When You Exchange Religion for Jesus: An Interview with Miriam da Silva (Season 2, Episode 13)
When You Exchange Religion for Jesus: An Interview with Miriam da Silva (Season 2, Episode 13)
Today I’m chatting with Miriam da Silva—a mother of four, grandmother to one, former journalist who is now a Primary School teacher. Miriam was born in Sri Lanka and grew up very religious in the Catholic church. She described having faith in God, attending daily mass and reading her Bible, but not understanding the good news of the gospel or having a relationship with Jesus Christ. She migrated to Australia in her forties with her husband and four children after civil unrest in Sri Lanka. Not long after migrating, she lost her job as the family breadwinner, had a shoulder injury at work, and experienced financial difficulties, but in the process she met Jesus.
In today’s episode, we explore:
Growing up very religious in the Catholic faith in Sri Lanka, working as a journalist, having faith in God but not understanding the good news of the gospel or having a relationship with Jesus Christ.
Migrating to Australia in her forties with her husband and four children after civil unrest in Sri Lanka. Not long after migrating, she lost her job as the family breadwinner, had a shoulder injury at work, and experienced financial difficulties, but in the process she met Jesus.
Miriam explained how she came to have a relationship with Jesus, how God provided for her and showed her she is not alone, and the peace this bought to her life.
Miriam has a “job that no one gave me,”—a ministry of phone calls to people who are isolated or going through a hard time. I am obsessed with the intentionality of this ministry and encourage you to consider who you might be able to call in your own life
You can listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube, or anywhere you get podcasts.
The transcript is at the bottom of this page if you prefer to read👍🏻
Mentioned in today’s show:
Mrs. Young, who had been a missionary in Wyndham for 30 years, talked about “doing her visits” around the retirement village in her interview
Mariam’s daughter, Mariah Hlatywayo’s interview, where she nominated her mother as the woman who encourages her with her prayerfulness.
The young lions suffer want and hunger; but those who seek the Lord lack no good thing (Psalm 34:10)
The story Miriam refers to where Jesus told Peter to go and look in the fish’s mouth for a coin is recounted in Matthew 17:24-27.
Psalm 1
Transcript
00:01.74
Rebecca
Hi, I'm Bec and today I'm here with Miriam De Silva. So Miriam is a mother of four. She's originally a journalist in Sri Lanka and now she works in a Christian school. She's a mother of one of our regular writers, Mariah Hlatywayo.
00:14.02
Rebecca
Welcome to the podcast, Miriam.
00:16.60
Mariah
Thank you, and thank you for having me.
00:19.69
Rebecca
So glad to have you here. So could you tell our listeners, what does a typical week look like for you? What kind of things make up your week?
00:28.04
Mariah
I'm a relief teacher, so I generally work twice a week. I work at, I'm a primary teacher,
00:41.69
Mariah
I'm a primary school teacher and I teach at, yes, two Christian schools in the area.
00:43.68
Rebecca
Oh. oh
00:49.62
Mariah
And I also, like, I'm also a mother, housewife. And so I do a lot of cooking, cleaning, that kind of stuff, gardening. ah But at the same time, one of the main things I do is I...
01:05.08
Mariah
uh, call a lot of people. I mean, not just, chat on the phone kind of thing, but purposefully call them, , some of them to check on them because they are people who live alone. some of them, people who go through stuff in their lives. I mean, nobody's given me this job as such, but it's just kind of, something which God put in my heart to do. So I've been doing it now for many years.
01:32.98
Mariah
And, I just continue to do that. So that is also a part of my weekend. And on Sundays, I'm very close to my siblings. And so every Sunday, I call my, I mean, we have my siblings and I are on a joint call. So we have a lot of fun conversations,
01:55.11
Rebecca
Oh, yeah.
01:57.30
Mariah
catching up. And yes, at the same time, also am on a like quite friendly with some of my cousins.
02:08.21
Mariah
So we are on a cousin's like WhatsApp chat. So it's mainly yeah um text messages, but we keep texting each other ah for various things.
02:14.76
Rebecca
Oh.
