool.

We’re also working on fixing our categories so that hopefully on the side of the page you’ll just be able that everything will be categorized the way we want to. If you want to hear about personal testimonies from other Christians, you can click on those. Those tend to be early. Popular episodes, and we are certainly looking for new guests.

So if you want to tell your story or know someone else who wants to tell. Their OCD story. We’d love to talk with you about being on the podcast. You do not have to be a big celebrity. Not a requirement at all. Just an openness and a willingness to talk about what God has done in your life. Today we’re talking about reading your Bible.

So we had a previous episode on Bible study from Should to Want. That was episode 78. If you want to go back and Check that one out where I interviewed Keith Farrin. It was a really good conversation. But I want to talk with you more specifically today about, let’s say that you are struggling with your Bible reading because OCD keeps getting in the way.

Usually what I see in my practice is that this goes one of two ways for Christians. Either they are obsessively reading the Bible, Like, I need to be reading the Bible hours at a time. I need to be studying or poring over and understanding what does this one word mean. And even with all of that study, there’s still this level of anxiety that somehow it’s just not enough.

I’m not doing as much scripture reading as I feel like I should or as I feel like God wants me to in order to please Him. I like to say with OCD that we have doers and avoiders. So this would be the doer category. I’ve got to do, do, do, perform, perform, perform, then perhaps God will be pleased with me. Or at least I’m going to do everything that I can in order to not have this anxious feeling.

And then we have the avoiders. Who say, okay, if I don’t go do the hard thing, then I’m not going to feel the anxiety, and so therefore I’ll just be over here, not doing that thing. Yeah, I know I’m supposed to read my Bible, I want to read my Bible, but every time I sit down to read my Bible, I get super triggered, I have a lot of anxiety, scrupulosity obsessions come in.

What if God doesn’t love me? What if God isn’t real? What if I don’t have enough faith? All the what ifs that OCD likes to throw at you. What if I commit the unpardonable sin? What if I didn’t really read that correctly and now I need to go back and re read it so that I make sure I fully understand it?

As you can tell, this can go a lot of different directions. Ultimately, it’s frustrating, right, because the very thing that you desire to do and you want to engage with, you can’t find a way to engage with it in a healthy way. This can happen with other areas of your life as well, like eating or cleaning or, or practicing caution.

None of these things in themselves are bad, but then when it comes to OCD, Things get taken to an extreme and go off the rails. So let’s talk more specifically. What do you do if you’re that person who approaches a Bible study and it just feels like it’s never enough. You feel like you need to be spending more time.

You need to be understanding more. You need to be diving deeper. You don’t feel like God is pleased with you because you’re not reading all the time. To kick OCD in the pants, you’re really going to need to limit yourself, and that may be hard to hear, but if you are reading compulsively, then you are feeding that OCD cycle of, I’m hearing this obsession and then compulsively responding to it with massive amounts of activity.

So it’s going to feel uncomfortable, but you’re going to actually have to dial back your Bible reading and limit yourself to a certain amount of time or a certain amount of chapters, something of that nature, so that you don’t get caught up in doing this spiritual practice compulsively. I wouldn’t say don’t go to an extreme and not do it at all, although I think some people might encourage that for a time period.

I wouldn’t necessarily encourage that because you want to be able to practice your spiritual disciplines in a healthy way, in a way that is typical of other practicing Christians. I would also encourage you to examine the story behind this compulsive Bible reading, because there’s a story there, right, that you’re telling yourself that a lot of times is rooted in performance based theology.

That’s what I’m going to call it, for lack of a better way to call it. It’s not rooted in grace. It’s not rooted in Christ’s work on the cross. It’s rooted in What I’m doing to maintain my relationship with God, and unfortunately, you think it’s more spiritual because you think you’re focusing on God more, but really you’re focusing more on you.

And your own activity. And I know that that’s super hard probably to hear because that’s not where you want to be. And that’s not what you want to be focused on or your heart. But if it’s all about what I’m doing to maintain my relationship with God and not resting and being and trusting and abiding in who God is, then I’ve got things backwards.

