God Carried Me Through the Storm

Episode 1 Overview: God Carried Me Through the Storm

In the premiere episode of Surviving the Storm: Finding Yourself in the Midst of Chaos, host Catina Anderson opens her heart and shares the beginning of her journey from pain to purpose. This episode introduces listeners to the heart behind the podcast and the mission to encourage women who are walking through difficult seasons, especially those who feel broken, overwhelmed, or alone.

Catina reflects on how God carried her through one of the hardest storms of her life, giving her strength when she felt like giving up. Without sharing details connected to her divorce or legal matters, she speaks from a place of faith, healing, and survival. She reminds listeners that even in moments of fear, uncertainty, and heartbreak, God is still present, still working, and still able to restore what the enemy tried to take.

This episode encourages listeners to trust God in the middle of the storm, hold on to hope, and believe that pain can become purpose. Catina’s story serves as a reminder that survival is not the end of the journey—it is the beginning of healing, restoration, and becoming who God created you to be.

Listeners will walk away feeling encouraged, strengthened, and reminded that they are not alone. God can carry them through the storm, too.

Download your free Listener's Journal here: https://canva.link/l2wrb5xtihbbivm

Transcript

Speaker 1 0:11

Soft and reflecty.

Speaker 2 0:17

I walked through rain. I felt the pain. I cried at night. Calling his name. But through it all, I still believe God at the present waiting for me.