02:22.72
Mariah
Sometimes it could be just a recipe. Sometimes it could be just to encourage somebody who's gone into hospital because we've reached that age. Yeah. And stuff like that, all with their kids and grandkids and stuff like that, yeah.
02:38.21
Rebecca
it's like a ministry of phone calls. Like it reminds me, yeah, like I spoke to a lady who's in her 90s and she had been a missionary and she was like, you know, no one gave me this job.
02:41.30
Mariah
Yes, lots of phone calls. Oh,
02:51.17
Rebecca
She's now in like ah but one of those villages and she's like, you know, on these days I go do my visits and she's visiting like, you know, younger people in the retirement village.
03:01.04
Mariah
Yes.
03:01.38
Rebecca
But like it kind of reminds me of that. You're like, no one gave me this job. But like what, yeah, like there's quite a lot of intentionality about it. Like what kind of things you hoping to achieve and how does someone get on your list?
03:17.77
Mariah
Sometimes people put them on to me, like I'm in Somebody was going through some marital problems. So ah somebody called me and told me, I mean, I knew the lady. So why don't you have a chat with her?
03:33.24
Mariah
And the chat became weekly call and it went on for years. But then after that, the lady was fine and she moved on. And sometimes it could be um somebody known to me, a casino, somebody who's going through marital problems or problems with kids or sometimes with parents and stuff like that.
03:48.46
Rebecca
you
03:56.40
Mariah
And then they might call me or I might get to know that they are going through something. And then I might give them a casual call and then that call might I just pray about it a lot before I call because I don't know where it will go to.
04:14.29
Mariah
And sometimes so people don't want to talk about it.
04:19.17
Rebecca
Hmm.
04:19.25
Mariah
And don't prod and like poke and like kind of pull information out. I just allow it to go, flow and allow people to be natural and just... If they feel like opening up, it happens.
04:40.95
Mariah
But sometimes it could be the second or third conversation. It just happens. Sometimes I might meet somebody in a bus or at a church or something, and it happens. I don't know how, it but it happens, yes, in various ways, yes.
05:02.23
Rebecca
I love that. I love that there's just, it sounds like, you know, it's a structured part of your week, but almost like there's such a level of, you're kind of like, well, I'll just do this as long as the Lord's calling me to it. Like I pray through it. We'll talk through it. You know, maybe it's years, maybe it's a couple of like phone calls, but yeah, there's like quite a level of flexibility to it as well.
05:28.32
Mariah
Yes, sometimes I must also say like, you know, there was one a gentleman whom I used to talk to for about three years, three or four years, and it was a one-way conversation because he couldn't talk.
05:46.97
Mariah
He met with an accident.
05:47.52
Rebecca
Oh, yeah.
05:47.85
Mariah
He was a friend of mine. And um ah when I heard about him and the wife told me that she can see him reacting
05:49.93
Rebecca
Oh, yeah.
05:57.11
Mariah
because sometimes a tear would go down his cheek. Sometimes he would um blink rapidly and things like that.
06:01.01
Rebecca
oh
06:05.44
Mariah
But I just felt that I was making some headway in ah helping him to, like, I mean, I would read scripture. I would pray with him. I would talk to him about just general things which are happening in my life. And,
06:25.16
Mariah
you know, tell him, okay, I heard from your wife that this is happening. I heard from your daughter that this is happening and that's really good. And I love it that you're, I know that you're growing in faith and that kind of thing.
06:38.80
Mariah
So it was just a one big conversation.
06:44.73
Rebecca
I love that.
06:44.92
Mariah
Yeah.
06:45.83
Rebecca
Like, you know, in some ways you're like it's almost such an awkward thing to do, but I can imagine for someone who can't talk, like a lot of people wouldn't wade through that because they'd be like it's too awkward to do it.
06:52.60
Mariah
Yes. Yes.
06:59.77
Rebecca
But you're like this man does want to talk to people and he does want to connect, so I'm going to give you that.
07:02.10
Mariah
Yes.
07:04.68
Mariah
Yes.
07:07.98
Rebecca
love that. That's really cool. Like that's just an awesome ministry. I love that. Like no one's given me this job. I will do it.
