{"id":67,"date":"2025-11-27T21:33:19","date_gmt":"2025-11-28T05:33:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/onlychristy.com\/?p=67"},"modified":"2025-12-19T01:30:40","modified_gmt":"2025-12-19T09:30:40","slug":"thankful-in-the-middle-of-a-trainwreck","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/onlychristy.com\/?p=67","title":{"rendered":"Thankful In The Middle Of A Trainwreck"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Have you ever had a holiday season where you look around and think\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHow in the WORLD am I supposed to be thankful right now?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Have you ever had so much chaos hitting you at once that even your therapist would need a therapist?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Have you ever felt like if ONE more thing goes wrong, you\u2019re packing your bags and moving to a cave with no Wi-Fi?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If the answer is yes, welcome to my TED Talk of survival.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If the answer is no\u2026 just wait. Life be lifing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This past season has been one that would make soap opera writers say, \u201cThat\u2019s too much. Tone it down.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Because baby, when my life falls apart, it falls apart with CONFIDENCE.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let\u2019s rewind.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Seven years of battles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Seven years of crying, praying, screaming into pillows, repeating Bible verses like spiritual caffeine, and somehow still showing up with lipstick and a smile even when I felt dead inside.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then one day\u2026 BOOM.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The news drops a bomb that explodes my entire world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Breaking News:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My husband, Stephen, was found guilty and sentenced to 30 years in prison for crimes he committed as a teenager.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The story went national \u2014 TV, newspapers, Yahoo front page \u2014 EVERYWHERE.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We didn\u2019t even need paparazzi. Jesus said, \u201cLet me give y\u2019all publicity the HARD way.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Suddenly, our neighbors didn\u2019t want to ride the same elevator as us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Friends disappeared like they were in the witness protection program.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Online comments turned into threats.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My social media felt like a hostile takeover from people who can\u2019t spell but can definitely hate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then Stephen goes to prison\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

has a stroke\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

can barely speak for months\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

has diabetes, kidney disease, heart issues\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

kidneys functioning at 28%.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Meanwhile I\u2019m over here trying to hold it together like the last piece of tape on a broken package from Amazon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I felt like half of me died.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I wanted to hide.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I wanted to disappear.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I wanted to curl up like a turtle and only stick my head out if someone said \u201cfree food.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Every morning I\u2019d wake up and pray,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cLord\u2026 can you give me the motivation to exist today?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Just enough to not scare people at the grocery store?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And somehow \u2014 in the middle of pain, shame, loss, judgment, and fear \u2014<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I felt God\u2019s peace.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Not the calm, spa-day peace.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The \u201cI should be losing my mind but somehow I\u2019m not\u201d peace.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then this month\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Family fights.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sibling drama.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jealousy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Backstabbing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And my uncle-in-law passing away two days ago.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It felt like the trials were on SALE and the devil bought the whole store.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here\u2019s the miracle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here\u2019s the plot twist nobody sees coming:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I am still thankful.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Not fake thankful.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Not Instagram-caption thankful.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Not \u201cI\u2019m blessed\u201d while crying into cheesecake thankful.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I mean REAL thankful.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Because even in hell, God didn\u2019t leave me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jesus carried me when I was too exhausted to stand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He gave me strength when I had none.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He gave me peace when my world was burning down.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He sat with me in the shame, the grief, the anger, the heartbreak \u2014 and never once walked away.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And because of Him\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I can still say, \u201cThank you, Jesus.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thank you Jesus for the transformation you\u2019re doing in Stephen\u2019s life \u2014<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How he started Living Faith Church CTF inside prison<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Raised up 13 pastors<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And now the pastors he raised up is leading a church of over 200 inmates every Sunday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thank you Jesus for using him to bring hope to men who\u2019ve been suicidal, broken, judged, and forgotten by society.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thank you Jesus that prison actually saved his LIFE.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Doctors said he had two years left without medical care.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now he has no diabetes<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He\u2019s eight pounds away from no longer being obese<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And his health is improving.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Prison said punishment\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

God said protection.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thank you Jesus for my in-laws and my parents who didn\u2019t run away but stood with me through the storm.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Real love doesn\u2019t disappear \u2014 it digs its heels in and fights.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thank you Jesus for every connection I\u2019ve made this year \u2014 the unexpected networking, the partnerships, the people who saw me as human instead of headlines.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thank you Jesus for the red carpet events and the prophecies from years ago that are now unfolding like a Netflix series.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hollywood \u2014 here I come, baby.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thank you Jesus for the vision you gave me ten years ago that I\u2019m finally stepping into:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My YouTube channel<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My stand-up comedy career<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My book<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My podcast<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My destiny<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My purpose.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cFrom Pastor to Pornstar: Holy to Horny\u201d isn\u2019t just a book \u2014 it\u2019s a divine setup.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A message of grace for EVERY person judged, broken, ashamed, and written off.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thank you Jesus for pushing me when I wanted to quit\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lifting me when I felt worthless\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Loving me when I was a hot mess express with no brakes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Because despite the heartbreak, the shame, the trials, the suffering, the loneliness, and the nights I cried myself to sleep\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I STILL HAVE SO MUCH TO BE THANKFUL FOR.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And so do you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

No matter how dark your season is<\/p>\n\n\n\n

No matter who walks away<\/p>\n\n\n\n

No matter what falls apart<\/p>\n\n\n\n

No matter what breaks your heart<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There is ALWAYS something to be thankful for.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thankful you\u2019re alive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thankful you survived.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thankful you\u2019re stronger than your storm.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thankful Jesus never left you \u2014 not even once.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Happy Thanksgiving, my loves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We made it through another year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bruised, not broken.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Shaken, not destroyed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But still here.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Still standing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Still grateful.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Remember you are my lovers, whether you love me or love to hate me you are still my lover!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Don\u2019t forget Jesus loves you and so do I!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Have you ever had a holiday season where you look around and think\u2026 \u201cHow in the WORLD am I supposed to be thankful right now?\u201d Have you ever had so much chaos hitting you at once that even your therapist would need a therapist? Have you ever felt like if ONE more thing goes wrong, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":68,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-67","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-feature-post"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/onlychristy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/67","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/onlychristy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/onlychristy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/onlychristy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/onlychristy.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=67"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/onlychristy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/67\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/onlychristy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/68"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/onlychristy.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=67"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/onlychristy.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=67"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/onlychristy.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=67"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}