Speaking from a place of personal experience of living with performance based theology in my earlier walk with Christ, I did not have obsessions or OCD about it, but I definitely felt like, oh yeah, Jesus saved me, I’m saved by grace, but now that I’m a Christian, it’s my job to jump in here and do all the things that I’m, quote, supposed to do that are the good.

moral right things and spiritual disciplines, whether I feel it or not. And there was so much weight and so much burden. And I never understood that scripture where Jesus said, my yoke is easy and my burden is light. I was like, I feel so heavy all the time. Like there’s a list of rules. And there’s a checklist, and there’s all these things that I have to do, and I’ve got to get it together, and if I mess up, it’s like, I’m done.

Like, it’s all over, and I’m a horrible person, and I’m worthless. That is not how we are to be living as Christians. Our actions are to be an overflow of the Holy Spirit’s work in our life. Here’s what I have come to learn through study of the Bible and walking with God. Is that if I could not save myself, I certainly cannot sanctify myself, meaning I cannot make myself more like Christ on my own.

Let’s look at Philippians 2, 12 and 13. Paul is saying, Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who is working in you, both to will and to work according to His good purpose. We have the responsibility to show up and engage with God, but God is doing the work within us. So awesome.

So awesome. We can’t idly sit by and say, Okay, just, like, fill me up with the Holy Spirit. We do have to engage in that process. But if I’m trying to make everything happen, that’s only going to lead to more frustration. So, More disappointment in myself, more feelings of not good enough and worthless. It’s a never ending cycle.

I would love nothing more than to help you get off that hamster wheel. Send me a message through karybach. com and would love to talk with you about what opportunities we have to help you get there. Let’s talk for a moment if you are in the avoidance category. Maybe you would say, I haven’t read my Bible in days, not because I don’t want to, but because OCD really runs rampant and throws a bunch of obsessions on me when I try to engage in scripture reading.

I would really encourage you to re engage in small ways that are going to feel safe for your brain and body. Once you do that, you take the small steps, and you can certainly always add to them a bigger step, right? Sometimes people will say, okay, I am avoiding certain passages that then grows and maybe leads to more and more avoidance.

So you want to find ways to like dip your toe in the water, maybe even just meditating on one or two scriptures where you really feel like the Lord wants you to focus in on. It could be a topic for example, like peace or God being our father. It could be that you meditate on specific verses about God’s love for you.

If that’s something that you’re having trouble connecting with emotionally, maybe you’re struggling with uncertainty and need to meditate on specific scriptures. involving faith or trust. One thing I do know is that God is so gracious and he will meet you where you are at. Be honest with him about what you are thinking and feeling.

Then we have to ask ourselves too if God doesn’t feel safe to sit with in terms of reading, his love letter to you. Where did that come from? Did that come from a church hurt experience? What’s the story? What’s the deeper story behind that? Did that come from a harsh parent and now you’ve projected that onto God?

What’s the story that you’re telling yourself about God? And what’s the story that you’re telling yourself about you in terms of your position into who you are in Christ? So whether you’re doing too much and you’re overdoing your Bible reading or whether you’re avoiding, what I’m learning so much with scrupulosity is you have to be willing to look at your theology.

What are your actual thoughts about God? And then where did those things come from? Are they rooted in foundations of scripture and healthy spiritual practice, or are they coming from a place of woundedness, hurt, or intense fear? You can get caught in a thought loop and thinking the same thing over and over and over.

Or you can take a step back and re evaluate and re examine. One of the things I love about doing ICBT with Christians is that we can look at the reasons for the obsessional doubt. Like, there’s a reason that you are stuck on this particular OCD theme. There’s a reason that you’ve come to the conclusions that you’ve come to.

And sometimes once your eyes are open to that, even though it’s a early stage in the treatment process of building awareness, sometimes people are like, Oh, that’s an OCD reasoning structure. This is OCD getting in the way versus before maybe they just thought, Well, I’m anxious about this situation. It’s like, No, I actually have a doubt that I’m believing and holding on to, and it’s a lie that OCD has told me.

I want you to know that if you are struggling with scrupulosity, that there is hope. Healing is possible, and I’m thankful for each one of you who are tuning in to listen to this. I hope it helps you engage with your Bible reading in a healthier way this week.

