Show Notes
I’ve processed and shared countless insights from my second-chance life, but no idea has resonated more deeply and widely with you all than the idea of “invisible wheelchairs.” You know what I’m talking about—those unseen parts of our stories that feel like they’re holding us back from the most abundant versions of our lives. Maybe your invisible wheelchair is shame, doubt, worry, loneliness, or insecurity. As a physically disabled person, I’m dealing with “invisible wheelchairs” that have absolutely nothing to do with my stroke. There’s plenty of dysfunction to go around (HA!) and I’m letting you into what feels most disabling to me these days. On this episode, my teammate Caroline and I are working through the invisible wheelchairs in our own lives and the opportunities they offer us, if we have eyes to see them. Tune into this episode to hear how you can… Identify your invisible wheelchairs Find creativity within your unique constraints De-personalize and get curious about your invisible wheelchairs Show up as the person you are today, not the one you thought you’d be If you’ve needed language for the inside stuff that’s holding you back, this episode is for you!
Show Notes: Suffer Strong: How to Survive Anything by Redefining Everything by Katherine and Jay Wolf - https://a.co/d/beOpiYd Open Spaces Podcast with Jeff and Jourdan Johnson - https://www.theopenspacescollective.com/podcast Mend Coffee and Goods - https://www.mendcoffee.org/ Hope Heals Camp - https://hopeheals.com/camp The Story Work Conference - https://theallendercenter.org/event/storyworkconference/ Make Sense of Your Story: Why Engaging Your Past with Kindness Changes Everything by Adam Young - https://theallendercenter.org/event/storyworkconference/ Scriptures referenced in this episode: Romans 12:!2 *** There's so much more to the story. For more messages of hope, free resources, and opportunities to connect with me, visit https://hopeheals.com/katherine. Follow me on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hopeheals/ Subscribe to The GoodHard Story Podcast! Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/good-hard-story-podcast/id1496882479 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0OYz6G9Q2tNNVOX9YSdmFb?si=043bd6b10a664beb Want a little hope in your inbox? Sign up for the Hope Note, our twice-a-month digest of only the good stuff, like reflections from Katherine and a curated digest of the Internet’s most redemptive content: https://hopeheals.com/hopenote Get to know us: Hope Heals: https://hopeheals.com/ Hope Heals Camp: https://hopeheals.com/camp Mend Coffee: https://www.mendcoffee.org/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hopeheals/
More from The GoodHard Story Podcast
What if the only way to bear our grief is to share it? My friend Mayer Buisson is living with the “invisible wheelchair” of Huntington’s Disease. The shame she felt around her diagnosis caused her to keep it a secret. Eventually, carrying it alone became unbearable. Today, Mayer lives with a radical acceptance of her story, and she’s inviting us into the “collateral gifts” of her grief. In this special conversation, you’ll get to sit down in a version of one of my beloved S.O.S. group gatherings to witness that it’s possible to move from shame to surrender, just like Mayer.
What do we do with the stuff that’s not good and hard, but just hard? Toni Collier is no stranger to pain. She’s navigated a childhood of tragedy and two marriages marked by abuse and infidelity. According to her, the pain hasn’t been worth it…but it hasn’t been wasted either. In our conversation, Toni shared how she’s surviving those seasons of “ashes from ashes,” and why she’s not trying to do it alone. Show Notes Mentioned in this conversation: Broken Crayons Still Color by Toni Collier
How are we expected to live well on this side of the sky? Sometimes we need wisdom for the deep, hard, dark suffering. But most of the time, we just need encouragement for the normal lives we’re living on this side of heaven. Laura Wifler is a mother and poet who finds endless inspiration in the mundanity and mess of her everyday life. In our conversation, Laura shares what’s changed in her theology of the body, why she’s relying on the grace of the present, and how a crisis of faith invited her to doubt “toward God.”
What is the first step of moving forward from the worst thing that’s ever happened to you? Join me today for a solo episode as I process some recent thoughts I’ve been having about how healing actually begins with heartbreak. I share some of the painful (and downright bizarre!) early memories of “waking up” from my stroke and being in total denial about my situation. That season taught me just how critical it is to confront the reality of our stories if we ever hope to move forward. In this episode, we’ll process through some insights about how Jesus named his pain, what true lament looks like, and a simple exercise you can borrow to confront reality for yourself.
Episode 126 - Martin Deacon on the “Weird and Wonderful” Gift of Disability What if our disabilities might give us as much—or more—as they take from us? Disability gives us the gift of dependence. That’s the mantra of Martin Deacon, the CEO of Teach Every Nation, who began to lose his vision when he was just twelve years old. In our conversation, Martin shows how his disability transformed an ordinary life into an extraordinary one. Mentioned in this episode: Hippo Lakes - https://visit.hippolakes.com/hopeheals