07:16.19
Rebecca
Which I think kind of leads nicely into like, what are you doing when you feel like the most like yourself? Like, this is what I was made to do. Like, you know, what makes you feel the most alive?
07:30.06
Mariah
The most alive I feel is when I talk to people. I'm a person who loves people and I love their stories as well. Like, I mean, whether they're happy or sad, like their stories.
07:40.31
Rebecca
Yes.
07:45.91
Mariah
their lives and like if I can ah even if they're sad stories if I can be a part of that story that like I mean not me so much as like I mean lead them to Christ and tell them that this is the only way for you to be happy that would be my day or my week or my month and month of Sundays whatever you call it yeah
07:48.29
Rebecca
yes
08:16.02
Rebecca
Yeah, I would be with you on that one. I think that's kind of the consistent pattern. I'm like i yeah, working as a therapist, you're like, I love people's stories and I love this.
08:26.40
Rebecca
You're like, oh, yes, this is like there's a story, but there's like the greater story. It was like Christ. It's just everything is story.
08:32.97
Mariah
Yes.
08:34.11
Rebecca
It's fun.
08:34.62
Mariah
Yes. I mean, from the time I used to be a journalist, I mean, again, you know that.
08:35.82
Rebecca
Yeah.
08:41.11
Mariah
You meet all kinds of people. meet, I met, I remember meeting a family.
08:44.08
Rebecca
Yeah.
08:47.10
Mariah
They were all deaf and mute. I'm not sure whether I'm using the right, oh yeah, words, but yeah, the whole family.
08:52.56
Rebecca
Whoa. Many of them.
08:57.83
Rebecca
Wow.
08:57.88
Mariah
And there was only one child and who could speak. So he ah he was the go-between.
09:08.51
Mariah
He was the one who interpreted the whole conversation. And, yep, it was a really interesting story.
09:12.68
Rebecca
Whoa. Whoa.
09:18.59
Mariah
Yeah.
09:22.42
Rebecca
Yes, how do we communicate? You're like, I'm keen.
09:26.03
Mariah
Yes.
09:30.31
Mariah
So God finds different ways in communicating, you know, of communicating, yeah.
09:30.78
Rebecca
Oh, that's so great.
09:34.08
Rebecca
Yeah. Yeah. Like, it's a kind of continuing that thread of, like, stories. Like, how did you become a Christian? Yeah.
09:44.02
Mariah
Oh, I used to be um going to ah kind of ritualistic church. I'm not going to put, you know, throw them under the bus or anything because it is all part of my faith journey.
09:58.73
Rebecca
really
10:04.07
Mariah
And ah for years and years and years, i would go every day to Mass and, you
10:12.81
Rebecca
Wow.
10:13.75
Mariah
I would read the Bible, I would pray, but it was very ritualistic. And I would do a lot of good works and stuff like that, but I never really had a relationship with God.
10:30.90
Mariah
I didn't really understand the gospel, the good news. like that Jesus Christ died and rose again for our sins and, you know, to open heaven's gates.
10:41.48
Mariah
I never understood any of this stuff. Although I, you know, parroted all of this stuff and I would listen to the... gospel read out and all that I would read it myself I never understood it and then I got married to a man who was he was Pentecostal, I'm not sure. Yeah, maybe, yes. More like that, you know.
11:14.03
Mariah
And he was a person who had been to Bible school. And so ah he came along with me, but because I...
11:25.86
Mariah
insisted on it and I felt that was the way to go. But as life, as we went on with life and the kids came and they came along with me, you know, the same kind of ritualistic, um, like faith and, uh,
11:45.01
Mariah
Like there was faith also, like, you know, because I've been through, like, oh what can I say? I have been through lots of conflict and stuff like that in my life, yeah civil unrest in my country and stuff like that.
12:01.14
Mariah
and so there is faith, but a really no relationship with God. And then when I came to, maybe it would have been about 14, 15 years ago, I was, I had lost my job.
12:21.82
Mariah
I had joined them Autism Association and then, you know, had a shoulder injury and I was at home.
12:31.97
Rebecca
Oh wow. Ooh.
12:33.16
Mariah
I couldn't ah move my shoulder. And ah my husband, he, And said, okay, we need to do something about our lives.
