Women Who Turned Their Mess Into Their Message: Part One: Linda Kuhar

I’m taking this week to prepare for our son’s high school graduation open house {and nurse my horrid chest cold–prayers welcomed!} And so, I am having some guests on this week; women with amazing stories of how, with God’s power, they overcame an obstacle, adversity or tragedy they never asked for in their life.

For one, it was medical and life-threatening. For the second, it was when her marriage was rocked. Not just by the fact that her husband had been unfaithful to her but also by the discovery that the woman was pregnant with his child. The third guest has a very rare disease that caused her to lose her leg. However, when she lost a limb, she gained a ministry.

Each of these women turned their mess into their message. {I wish I could take credit for that clever saying, but I actually heard it somewhere a few years back. Can’t remember where but I’ve never forgotten it!}

Today, let’s start off the week with our first guest, a woman named Linda.

I met Linda at our Proverbs 31 She Speaks Intensive writers and speakers conference in January when when was in my writer’s small group. As the women in our fabulous group took turns sharing what they wanted to write about, my heart skipped a beat when Linda shared.

She didn’t feel called to share about a certain topic or passion. She felt called to share her story; a story that includes her having advanced cancer, being in a coma and nearly dying only to now be a normal wife and mom with NO lasting effects. She just radiates Jesus and knows God has a reason for her still being here.

She is now a life coach {and giving away two coaching sessions so be sure to read until the end!} and you can meet her here. {I am off to sort through pictures of my boy for the open house. Translation: I’ll be bawling for the next two hours.}

Linda Kuhar is a Christian Life Coach working with women around the globe.  She received her certification from Christian Coach Institute in 2010, as well as certification as a Certified Human Behavior Consultant in 2011.  In 2012 Linda became a Board Certified Coach with The Center for Credentialing & Education.  She’s honored to serve on the Executive Team at Proverbs 31 Ministries Online Bible Studies.  Linda speaks at organizations such as The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, Christian radio station New Life 91.9, churches and women’s ministries throughout the Carolinas.

Linda has been married to her high school sweetheart Todd for almost 19 years.  They have an amazing 12-year-old daughter Megan who has a passion and love for art.  You can find Linda’s popular weekly devotional at www.lindakuhar.com.

Here’s Linda:

May 11, 2009 is a day I will never forget.  I had a nagging cough that I had been battling for a few weeks, so I headed to my doctor’s office for a routine sick visit.  The doctor decided to send me for a chest x-ray to see if I had pneumonia.

As I proceeded to the radiologist, I started feeling a little unsettled.  The x-ray technician asked me if I had been experiencing back pain long and immediately my heart sank.   I knew she saw something that was not quite right.

My heart started to race as I waited patiently for the radiologist.  The second I saw his face I started to cry.  “Mrs. Kuhar, you have a 10cm mass behind your heart and we need to do a CAT scan immediately.”

Within days I was diagnosis with Stage 3 cancer.  My life changed permanently within a blink of an eye, and honestly at that point I did not think life could get any worse.  Little did I know that, within months, I would be in a coma on life support given less than a 5 percent chance of ever waking up.

I was in a coma for almost four weeks.  When the doctor’s told the family to start preparing for my funeral, friends and family gathered in a prayer vigil.  It was that very night that changed the outcome of my life.  They prayed for divine intervention and our awesome God provided us with an absolute MIRACLE!

I WOKE UP! Upon regaining consciousness, however, I was told I would never breathe or walk again on my own. Time for another miracle.

A year later, only by the power of God, I wasn’t lying in a hospital bed unable to breathe or walk without help. I was able to do both!

But it doesn’t stop there. Not only could I walk….I COULD RUN!

God proved the medical field wrong once again and I ran my very first half marathon with Team In Training for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.  God graciously took those months of chemotherapy and intensive care in the hospital and turned them into 13.1 miles of strengthened vitality.

Today, my life’s purpose is to love and encourage women to be all God created them for through Christian Life Coaching.  You can watch my miracle video here.  I pray my story inspires each of you to never give up and trust that God always has the last word.

GIVEAWAY: Linda is giving two of you who leave comments a one-hour life coaching session. Just tell us this: in what area of life do you currently feel stuck? In procrastination, managing your home or time, negative self-talk or a relationship struggle? Coach Linda’s one hour call can help you begin to ge un-stauck! {winners announced Monday}

 

101 Comments

  1. I’m struggling in so many areas of my life. I’m unhappy in my current job. My marriage is really struggling over multiple issues. Like many of the comments posted, I feel ready just to give up. I’ve prayed for things that I thought God had laid on my heart to pursue and my spouse is not at all interested in the same dreams nor does he envision the same things for our future. Once upon a time I thought we had the same goals and dreams. But I realize it’s not that way anymore.