62. Connecting with God Through The Psalms with Courtney Reissig

Written by Carrie Bock on . Posted in Anxiety, Podcast Episode.

In this episode, Carrie is joined by Courtney Reissig, author of Teach Me How to Feel, where they dive into the profound role of the Psalms in navigating life’s struggles. Courtney shares her personal journey of using the Psalms during a traumatic experience and how they provided comfort and language for her emotional and spiritual journey.

Episode Highlights:

  • How the Psalms provide language for the struggles and emotions we face, offering comfort and connection to God during difficult times.
  • The impact of trauma on emotional well-being and how the Psalms helped Courtney process her own traumatic experiences.
  • The importance of being honest and raw in prayer, embracing messy prayers as a natural part of the healing and spiritual journey.
  • Practical ways to incorporate the Psalms into your daily devotional life, especially during seasons of uncertainty, grief, or emotional turmoil.
  • Insights from Courtney’s book Teach Me How to Feel, which uses the Psalms to help readers navigate their emotions and find language for their struggles.

courtneyreissig.com

Episode Summary:

In this episode, I’m joined by Courtney Reissig, the author of Teach Me How to Feel. Together, we explore the transformative power of the Psalms in our spiritual lives, particularly in times of struggle, prayer, and meditation.

Courtney shares her deeply personal story of enduring trauma during her last pregnancy. Six months before a life-threatening placenta abruption, she felt drawn to study the Psalms. Little did she know, those ancient prayers would become her lifeline during three weeks of hospital bed rest, as she faced the uncertainty of her and her baby’s survival.

Through her experience, Courtney found solace and language for the pain, fear, and darkness she endured. The Psalms echoed her emotions—feelings of abandonment, sorrow, and anxiety—showing her that she wasn’t alone and that God truly understands our struggles.

Courtney also discusses her journey of healing postpartum, her battle with cervical cancer, and the profound lessons these trials taught her about processing trauma and leaning into God’s presence. We talk about practical ways to use the Psalms in daily life, whether as prayers, in times of crisis, or as a source of comfort during uncertain moments.

Listen now and discover how the Psalms can transform your walk with God, offering hope and healing in the midst of life’s challenges.

Explore Related Episode:

78. Bible Study from “Should” to “Want” with Keith Ferrin

Transcript

Today, I am joined on the show by Courtney Reissig, author of Teach Me How to Feel. She’s written other books as well.

We were talking about using the Psalms in our spiritual journey without using the Psalms to connect with God and in prayer and meditation. So I’m really looking forward to this conversation. 

Courtney, I know that you had a difficult experience that was traumatic for you and prompted you really to dive in, and study the Psalms, in more detail. Can you tell us about that?

Courtney: I had a traumatic delivery with my last son,  and it was actually like a medical crisis, but I actually started diving into the Psalms about six months before that, and was truly interested in them and how they fit together and how,  as I learned more about them, I realized the Psalms was giving us language for the realities of life.

It was so interesting at the time. But I didn’t know, that the Lord was using to preparing for what was to come. And so, I had spent that six months diving into the Psalms. And then when I was 33 weeks pregnant, I had a placenta abruption, which is the  Medical crisis full abruption is sudden death for the mom and the baby, but mine was partial.

And so I was admitted to the hospital for three weeks as we waited for either to stop or for him to be needed to be delivered. Really, what happened to me. And that time was kind  of hospital  bed rest  is really , really traumatic.  I felt like everyday with a life or death situation   with whether or not I was going to have to deliver him, whether we be okay. On those days, I couldn’t read anything. I couldn’t read the magazine people brought me, I couldn’t really watch TV, but I could read the Psalms.

And I spent so much time in the Psalms in those days, reading and processing and journaling about them. It’s not for I really start that I’m using the Psalmus. You’re not the first person who had walked through something that was life or death. And the Lord really met me there and showed me that He understood my frame and understood my struggle and was giving me language for what was going on.

Carrie: Yeah, So did you feel like, even though you could really describe like what you were feeling exactly. It was almost like when you opened up the Psalms, it, it really was like, oh yeah.

That’s, how I’m feeling right now. 