12:44.91
Mariah
And okay, we if we are having these 40 days of Lent and um kind of doing stuff, you know that was the way it was in that church. And he said, okay, okay.
12:56.40
Mariah
We're not going to be watching TV. We're not going to be doing anything except maybe you can watch God TV or that kind of thing which was on. At that time, there was a channel like that on ah TV.
13:11.63
Mariah
And also, you could read the Bible.
13:12.04
Rebecca
Hmm.
13:16.67
Mariah
And he told us what it was to do a word fast. okay And that means not to read any ah newspapers, books, unless, of course, you were going to school or university, but only the Bible and Bible-based stuff like listening to worship, that stuff.
13:38.47
Mariah
So we did it. ah all six of us, we did it. It was tough, but we did it.
13:46.36
Rebecca
yeah
13:46.70
Mariah
And at that time, i had nothing else to do. I couldn't cook.
13:50.07
Rebecca
yeah
13:50.22
Mariah
I couldn't sweep. I couldn't vacuum. I couldn't do anything. I just had to be on this couch. So I watched God TV and I read the Bible all day long and something happened.
14:03.93
Mariah
While I was watching TV, God TV at that time, this pastor came online and he explained what the gospel was. And I thought I knew know that and I knew that, but I still didn't really understand that.
14:22.04
Mariah
The way you put it across was so good. And then he said, let's pray. And he prayed and I prayed along with him. And then some, I just felt totally different.
14:37.95
Mariah
I just felt like somebody, that's okay. Somebody had, was just holding me. Even physically, I just felt that somebody was holding me.
14:49.69
Mariah
And I just felt such a sense of peace. I can't explain it. And then After that, when I started reading the Bible, it was different.
15:05.88
Mariah
I understood later that it was the Holy Spirit in my life who was not present nor acknowledged before.
15:11.08
Rebecca
yes
15:16.07
Mariah
But here he was, teaching me everything. I had no sense of time at that time because I was not going to work. I was not cooking or doing any of the usual chores and stuff which I did.
15:30.90
Mariah
So I would sit up through the night reading by reading my Bible. And that's all I wanted to do. Suddenly, I just wanted to find out more and more about this God who had saved me.
15:46.68
Mariah
And I just went on and on and on that way. And then even when I slept, I would wake up with a Bible verse sometimes.
15:59.60
Mariah
And I would go back, find it and research it. And that time, the internet was not so like ah not so good, not like now. So ah I didn't know how to look for verses at that time on the net and I just had to physically like turn the pages.
16:20.33
Rebecca
Yes.
16:23.13
Rebecca
Wow, that's amazing. And like, it's so fascinating to me, like actually what you hear a lot of people that I've been interviewing say the similar thing they're like you know I knew you know sometimes they come from religious backgrounds are like I knew it but then you know when I really was like oh I put I know there's a sense of peace that comes like you say the holy spirit like ah
16:48.79
Mariah
Yes.
16:50.28
Rebecca
and then I had this sense of peace and then I was so excited about the word and I was so interested in it and I love to hear that in your story that actually yeah you're like you know you've always been busy with really good things but actually stopping and just like that's where the joy came... Who is someone who's encouraged or inspired you in your Christian walk and why
17:09.26
Mariah
yes
17:17.64
Mariah
ah I've had lots of... fun I've had some pastors. I've had... But mostly my husband.
17:28.70
Mariah
And also... Many people in my life who I've watched and seen truly live the Christian life, live Christ-like lives. like you know There was this lady whom I was really close to. and I went out to help her actually because she was she had cancer. She passed away and went to hospital.
17:56.03
Mariah
ah be with Christ.
17:57.52
Rebecca
I'm sorry.
17:58.09
Mariah
But while she lived the courage, the courage, the strength, the faith to carry on and not give up on her faith, that was amazing.
18:10.01
Rebecca
Wow.
18:11.49
Mariah
The struggles she went through in having to in knowing that she had to leave her loved ones and a little daughter. And yes, it was really sad, but the courage.
18:27.15
Mariah
that helped her to go forward, the faith. It was amazing. It was so inspiring. I've watched others also like, you know, who have lost... lost loved ones or lost babies, I mean, in the womb.