  2. Right now I feel stuck in not knowing how to live out who God has made me to be in this stage of life – as a wife and mom of a 4 and 2 yr old, and a 4 month old! Before becoming a mom, my husband and I worked together in ministry. I loved working in partnership with my husband, mentoring college girls, and opening our home in so many ways! When we started a family, we moved to a different province and community, and I have stayed home with the kids as my husband works. It is so easy to fall in the rut of just being my kids’ mom and homemaker, checking things off the to-do list and surviving the day, and leaving the leftovers of me for my husband and God! I want to do my best, to rework my priorities and give God the best of me, and be in love with my husband and enjoy our friendship!

  3. Divorced since 1984 – I’m stuck in a maze of what do I do, where should I go, who can I talk to. No best friends or companion. I have a lot of “friends” and three married children giving me 6 granddaughters between them. I so love them but where do I fit in – what is God’s will for my life.

  4. That’s exactly how I feel … stuck! :) Our marriage isn’t all I would like, feeling like I want to know what I do matters as two of our chicks have semi-flown the nest (college) and two are still home. Negative self -talk from years of bullying,etc …. just plain worn out some days! Blessings to whomever wins

  5. I don’t know what to say but “Wow!” Just another reminder of what God is capable of. And that kind of leads the area I feel stuck in – Faith in God. I have absolute complete faith that God CAN do all things, but I waver with WILL He do any of those things for me. I pray knowing he can answer the prayers and hoping He will, not believing that He will actually do it. And I just know that if I could ever get to the point of believing that He will do it for me, my life will be drastically changed. It’s not about what I can get, but what I can give.

    1. Jessica, I can completely relate to what you are saying here! Honestly, I’ve struggled for almost the last four years “believing” God performed a miracle in my life! You want to know why I struggled with that? It was because I did not believe I was worthy of such a gift! Long story short, I realized I had been believing the lies of the enemy (shame) instead of receiving God’s truth. I would like to challenge you to spend some time in your journal on the topic of worthiness and see what God reveals to you. Thank you for being so honest and sharing with us!

  6. Wow! what a testimony. I am tired of feeling like i am just surviving…going thru the motions..present in body but lifeless in spirit .

  7. Very inspired by you! I am stuck in relationship issues/ divorce. Finding strength through God to face each day for myself and our three young girls.

  8. I am stuck in two areas: how I deal with my children and my finances. I seem to always be losing my temper with my babies, and I don’t like that. They deserve a lot better and a lot more patience. I am also stuck with my finances. We are drowning in debt and I don’t see any way of getting out.

  9. Thank you for sharing what God has done. I am so thankful to serve a God who is alive and powerful and is still doing miracles today! Thank you for sharing so the rest of us can be encouraged by the awesome God we serve!!

  10. I’m at loose ends right now, my dear mother moved to be closer to us last Thanksgiving, she became ill very soon and was put on hospice, she died peacefully May 2. I’m the last survivor for my immediate family and now the estate stuff has landed in my lap. I’m so overwhelmed with all the legal stuff. Previously our daughter was pushed into a divorce she did not want, she gained sole custody for decisions for my 2 grandsons, but only 50% visitation, ex SIL is making life miserable for all thru the children. Spouse & I r desperately attempting to keep daughter positive and moving forward, and helping keep grandson focused on Christ, it’s becoming a huge challenge as playboy ex SIL has turned his back on Christ and all moral convictions. I’m not sleeping , food doesn’t even taste good ( which that might be a blessing in disguise). I do have a great job that allows me to take off whenever needed and a Christian boss that always puts family first, I am so blessed in that respect. I too am a cancer survivor, nothing as astonishing miraculous as yours, congratulations for your complete healing, and may your years of being cancer free be for eternity.

  11. Your story is amazing! What a wonderful testimony. I feel I am stuck I what to do with my life. I am currently working two part time jobs, going back to school and taking care of our five children. I am going back to school for business management and am wanting to eventually go back to work full time once our youngest is in school. Right now I am a little overwhelmed and just trying to keep up. Not sure what I am going to do next or how I’m gonna get there.

  12. I am a full time working mother of 2 so I can relate to Leigh F.’s post completely. That was me. A lot of working mothers truly wish to stay at home but have a hard time making it work in today’s world for a variety of reasons. Yet, the Christian book store and internet have a very limited amount of resources specifically for working wifes/mothers. God had placed a call on my heart to provide encouragement for women like myself, trying to do it all and still serve him and our families with love. My bitterness over the situation almost cost me my marriage to my high school sweetheart. That was my wake up call that something had to change! God showed me it was me! I would love to start a blog to use a tool to provide working women with encouragement rooted in God’s word but I don’t know where to start. I have the desire and heart but need help with all the technical stuff. I know I can do it. I just need a push in the right direction. I would love to work with you on this “God-sized dream”.

