for as long as we all have been, you
have to have a sense of humor to sur-
vive most of the time.
Kelinda: TaRanda, it must be good to
laugh after all you’ve been through.
Your testimony is powerful! Would you
tell us a little about it?
TaRanda: Yes! When I was suffering
with depression after the passing of
my husband, I remember staring at
myself in the mirror and found myself
pretty much unrecognizable. I began
praying for the first time in a long time,
and in the middle of my prayer for
God to help me live, I remembered
this lyric, “Great is thy faithfulness, O
God, my Father; there is no shadow
of turning with the; thou changest not,
thy compassions, they fail not.” That
moment of surrender was my turning
page. From that day forward, I began
to realize the depth of the faithfulness
and love of God and stopped leaning
on myself for perfect understanding.
Even now, life is completely different
again with my recent marriage and
double the amount of children...rais-
ing pre-teens, blending a family... but
we’re all surviving!
Kelinda: Your tour takes place in a
number of great churches across the
USA. Is there a trend you see among
the leaders of those churches, some-
thing that God seems to be stirring in
hearts across denominational barriers?
Jody: People are pretty much the
same as they have always been
in the church. Hurting and seeking
peace and hope. It is nice to see so
many churches, especially the me-
ga-churches, reaching out to those
people in the way of Divorce Care or
42 Solutions
Single Mother support. A lot of things
that were really taboo just a few years
ago. Church seems to finally be set-
tling into the idea that it’s more of a
hospital than a museum.
Doug: I think everybody is broken,
even our leaders. We all need spiritual
encouragement. That is the goal of
this group, to witness and be a voice
for the broken.
Kelinda: Has a particular church leader
inspired you during your travels?
Doug: This guy may not be a mega
church leader, but Wesley Pritchard is
my pastor. He is making waves in his
town at Fayetteville (North Carolina)
Community Church, as he is so real
with the way he deals with life and
ministry. He is also a close friend and I
can call him anytime.
Jody: The church that my family and
I attend when we are home is called
Grace Chapel in Leipers Fork, Tennes-