Hi there, Kingdom Warrior!
Oh, what a joy to bring back Jessica Carey to have you listen to her episode! I tend to match the energy of my guests, and even though I remember being pretty sick with a cold when we recorded this, Jessica’s energy just brought so much life out of me that we had an absolute ball. I think you’ll love listening to this double-8 (on the Enneagram) conversation - I don’t think there are many dull moments in it!
Jessica Carey fits into that one category almost no one with a chronic illness or chronic pain issue wants to belong: the undiagnosed category. Though she (up to the point of this interview) has never received a diagnosis for her pain, her story is the furthest thing from invalid. In fact, I believe many of you fellow sufferers out there will relate to her story of wondering if she was crazy, fighting for herself through the medical system, and still grappling with the reality of not receiving a name or a treatment plan for her condition.
Sometimes Jess would wake up from a chest pain that felt like a heart attack. It would hit her out of nowhere, sending her to the ER, making her question her sanity, and throwing her into some unexpected waves of trial. But waves aren’t a stranger to Jessica; it was only this form of them that was a surprise in her otherwise healthy life. In fact, she wrote a whole book on the metaphor of seafaring navigation and our spiritual journeys called Chart a Course: Taking a Journey with God at the Helm.
Since she wrote the book, Jess has shared about the lessons and wisdom within it on the Today Show and Hallmark Home and Family. She’s the mom of two kiddos, and she knows about life transition since she has moved eight times and over 11,000 miles in the past decade! From acting in New York to running a business overseas, Jessica has made it a habit in her life to sail into uncharted waters. She’ll encourage you to do the same today, too.
This episode also means a lot to me personally because God used Jessica’s book to speak a profound word to me. In the midst of a heavy season of discouragement in building the Heal Ministry, I felt like God used Chart a Course to whisper to me that Heal will one day be a battleship, blowing holes in the kingdom of darkness as we bring part of God’s kingdom to earth. Because of that, I have a huge three-pieced framed artwork of the inner workings of a battleship hanging on the wall in my office. I look at it every day as I sit down at my desk, and I’m reminded of what God is building and how I need him as the captain at the helm. In fact, you might just feel led to be a part of that battleship! If so, check out the other resources on our site for how you can get involved in being a part of making this vision come to pass.
Regardless, I cannot speak more highly of Jessica as a person, an author, or a podcast guest. My prayer is that God would use her story to speak a spark of hope into your current circumstances and that he will help her concepts be a compass to chart a course to him through your pain. If you didn’t catch this episode when it was first published, it’s worth going back to listen!
Listen to learn more about:
· How to embark on the greatest journey life can offer
· What it looks like to walk through misdiagnoses and no diagnoses for your current pain issue
· How to hear God’s voice and pursue him amidst the waves of trial, suffering, and upheaval that come your way.
Listen now:
Click here to listen on iTunes.
Click here to listen on Google Podcasts.
Click here to listen on Spotify.
Click here to listen on Stitcher.
Click here to listen on Amazon Music.
Favorite Quotes:
o “My first encouragement to someone who is sitting in the place of the unknown, like you don’t know what’s wrong, but you know something’s wrong, that you’re not crazy. Your body’s telling you something, and remember that it’s called practicing medicine. Practicing being the key. Many doctors are doing the very best that they can, but depending on their level of experience, they may or may not be able to help you.” – Heal Podcast Episode 62
o “I treat this body like a Porsche and it’s breaking down on me like a Pinto.” -Chart a Course
o “When we recognize that this storm is part of our education, part of our journey, and part of others getting to know Jesus better, we can look at those storm’s clouds as rain bringers, flower flourishers, and reservoir toppers, not just flood makers.” -Chart a Course
Links from our conversation:
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For freedom,
Tera