18:43.89
Mariah
And, you know, sometimes gone into depression and how God has been so good to them and how their faith has kept them going, how they've come out of it and help others.
19:02.63
Mariah
Now, that's been so inspiring. There have been others who have kind of, I've seen, like, I mean, like the wife of the man whom I used to speak to on the phone who couldn't speak, was kind of paralyzed, just like the paralytic, paralyzed um chest downwards or neck downwards.
19:17.31
Rebecca
E.
19:24.31
Mariah
ah Kind of, he couldn't move much, yeah.
19:25.68
Rebecca
E.
19:26.04
Mariah
Yeah. So to watch these wives, another wife as well, ah whose husband had a kind of neuro, some kind of sickness and how the wives have looked after them so lovingly.
19:45.39
Mariah
You know, there would have been, they would have got frustrated. They would have got, I mean, you can walk away from a situation like that, which I've seen also.
19:54.100
Rebecca
a
19:55.05
Mariah
But the faith, ah it's faith alone that has kept them going. And those people have been really inspiring for me.
20:03.58
Rebecca
I think there's something in there, isn't it? Yeah.
20:05.56
Mariah
Yeah.
20:05.57
Rebecca
It's watching other people, who just seeing what they're carrying and saying, that's so hard and I don't know how you're doing it, but actually,
20:07.55
Mariah
Watching.
20:13.34
Mariah
Yes.
20:15.05
Rebecca
yeah And you're doing it like joyfully or like trusting.
20:17.70
Mariah
Yes. Yes.
20:18.46
Rebecca
Yeah.
20:19.65
Mariah
That's right, joyfully. And there might be times when they're low, but they go to their go-to place is always Christ and His words. So that's what helps them.
20:34.32
Mariah
And that that's what helps me too now, you know.
20:34.86
Rebecca
Yes.
20:37.50
Rebecca
Yeah, yeah. It's not only knowing, it's that, I suppose, that shift from where you were where you like, I knew things about God, but actually seeing people like live that out in the embedded parts of their days, yeah, you're like there's something really rich about that.
20:48.40
Mariah
Yes.
20:51.05
Mariah
Yes. Yes.
20:54.64
Rebecca
Yeah. Could you tell us about like a hard season that you've walked through? and kind of how you experienced God's faithfulness to you in that season.
21:05.74
Mariah
Yes. I've been through many hard seasons, like, i mean, civil unrest and in my country and, like, losing people, like, loved ones and losing babies.
21:23.07
Mariah
And, lots of stuff like that. But what I would like to speak about is a season when I lost my job.
21:31.56
Rebecca
You
21:37.45
Mariah
I was the breadwinner in the family because we had migrated recently and My husband couldn't find steady work and he was he's a musician, so it was difficult for him.
21:52.87
Mariah
And so at that time, you know, because it was all new. ah So at this point, I lost my job and there was no income.
22:07.61
Mariah
And we didn't know whom to turn to.
22:07.60
Rebecca
Hmm.
22:10.01
Mariah
We were not with... the church where we had that kind of support system like that. and so we didn't so open up. I don't know. We didn't feel like opening up with, you know, people, family and stuff like that. And it was a really tough season.
22:31.08
Mariah
But it was a time when God really... was there all along. There was a day I'll never forget when I went into Woolies and I loaded up my shopping trolley and I came to the end came to the counter and you know everything was there.
22:52.22
Rebecca
Hmm.
22:53.29
Mariah
The bill was ready and then I put my card there and there was not enough money. And not only was like I was, I felt a sense of shame and I felt so like I had no money and I felt at a loss. I didn't know what to do.
23:15.23
Mariah
And so I just apologized. I said, I'll come back. I'll get it get my husband's card and come back. And then I went outside into the car pack and I just stopped and cried.
23:29.20
Mariah
And I just, as I was crying, I asked God, why, why, why did you, why are you allowing me to go through this?
23:30.16
Rebecca
hmm
23:38.12
Mariah
What have I done wrong?