Courtney: Yes. Oh yes. I mean, there are so many songs where I opened them up and was like, yes, that’s how I feel. I feel as though God has forgotten me. I struggled a lot and actually after he was born kind of that. And I struggled with guilt over that because, I lived and I had the best-case scenario, but I still had all of that trauma that I had to work through. 

And even then I had a lot of darkness and postpartum depression. And even in that, the Psalms really helped me see that I was not the first person who had felt darkness or felt like God’s hand was against me or felt like I had sorrows in my heart all day or anxiety in my heart all day. So it really did give me words when I didn’t have other words for what we know.

Carrie: Um,  that’s good. How did you process those emotions as they came up? Just, you know, feeling like God had forgotten you or maybe other concerns that you had, you know, sadness, anger, fear?

Courtney: Yeah. It’s really understand talking to your friend about how kind I processed it at night. And I, it took me a long time to realize that I’m an internal processor. And so a lot of people didn’t know that I was struggling for a really long time until like six months after he was born. I had shared that I was really struggling. I think for me, I just had to really work through my own thoughts in my own head.

And through writing, primarily for me is just a big way for me to internally process what’s going on, that was a big thing for me. I find that when I’m deeply, deeply struggling, that I’ve got to write to get it all out before I can never talk about somebody else, which I’m a natural born talker, which so people don’t think that that’s how I process.

They usually think that I brought those through talking about it. Cause everything, but when I’m really, really struggling, I work it through with writing and then reading. I didn’t have a lot of quiet moments. It was my fourth son by the time this happened. I had four children, four and under,  there were no quiet moments.

My husband was really gracious and gives me time to process. And I will say too, I eventually did go to therapy and that was really helpful. I needed someone else  outside of myself and outside of my circumstances to really kind of help me work through what we had walked through. And I still remember I canceled number of times that I had a really good friend who finally was like, I’m going to come watch your kids and you’re going to make that appointment.

Carrie: You thought, I don’t have time for this, or you were avoiding it because you knew it’d be uncomfortable to talk about?

Courtney:  I think I knew I needed it. Like, I think I knew like deep down that I really needed just to like an hour, a week to sit and process. And I was gonna have that unless someone had given me that time.

Yeah. I think I was just like, I didn’t have the time. I just didn’t have the time or the energy. It seemed impossible to me. Yeah. 

Carrie: Yeah. That was just really loving what your friend did to just kind of step in and say, They all l take care of your kids so that you can go take care of you.

Courtney: Right, and I think sometimes we’re afraid, I  think as moms, maybe it’s women in general to kind of say I’m willing to do that, it feels too self-focused and we are kind of conditioned to be like, we’re always dying to self and I think we’re supposed to die to self. Because  Christ, I just like drive to himself.

Carrie: Right.

Courtney: But we are also not God, you need help sometimes. And so, sometimes the most self-sacrificing that you can do is to help and you can help  others. And I think, that’s what my friend saw in me is that I needed that so that I could serve and the way I was called to serve.

Carrie:  I know some people, when they go through trauma and then they get to the end of experience, they’re like, okay, it’s over. I lived, I should be fine. Like, I shouldn’t be having those residual effects. Like, did you understand that it was. The trauma that was impacting maybe emotional experiences that you were having, or was it kind of like you learned some of that later? Like after the fact? 

Courtney: Yeah, that’s a really good question. Cause I don’t think I understood that fully in the moment. And it’s been helpful since I’ve come to realize that I have that  It’s helped me love my kids well through it, I had a few people in my life who understood enough of what we had walked through and had lived long enough to say,

Carrie: You’re going to have to be working through this for a while.

Courtney: It took me a while, like a few years to realize that there were these things that would happen. And I wouldn’t understand why I would all be dealing with it again, even it was in my mind seemed to be kind of unrelated. It’s only been as I’ve learned that I’ve learned part of the process of working through trauma is that eventually, I think hindsight now allows me to say, oh, I was not in a good place then, because that  I’m in a better place now. 

Carrie: Sure.

Courtney: Yeah, I don’t think I fully understood in that moment, but I’ve walked through the trauma scene. Then, so I was diagnosed with cervical cancer during  COVID.

Carrie: Wow!

