I'm Katelyn (aka Kate or Katie) and I love Jesus!
I'm just a Kansas City girl making His mission my own. I live to show the world who Jesus is. I'm a lover of life and of people. I'm a daughter of the risen King.
I not only want to see people come to know Christ but to grow in Christ and to make disciples who make disciples.
{{Twitter and Instagram -- @kate_frye}}
I don't have a degree in writing or in anything for that matter (yet) but what I do have, is a heart that longs to encourage the broken and "hopeless" with God's Word and to ultimately point them to the healer and the very One who loves more than anyone is ever capable of doing.
My aim is to be the same person online as I am offline. Life is far too short to be anything less than the very person whom God created me to be. I aim to be honest about life and the struggles of this life on earth. I am unapologetically me. With that said, here's my story below:
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I grew up in the state of Kansas with my Dad, Mom and my only sibling; my older Sister. Growing up wasn't easy; my Dad wasn't there like he should have been. He was physically there, but showed by his actions that he cared so much more for his materialistic possessions than he did for his two daughters. We'd go to church and to Junior Bible Quiz meets but he wouldn't come to either. He'd just go hide away in his bedroom, be at work or be in the basement all day and didn't pay hardly any attention to his girls.
It was really difficult growing up with a deadbeat Dad and it hasn't gotten much better since we've gotten older. Truth be told, the older we became, the more he'd distance himself from my sister and I. The year before I even hit High School, he left. And the three of us ended up moving out that summer.
Three months into my Freshman year, and while on a youth retreat with my youth group, something finally clicked within me. The God I grew up hearing about had reminded me in that moment of His great love for me and of the price He paid for my sin so He could redeem me back to Himself.
***Fast forward to the end of Freshman year***
A few weeks before Freshman year was to be over, my parents divorced after being separated for months. It was hard on me; I missed my Dad. I had struggled for so long with so many unanswered/unspoken questions. My heart was just broken and I wasn't sure how to, or even if I could, talk about it with my Mom or a youth leader. I wasn't so sure about God either; I wondered if He would abandon me too just like my earthly father has done.
Going through the divorce was tough but couldn't compare to the pain I felt less than a year later during my Sophomore year. I had found out through a text message sent to my Mom's phone that my Dad would soon be getting married. When I was around age 7 or so, I had come to the conclusion that my worst fear was the very thing I had just read in a text; Dad remarrying and not telling me. My heart was so broken; nearly shattered.
Although the healing has been a process, I did have someone to talk with whom I'm convinced, in a way, saved my life. His name is Jon and he did the best he could to point me to Jesus. Then there's Tessa, who just flat out told me (in a loving way of course) to get help. So I boldly did and I'm still here!
The healing/forgiving process has been far from easy. But it has been completely worth every bit of time on earth. (BTW, I wrote a post on forgiveness back in 2011. So just click here to read it)
I've never been so thankful for those moments of heartache and the encouragement I received to allow those seasons in my life to draw me nearer to God instead of farther away from Him. He blesses and loves me; not because of who I am or anything that I've ever done but simply because of who He is and what He has done. I know that I will have seasons where I feel alone and like the world has turned its back on me. BUT I know that my God will never leave me nor forsake me. Even if people walk out or are taken away because of death, I am never alone during those painful times.
It has been in those situations where I am drawn nearer to my Heavenly Father than in any other season I've gone through in life.
One of the hardest things I've had to go through was the two year battle with stage four brain cancer that my Grandpa was diagnosed with. That was in 2011; He passed away on August 25th of 2013. He was the one who stepped in for my sister and I because my Dad wasn't going to. He was my earthly father figure. I have questions that mostly begin with why. They have not been answered and probably won't be.
In the months since he has passed, I have found myself dealing with an overwhelming feeling of being lost and empty. I've had to remind myself that I am neither lost nor empty. I know that I will see him in perfect health for all eternity but in the mean time, it's hard not to miss him. He was special. BUT I know that while it doesn't make absolutely any sense to me, I know that my God is good. He didn't heal him of cancer on earth, but He healed him in His perfect presence and I'm okay with that and I rejoice in that truth.
It's been hard but I've found that through and in Him alone, I am not lost nor am I empty and I will always have exactly what I need (not what I want) and the supply is eternal. He's just so perfect; so loving; so holy; so just; so complete in His very nature. He doesn't need me to complete Him; I need Him to complete and restore me. He created us (both you and I) to be in a relationship with Himself; the creator of the universe.
He's just so rad to know.
(IF you are struggling with whatever in life and it's hurting you, please reach out for help. If you know someone hurting, be that friend who is there and who gives encouragement. You are loved and you matter!! Also, don't be afraid to reach out to me. I'll do whatever I can to help. I can't always be available, but I will do whatever I can to be a friend who loves at all times. YOU MATTER!!)
I look forward to reading your story.
ReplyDeleteThanks! I just put it up on here :)
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