23:38.91
Rebecca
a
23:39.75
Mariah
Because at that time I was still searching, but it is during this time that I found Christ. And distinctly heard a voice say to me, this verse from the Bible, I think it was from Psalm 34:10, you will lack for nothing good.
24:03.91
Mariah
Now, I had never heard something like that before because it was new now. Reading the Bible was new at that time. So I went back home and i went to where I find comfort.
24:17.53
Mariah
I just opened my Bible and I had not been reading the Psalms that morning, but it fell open there to Psalm 34.
24:24.58
Rebecca
so
24:25.67
Mariah
thirty-four And the first verse that I saw is verse 10. And it said yeah something about the young lions and stuff, the verse before. But this verse was, you will lack for nothing good.
24:38.04
Mariah
And I thought, this is God telling me. not to worry about anything. And just the worry just went away. And God provided people would like anonymously people would come in.
24:52.40
Mariah
There would be, we would open the door and find that somebody had dropped off a rise and provisions at the door. Somebody would come and say, look, I bought this.
25:01.79
Rebecca
What?
25:03.17
Mariah
Yes, literally. but People would come and say, look, I bought this stuff and i I mean, I'm going on a trip and I don't know what to do.
25:05.95
Rebecca
Wow.
25:11.95
Mariah
Can you take this? It's in my fridge. Or I emptied my fridge because I just have to throw it in the bin otherwise or stuff like that. And then ah I would find money in my postbox. Maybe somebody would.
25:26.54
Mariah
in an envelope, like, you know, somebody might have ah known about us and dropped it off.
25:30.71
Rebecca
Oh my goodness.
25:33.20
Mariah
ah We would have, like, suddenly we'll find somebody whom we had given a, lent some money to, returning our money.
25:45.47
Rebecca
Wow. Yes.
25:46.12
Mariah
And that happy, really happy days, you know.
25:55.65
Rebecca
so
25:56.36
Mariah
It was, yeah, what God would provide in different ways. You know, it's just like the, ah like yeah Jesus Christ told Peter to go look in the fish's mouth, know, for the coin.
26:11.01
Mariah
It was just like that, you know, in different ways, different forms, different, like you wouldn't expect it. you know And sometimes at that point, maybe the government was giving out some kind of subsidy or something, you know and things would happen.
26:27.10
Rebecca
yeah
26:27.93
Mariah
you know And then, of course, with schooling, it was tough. But even there, ah like the school was so good, they allowed us to go into a kind of...
26:39.45
Mariah
a way of paying up in a different way so that it was easy for us. and So God provided. So I found that you know like i might not i might not ah like I might have lost a job or my source of income, but I found my provider.
26:58.54
Rebecca
yeah e
27:02.26
Mariah
And he wasn't just providing in like, you know, materially, but in every way.
27:03.02
Rebecca
Yes.
27:09.94
Mariah
Like, you know, it led on to my accepting Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior also. Like that was the time it was all rolled into one.
27:17.35
Rebecca
So that's amazing. So that the same time that you, you'd lost your job, you said you also had this shoulder injury. So,
27:25.26
Mariah
Yeah, from that, I went on to a work part-time at Autism Association. And then there I had a shoulder injury, so I had to leave. leave Of course, I had compensation for a short while. And miraculously, my shoulder came back to normal at a prayer meeting.
27:47.02
Mariah
But... Yes. And that also after going to doctors, going for physiotherapy, having injections, needles, but nothing worked.
27:59.46
Mariah
And then just suddenly overnight after this passed a parade for me and said, you know, said something from the pulpit about somebody having a shoulder injury and being healed. And I came home and my shoulder was fine.
28:12.55
Mariah
Yeah.
28:15.91
Mariah
So that was it, yeah. Yeah, I mean, I don't, yeah, things happen here.
28:19.08
Rebecca
Wow.
28:22.41
Mariah
God is so good. It's God, not anybody else. Like, he's not a human being. he uses human beings as vehicles or vessels here.
28:32.50
Rebecca
Yeah. Yeah. So I just love that. I mean, my goodness, there's like just that shift in it sounded like you'd spent your life working so hard to be good, to good,
28:46.24
Mariah
Yes.