Courtney: Yeah,  and I was really, really unexpected. All the markers to catch it, just kind of fell through the cracks for me. And, um, so I had radical hysterectomy really quickly because I had walked through the trauma with Ben. It didn’t make it easier and didn’t make it less traumatic, but it did make me more aware of what I was going to need to process what had happened. And the healing emotionally from that was better the second time around versus I just felt like I was blindsided by what happened with him.

Carrie: Right, right. Yeah. It’s interesting. Because so many times when we’re in survival mode, we are not aware that we’re in survival mode. We’re just kind of making the next day happen. Like, I’ve, you know, in your situation, it’s like, I got four kids and somebody is going to feed them. 

Courtney: Right. And you don’t realize that you’re like deeply not okay. Like, you’re like a hair trigger away from like blowing up. And I’m thankful that the Lord brought me through it and then allowed me to give me some clarity to see so that I’m aware. I mean, trauma happens all throughout our lives. 

Carrie: Sure

Courtney: And so I’m not naive enough to think it won’t happen again, but.

Carrie: What guidance, like you can give us on using the Psalms in our day-to-day prayer and devotional life? 

Courtney: I’ve used them all different ways. Right now, my life, I’ve been really convicted over the last year that my prayer life is really lacking, it’s always been, like more of a struggle in my own life to just find, to be purposeful in prayer. But so many of the Psalms are prayers and written as prayers

Carrie: Yeah.

Courtney: And so one of the things I’ve done over the last year has been to pray the Psalms and just pray them based on whatever’s going on in the lives of the people. I’m praying for at the time or my own life.

I think that’s one way to use them is to use them as prayers. Many of them are prayers.  I think another way to use them, is to read them when life is hard and read them to find familiar friends who also understand that life is hard. You know, I read them a lot when I was writing the book, I write them a lot.

When I was walking through this trauma, I read them a lot when COVID first started, because everything felt so uncertain and crazy. And I have found in every one of those seasons that the Psalms get the human experience. I think I’ve heard a Tim Keller, wouldn’t say. That part of his devotional reading is he reads, a Psalms everyday  because we’re always walking through something that the Psalms understand because God is the author of the Psalms and he understands us. And so I think for anyone, it’s a really helpful tool. And seeing that we have a God who sees no matter what we’re walking through.

Carrie:  Yeah, Just sense of relate-ability that we have to. I mean, it’s the human experience. It’s anger, it’s sadness. It’s uncertainty. It’s fear. And for me, I think it opens up and gives us permission to have a messy prayer life.

Courtney:  Yes,  absolutely. 

Carrie:  So just say, this is how I feel and it’s messy right now and I don’t care what’s going on in my life. Like it’s crazy. 

Courtney: .Right,  and I think sometimes we’re afraid just to be like that because we, depending on, like our theological tradition, we are so prone to wanting to have it all put together and to sound like we’re trusting the Lord and that everything’s going okay. And I think that’s the reality of the Psalms is that they’re not afraid of the struggles. And they kind of reorient us to acknowledge that.

Carrie: Hmm.

Courtney: Stop pretending that everything’s perfect and that we’re able to respond rightly to everything at all. Any given time.

Carrie: Yeah, the, we don’t have to have polished prayers all the time.

Carrie: Right? Yeah. I love that. Tell us about your book. Uh, “Teach me how to feel?”

Courtney: Yes, that book was born out of our experience with Ben and it kind of takes us through 24 different Psalms and walks through how the Psalmus experiences, the feeling, and then how this almost experiences God. There’s also a study guide that goes along with it to kind of help you add more depth to it.

If you’re trying to really kind of work through the Psalms, but the heart behind it was that a person who is walking through something could take any, could open up and look at any emotion that they’re feeling at any given time and find language for their struggle. There are short chapters. They’re designed for, like, if you’re walking through struggle, you need something 

short and accessible.

There are a variety of feelings. There are happy ones like joy and forgiving and different ones like that. And so it’s not all sad songs, but it’s really intended to show you the breadth of the songs and the breadth of how God gives us language and the different struggles and joys and sorrows of life.

Carrie: Hmm. Good. How can people get in touch with you if they want to kind of find out more information?

Courtney:  About the book? 