Speaker 1:50

Welcome to the very first episode of Surviving the Storm. Finding yourself in the midst of chaos. I am your host, Catina Anderson, and I am so grateful that you are here. Today's episode is titled God Carried Me Through the Storm. This episode is very personal to me because I will be sharing part of my story, not every detail, not everything that is being handled legally, but the part of my story that speaks to faith, survival, healing, and the goodness of God. There are some storms in life that you don't see coming. There are also some seasons that shake you, stretch you, and almost make you feel like you can't take another step. But I'm here today because God carried me when I didn't have the strength to carry myself. Dear Heavenly Father, I thank you for this moment, this platform, and every listener who is tuning in today. Lord, I ask you to guide my words and cover this episode with your peace, wisdom, and protection. Father, I pray for every woman listening who may be in the middle of her own storm. She may feel tired, broken, overwhelmed, and unsure of what tomorrow holds. Remind her that she is not alone. Remind her that you are with her even in the darkest places. Lord, use my story to encourage, uplift, and bring hope. Let this episode remind every listener that the storm did not come to destroy your purpose. You are able to still heal, restore, and carry her through. In Jesus' name, amen. Our main scripture is going to be coming from Isaiah 43 verse 2. When thou passest through the water, I will be with thee. This scripture reminds us that God does not always keep us from passing through difficult places, but He promises to be with us while we go through them. I can truly say that God was with me in the storm. He was with me in moments when I wanted to give up. The storm I didn't see coming. There was a season in my life when everything felt heavy. What I thought would be a safe place became a place of pain, confusion, and emotional exhaustion. I found myself walking through a storm that affected my peace, confidence, emotions, faith, and the way I saw my future. Because there are legal matters still taking place. I will not go into the details of what happened. But what I can share is how God made me feel and how God met me in the middle of it. I know what it feels like to be trapped. I know what it feels like to smile in public while crying behind closed doors. I know what it feels like to carry the pain that others can't see. I know what it feels like to pray and ask God how much longer. Why? I know what it feels like to want peace so badly, but not know how everything is gonna work out. When I wanted to give up. Not because I didn't have the faith, but because I was tired. I was emotionally tired, spiritually tired, mentally tired. I was trying to be strong to keep going, trying to show up for my responsibilities and trying to hold myself together when uh all in the inside I felt like I was falling apart. But in those moments, God was with me. Sometimes all I had was prayer through the tears. Sometimes all I could say was, Lord, have mercy. And even when those were the only words I had, God understood every tear, every fear, and every silent cry. I want someone listening to know that feeling weak does not mean you don't have faith. Crying does not mean you are not strong. Being tired does not mean you're defeated. Sometimes survival looks like taking one breath, saying one prayer, and making it through one more day. God carried me through when I couldn't carry myself. There were days when I did not know how I was going to make it, but somehow God gave me strength. Not always the strength for the whole journey, but the strength for the next step. The strength to get up, the strength to pray, the strength to keep working, the strength to keep believing, the strength to keep trusting that my story wasn't over. God carried me in ways I didn't always recognize at first. He carried me through his word. He carried me through prayer. He carried me through moments of peace that I could not explain. He carried me through people who encouraged me. He carried me by reminding me that I was still his child, still loved, and still chosen, and still called. God carried me. Choosing silence where wisdom is needed. Proverbs the third chapter, verses five through six. Trust in the Lord with all thine heart and lean not into the own understanding. You can tell your testimony with wisdom. You don't have to share every detail of your story to be powerful. One thing I've learned in this season that wisdom matters. There are parts of my story that I can't share right now. And there are parts that I choose not to share because they are connected to legal proceedings and because healing also requires boundaries. But I want to say this: your testimony does not lose power because you did not share every detail. Sometimes the power is in saying I survived. Sometimes the power is in saying God kept me. Sometimes there's power in saying I'm still standing. I'm learning that I can protect my peace, protect my process, and still use my voice to encourage others. God was protecting me when I couldn't see it. Psalms 46, 1. God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. God is a safe place when we feel unsure. Looking back, I can see how God was protecting me. In the middle of the storm, I didn't understand everything. I didn't know how things would work out. I didn't know what the next chapter would look like. But God was there. God became my refuge. Taking back my voice, my peace, and my purpose. Romans 8, chapter 28 verse. And we know that all things work together for the good of them that love the Lord. God can bring purpose out of pain without calling the pain good. The storm changed me, but it didn't destroy me. It taught me how to pray differently. It taught me how to depend on God more deeply. It taught me that my identity is not what happened to me, what I lost, what I endured, or what someone else tried to make me believe about myself. My identity is in God. So today, I'm taking back my voice. I'm taking back my peace. I'm taking back my joy. I'm taking back my purpose. What tried to break me is now becoming part of my testimony. This does not mean that the journey has been easy. Healing takes time. There's still hard days. There are still moments when I have to encourage myself. But I know this God is not finished with me yet. So I want to encourage every woman listening to this podcast who feels like she's in the middle of a storm right now. I want you to know this. You are not alone. You are not forgotten. You are not weak because you're tired. You are not broken beyond repair. You are not disqualified from your purpose. God sees you, He loves you. God still has a plan for your life. Your storm may have shaken you, but it does not have the power to cancel what God has spoken over you. Take the next step. Pray the next prayer. Ask God for help where you need help. Protect your peace. Trust God with the process. Your story isn't over. And so I want to invite you to think about these reflection questions in the listening, the listener's journal. What storm has God carried you through? Where do I need God's strength right now? What part of my story am I healing from? What do I need to release to God? What is the one truth I can hold on to this week? How has God protected me even in the days that I didn't understand at first? What does taking back my peace look like to me? I want you to affirm yourself, ladies. I am not alone. God is carrying me. I'm still here for a reason. My storm did not destroy my purpose. I am allowed to heal. I'm allowed to protect my peace. God is restoring my strength. I'm surviving, healing, and I'm becoming. So, Father God, right now, we just come to you, thanking you for carrying me through the storm. Thank you for being my strength when I wanted to give up. Thank you for covering me, protecting me, reminding me that my story isn't over. And dear God, right now, just ask that you just be with every woman listening right now. If she's tired, strengthen her. If she's afraid, comfort her. If she feels trapped, guide her. If she feels broken, begin to heal the places that no one can see. Remind her that she's loved, chosen, valuable, and worthy of peace. Give her wisdom for the next step and the courage for the journey ahead. Surround her with safe support, godly encouragement, and the resources she needs. Lord, turn pain into purpose, faith into fear, excuse me, fear into faith, and survival into testimony. Let every woman listening know that the storm did not destroy her. You are carrying her through. In Jesus' name, amen. So I just want to thank you for joining me for episode one of surviving the storm, finding yourself in the midst of chaos. Today I shared part of my story, not every detail, but the heart of my testimony. God carried me through when I wanted to give up. I pray this episode reminded you that no matter what storm you are facing, God is with you. He's guiding you one step at a time. Until next time, the storm did not break me. God carried me, strengthened me, and gave me the purpose. On the other side, I want you to reflect on that. Be safe and God bless.

Speaker 2 15:26

But through it all, I still believe. Whoa. Waiting for me. I'm still by the store. I didn't need to get me to get what you do today. We're not doing this. I am free. Oh, what was broken?