28:48.06
Rebecca
you know, to survive all of these things, you know, and moving over here and, you know, having children and not having all of that support network. And at that point where God took all of that away and he said, like, I will provide.
28:59.23
Mariah
Yes.
29:02.72
Rebecca
Trust in me.
29:03.08
Mariah
Yes.
29:04.12
Rebecca
Yeah.
29:06.34
Mariah
Exactly, yes.
29:06.45
Rebecca
Wow, that's just beautiful. Yeah.
29:10.13
Mariah
Yes.
29:10.42
Rebecca
My goodness. That
29:12.50
Mariah
Yeah, like sometimes, you know, removing everything with your attachments and showing you that He alone is God.
29:19.74
Rebecca
b
29:23.65
Mariah
He alone is your everything. Yes.
29:27.68
Rebecca
Yeah. Yes, when do you have nothing else, you're like, he provides.
29:31.70
Mariah
Yes.
29:34.15
Rebecca
Wow. What is a word of encouragement you could offer to a woman listening who might be walking through a similar season?
29:42.16
Mariah
Yes, I'd like to. What I really would like to say is that, I mean, God has a good reason to allow you through a tough season.
29:54.84
Mariah
ah Because through that tough season... You draw closer to Him. You learn things. you ah You don't fall to pieces at the drop of her coin kind of you know you um like a faith.
30:14.59
Mariah
you learn to endure in faith not alone.
30:18.67
Rebecca
Hmm.
30:19.73
Mariah
You understand that you're never alone. like It's just like a season of building your foundation on um on the on the Word of God, kind of, you know, like the two builders.
30:33.51
Mariah
in this in the parable. ah So that's your, like he gives us, he allows things to happen in our lives, not because God is evil.
30:48.43
Mariah
God cannot be evil. God is good all the time. And God is love.
30:52.96
Rebecca
Thank you.
30:54.57
Mariah
There's no other name for him. And he does everything in love. He's like a loving father. Like he's not going to just allow us to run on the road as children to get knocked over.
31:08.98
Mariah
But sometimes like my, one of my children, you, you know, sometimes things happen even when they, you, you,
31:20.11
Mariah
hurt yourself or like I mean I remember my son he I told him not to touch the hot iron and the moment I turned he touched it was so painful for him and it was awful but but he learned never to touch the hot iron again
31:37.43
Rebecca
it
31:45.18
Rebecca
My boy did that with the stove.
31:45.74
Mariah
But, i mean, yes, not that God does that kind of thing. He doesn't. But he allows things, allows us to go through seasons of like...
31:58.70
Mariah
tough seasons and like challenging ah things so that we grow. We grow not away from Him, but towards Him.
32:09.86
Mariah
So that again is a choice. But again, when we make the choice to grow towards Him or follow Him,
32:13.41
Rebecca
Yes. Yes.
32:20.68
Mariah
it helps us. like we find that it doesn't matter what happens around us, nothing can shake us because things will happen.
32:33.40
Rebecca
yes it's
32:33.55
Mariah
There's no person who goes through stuff ah who doesn't go through stuff. We all have to go through stuff.
32:38.100
Rebecca
yes
32:40.75
Mariah
Yep.
32:42.03
Rebecca
It's that Psalm 1, isn't it? Like, you um you know, blessed is the man and then, like, there's that picture of that tree planted by water.
32:44.91
Mariah
Yes.
32:47.82
Mariah
Yes.
32:49.83
Rebecca
You're like, your roots are deep and although, like, bad times come, like, your leaf does not wither because, yeah, yes, you can you can endure and you can, yes, because you're, like, it sounded like that sense of you are depending on God and trusting him.
32:49.91
Mariah
Yes, exactly.
32:55.98
Mariah
Yes.
33:09.92
Rebecca
You're like, you're not doing it.
33:10.19
Mariah
Yes.
33:12.18
Rebecca
in your own strength.
33:13.97
Mariah
yes
33:14.68
Rebecca
But he's saying, like, I'm drawing you closer to me so that you will you will hold on and know that that's how you endure.
33:20.50
Mariah
That's right, yes.
33:21.73
Rebecca
Yeah. Oh, that's so beautiful.
