Screen Shot 2019 06 04 at 5.24.26 PM Passion from Pain

Passion from Pain

/ Passion /

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Every now and again I hear a story that stops me in my tracks and captures my heart. I heard one last week from a woman named Kim Meeder who runs a horse ranch in Bend, Oregon.   

She told of a beautiful relationship with her big strapping father who would throw her on his shoulders and zoom her down the mountain on his skis when she was a preschooler. He was her hero. And then, on a tragic day when she was just nine years old, a family friend picked her up at school and she learned her father had murdered her mother and then taken his own life.   

Most stories like this make me angry and sad. But Kim didn’t let me stay there. To my surprise, I didn’t even think about her dad much at all because she so quickly pointed to the One who, on that same awful day, broke through the pain and promised to never leave her or forsake her.   

But what really captured me was her passion. Years after this horrific event, Kim and her husband bought a small ranch with the intention of living on it, planting gardens, and raising livestock. One day they took in two abandoned horses and decided to nurse them back to health. Some local atrisk youth found out and would come by hoping to see the horses. From this humble beginning, she has followed the gentle voice of the Holy Spirit and rescued thousands of horses and kids who also needed rescue.   

Kim is such a beautiful picture of how God uses unthinkable pain, redeems desperate stories for good, and turns circumstances around to bless others. I wept as she shared her story with a group of women, calling each one to embody a life of freedom, gratitude, and praise. There was no guilt or obligation, just an invitation to take the more that Jesus offers. She then offered any of her books free for the taking  

Kim’s faith and joy were so present it was like you could taste them. She is a living reminder of abundance and the gospel at work, and that each of us has a unique story of pain and purpose to live out and share.   

 

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About the Author

Julie Wilson

For the past 25 years, Julie has been a visionary strategist and communication specialist. After graduating with a degree in journalism from Boston University, she landed the highly competitive job as an NBC Page in New York City, the same year she became a follower of Christ through the ministry of Redeemer Presbyterian Church. She spent 13 years as a start-up team builder with Priority Associates, a ministry of CRU, and helped launch Revolve, a national tour and conference for teenage girls, which attracted over 38,000 attendees in its first season. In her role as President of Women Doing Well, she gets to engage her passion for women and leadership with her purpose “cultivating change.” Julie and her husband, Gary, live in Richmond, Virginia, with their daughter, Ella.

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