What do LOVE and COURAGE have in common? Generous Love gets up close and personal; it’s tenacious and can only be sustained by a COURAGEOUS spirit. It begins with compassion and never ends; the kind that my friend, Kristi Overton Johnson shows over and over.
After breaking world records and winning numerous championships, Kristi was inducted into the U.S. Hall of Fame and the International Hall of Fame for Water Skiing. She is by definition a Courageous Woman, but not just for winning.
Kristi and her husband adopted two children from Russia several years ago, so when her cart was bumped at a Home Goods store and the and woman apologized in a in a Russian accent, she couldn’t help but pursue the conversation.
What began as “Excuse me” ended up with Kristi offering to find a surgeon who would perform major reconstructive surgery for a foreign orphan without insurance. How many of us would have listened to that story of abuse and abandonment and said, “I will pray. I will give money.” But Kristi’s generous love spoke with actions rather than words. She gave of herself, her family, her time and money to make it happen, bringing the young girl into her home, making calls, writing letters, and praying – a lot.
You will hear the rest of her courageous story on our YouTube Channel in the coming weeks, but for now you should know that Kristi never gave up believing God would come through even in the midst of Covid restrictions, international travel bans, and closed hospitals. She worked and prayed until the girl received the new leg she once asked Santa Claus for.
Kristi recently wrote, “Every day, God extends an invitation to us to join Him in the miraculous. Be willing to say ‘yes’ when the invitation comes.” I love that.
Jesus said, “This is my commandment: Love each other in the same way I have loved you.
There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” John 15:12-13 NLT
I wonder if we don’t say “yes” more often because we are afraid of what it might cost us to lay down our lives – schedules, calendars, and comforts. Maybe we are afraid that we won’t be successful because God will not answer our prayers, or that miracles like this don’t happen anymore. But they do. They can. Kristi said, “finding the answer wasn’t my responsibility. It was God’s. My part was to trust Him, pray, and obey.”
As you read this, you may thinking of a need for yourself or someone else that perhaps stopped asking God for because you have lost the courage to keep believing for what only God can do, a miracle. That’s why we are here at She Loves Out Loud. Go to our Facebook Group page and share your heart there. God will send encouragers, prayer partners, those who will believe with you “all the way through.”
Coming up!
- Join us for March 1st SLOL Team LIVE at 7:14 PM ET on SLOL Facebook Page
- Wednesday nights at 7:14 PM ET for Prayer and Devotions on SLOL Facebook Group
- Next week: Courageous Women Expect Miracles – the story of Deborah the Prophetess-Warrior in Judges 4-5. I get goose bumps reading this epic saga.
I hope that you were among the 15,000 who viewed the She Loves Out Loud Reunion last week! If not, go to our Facebook Page and watch. I promise you will be inspired, encouraged, and blessed.
Always Expecting Amazing,
Diane Strack