33:23.84
Mariah
It's very funny because the world ah teaches us to be independent. As children grow, they're taught to be independent.
33:30.93
Rebecca
Yeah.
33:33.60
Mariah
And that's, I mean, they we don't want them to be attached to us. But we have to teach our children to be dependent on God from and independence from us to a dependence on God.
33:47.50
Mariah
So I always think about that.
33:53.90
Rebecca
Like that's so interesting to me because have really been just wrestling that, wrestling with that for myself, being like actually God is not calling me to be independent all the time, but he's calling me, you know, he's growing me in wisdom.
34:11.74
Rebecca
He's hopefully teaching, you know, he's teaching and growing me, but he's also teaching me to depend on him. So I love that picture of thinking about that for my kids. You're like, okay, there's a point where,
34:20.54
Mariah
Yes.
34:22.90
Rebecca
you know because my children are still quite little you're not going to depend on me as much but you should always depend on God like we will all look at him together -- I'm gesturing to the wall here -- but I'm like we will all look at him together yeah oh that's great. Who would you nominate for this next like who do you is there a woman who encourages you who you think would be really good to hear from
34:25.24
Mariah
Yes.
34:34.22
Mariah
Yes.
34:47.62
Mariah
ah Yes, I have a a lady whom I work with, whom I'm quite friendly with, and um she is Liesl Theeart.
34:59.12
Mariah
And...
34:59.57
Rebecca
Really? So she's at our church.
35:01.37
Mariah
ah Yes, and she's the chaplain of one of the schools I go to, and she really inspires me oh because ah I guess people don't really know what a chaplain does, but um in her job, I find that she is so...
35:21.07
Mariah
strong in her faith, she has to be. And at the same time, obviously, she we can see that she has a good relationship with God because of that, she has a gift of discernment, to be able to discern what to do in every situation.
35:41.55
Mariah
She has to work with families and um and kids alike and have a mix of strength, being firm as well as being compassionate and loving.
35:48.06
Rebecca
Mmm. Mmm. Mmm.
35:55.38
Mariah
And that's a tough thing to do.
35:57.55
Rebecca
i mean
35:57.74
Mariah
I myself, I mean, I consider myself kind of counselor, like, you know, but not really, but, you know, meaning Christ-led, like, you know, when it comes to a point where you lead them to ah the word of God and Christ. But seeing her, how she deals with them in different ways, it's beautiful to watch. So I feel that she'll be really helpful and inspiring to many people. Yeah.
36:29.54
Mariah
yeah
36:29.97
Rebecca
Oh, that's great. Yeah, that's lovely. I will chase her down and like, Liesl, you have been nominated.
36:37.62
Mariah
yeah
36:40.82
Mariah
ah
36:41.85
Rebecca
No, that's i really enjoyed this part of it because it's so lovely people saying like, this is someone that I have watched and I have seen and I really enjoy how they do life.
36:51.08
Mariah
Yes.
36:54.04
Rebecca
So it's really fun to then go to that person and be like,
36:54.75
Mariah
Yes.
36:57.17
Rebecca
how are you doing this? well Like, please tell me.
36:58.59
Mariah
yes
36:59.65
Rebecca
Yeah, it's so great. It's so encouraging. So
37:03.30
Mariah
yes
37:06.10
Rebecca
I think the things that I'm going to walk away with from today is just like that beautiful picture of God taking, you know, allowing those things to be taken away but actually kind of planting you by the river, like giving you, you know, living water saying like, I
37:18.47
Mariah
Yes. yes
37:26.42
Rebecca
I will provide for you. I will give you everything. And it sounds like what he's given you in the process is that, like, peace and joy and dependence and trust in he's going to provide.
37:29.02
Mariah
Yes.
37:35.49
Mariah
Yes.
37:36.70
Rebecca
He's got you.
37:37.22
Mariah
yes
37:38.40
Rebecca
I'm so grateful. Thank you so much. This has been a beautifully encouraging interview.
37:45.05
Mariah
Thank you for having me. yeah It's been a pleasure.
37:48.99
Rebecca
Yeah. Oh, beautiful.
37:52.66
Mariah
ah