Carrie: Yeah. Or just if they want to get in touch with you, um, do you do speaking engagements sometimes or? 

Courtney: Yeah, I do. Um, I don’t do them as much as I used to, so COVID really slowed down what ended up speaking that I did. And then, um, it kind of gave us, like a little bit of a reset. Is this what we want for our season of life right now? 

And so, I don’t accept a lot of speaking engagements throughout the year. I accept maybe like one or two outside of Arkansas where I live, and I’m also on staff at my church recently. So that takes up a fair amount of my time.

And I have a website that I. Should I update more than I do Courtneyreissig.com, but I feel an urge to write something. I primarily put it on Instagram, so it’s just my name. Courtney Reissig.

Carrie: Okay. Awesome. So when you were struggling, if you could go back in time, like what encouragement or hope would you provide to your younger self?

Courtney: Hmm. That’s a really good question. So I would provide, to my younger self, I would say trust the long game. That’s kind of the thing that I would tell younger Courtney, is that what seems like an impossible thing right now, it seems like God’s not going to work that out for you right now. God plays the long game in life.

And so it’s kind of the message of someone, where the one who meditates on God’s word day and night is like a tree planted by streams of water. And what we know about trees is that they don’t grow overnight and transformation doesn’t happen overnight. 

And so the life spent in the world. And what life spent trusting in the word made flesh Christ is one that grows over lifetime. And so that means that there are seasons like summer where everything is going really well and the trees in full bloom, and then their seasons, like winter, where it seems like nothing’s happening. 

And I think I spent a lot of time in my younger, in my twenties and towards the end of my thirties now. So most of my thirties, not trusting the long game, not trusting that God was working, that God had a long-term purpose in view when He was working in my life or not doing anyone else.

I think it’s probably the greatest struggle of these younger people, in general, is we’re so instantaneous and that’s not how God works. 

Carrie: Yeah, I think that’s so good. Just to have a little bit more for ourselves of an eternal perspective. What God’s doing right now, you know, we may not see the fruits of it for many years. Something that we’re investing in, you know, you could be investing in kids or teenagers and you may not see the fruit of the day to day what’s you’re doing until many years down the road, you know, or the difficulty that God’s bringing you through right now is the difficulty that you’re going to be helping somebody else walk through and 10 years. Right?

Courtney: Right, right. I mean, there’s in our own life. We’ve seen in just the last few months, an answer to prayer that we’ve prayed for 10 years. 

Carrie: Wow!

Courtney: And I mean, that’s just a long time. And to be honest, like there’s, there was like whole years where I stopped praying for it, you know, because I just don’t think it was going to happen.

So I think that it’s the benefit of getting older is you get to see God work over the long haul that you don’t see when you’re younger. 

Carrie: Yeah. Yeah. That’s great. That’s good. Hopefully that encourages some, some younger people out there that are wondering why something isn’t happening right now.

Courtney: Right. Yeah.

Carrie:  Well, Courtney, thank you so much for taking some time out of your day to talk with us about

Courtney: Right, right. I mean, there’s in our own life. We’ve seen in just the last few months, an answer to prayer that we’ve prayed for 10 years. 

Carrie: Wow!

Courtney: And I mean, that’s just a long time. And to be honest, like there’s, there was like whole years where I stopped praying for it, you know, because I just don’t think it was going to happen.

So I think that it’s the benefit of getting older is you get to see God work over the long haul that you don’t see when you’re younger. 

Carrie: Yeah. Yeah. That’s great. That’s good. Hopefully that encourages some, some younger people out there that are wondering why something isn’t happening right now.

Courtney: Right. Yeah.

Carrie:  Well, Courtney, thank you so much for taking some time out of your day to talk with us about these things. And I hope it expands and encourages people’s prayer and devotional life, or if they’re going through a hard time to really just dig into the Psalms and see what God is going to show them and teach them through that.

Courtney: Well. Thanks for having me.

Carrie: I really hope you enjoy this episode on the Psalms. In a couple of weeks we have a really powerful interview about forgiveness that I wanted to share with you. So, if you’re struggling with forgiving someone in your life. You may wanna  tune in, in a couple of weeks to that episode.