  13. I am a full time working mother with four children. I have been praying for 10 years that the Lord will provide a way for me to stay home but my husbands job cannot provide for our family and God has not provided a way.for me to stay home. I am the bread-winner, unfortuntatly.. I struggle with depression, aggrevation, and bitterness about my situation. I love my family and want to be the best wife and mother I can be, but I feel like they are getting the worst.

  14. Hi,
    I’m having struggles in a few areas. I really do not wish to mention them here but rather in private if win. I would love to win an hour session with you. My husband went through a similar case as you before I met him being on life support etc and was told basically the same thing but God had a plan for him and he is alive and well today! Praise God because I never would have met him and God sent him specifically to me and me him I give him all the praise,glory,and honor!
    Blessings,
    Leslie Wilson

  15. What a wonderful and inspirational story! Thank you for sharing. I struggle with my professional world. For 23 years I’ve done one thing and recently, that rug was pulled out from under me. I know God has a plan for me, but I just can’t find it through my daily devotions and scripture. We are struggling financially and my husband is getting nervous and frustrated. Some encouraging coaching would be so helpful! Thank you again and blessings!

  16. I’m stuck most when it comes to self-discipline. I make plans or arrangements and then I don’t follow through. It’s followed by negative self-talk and feeling unworthy. I’m an abuse survivor – both my childhood and first marriage were filled with violence, physical as well as psychological – and if it weren’t for my faith in God, I would have given up a long, long time ago. I hang onto God – my lifeline, my stronghold, my hope even when it feels like I’m never going to get victory over any of my struggles. I also have a chronic illness that keeps me from working outside the home, and it’s been an alienating experience since I don’t tolerate loud sounds, many kinds of smells, or large groups of people well at all any more. I’ve come to lean on God more and more as my source of inspiration and my reason to go on when it seems like I’m going to struggle with this mess for the rest of my life. My time with Him – whether it’s a few minutes or an hour – gives me what I need to keep going from day to day. I’ve had people tell me they don’t know how I keep going and how I can still smile in the middle of it all, and my response to them is that it’s my faith in God that keeps me putting one foot in front of the other. There’s no other explanation for it. I heard once a long time ago that until God is all you have, He cannot be all you need…..and that has been my motto ever since I heard it. I’ve been there. I’ve been where I had nobody left but God, and at that moment He became all I needed, and that has never changed.

  17. I am stuck by negative self talk when it comes to sharing my mess into a message. I have clearly heard God’s calling to do so, and I know my testimony is an amazing victory in the power of His love, grace, forgiveness and mercy but hating myself and living shamed and guilty haunts my every attempt to dig deep and start writing. I have read your testimony before Linda and you are such an encouragement and shine Jesus so brightly, thanks!

  18. What an amazing testimony! I am a part of Team in Training and running my first full marathon this fall. My biggest struggle right now is my relationship with my teenage daughter.

    1. GO TEAM!! Thank you Judy for supporting LLS! Training for the half-marathon was the most life changing experience for me….more so than my cancer! Is that crazy or what? The reason it was so life changing is because it was something I CHOSE to do for myself. When you invest and comment to something like training to run 13.1 miles it provides a new sense of empowerment deep within you. I want to encourage all readers to take a leap of faith and comment to a “bucket list” goal today! You will never be the same :)

  19. How this story hits home- my dear Momma has been battling lymphoma for 2 years..diagnosed stage 4…I feel stuck in several areas-but especially with walking in a healthy lifestyle! Thanks for the opportunity-amazing!

    1. Becky, praying for your momma!! May she feel God’s peace and presence today. As far as a healthy lifestyle, let’s identify your “want to” and then we can start moving forward. Anytime I need to set a goal or make a change, I have to understand the reason I want it.

  20. Thanks for sharing your amazing story. I am struggling in a marriage where my husband was unfaithful and is an alcoholic. We stayed together for our children and now 5 years later I am still questioning that decision. I now have 2 teenage children that I am trying to raise to love the Lord and have little support with that because my husband does not share my faith. I feel so unsure of myself and am so unhappy. I also feel like I am failing my children. I know God loves me but I feel like I’m not doing anything right these days.

  21. Thanks Linda for sharing your story of grace and encouragement.
    I struggle with how to use my story for the glory of God. I was molested at age 8 by teenage boy who lived up the street and it lasted for 2years…overcame alcoholism since age 2…suffering from guilt and unforgiveness for mother who made appointment for abortion and for me carrying that awful act out…husband and I had 2miscarriages and 1ectopic pregnancy where I lost my right fillopian tube…now I have 3 girls and 1 boy…I was diagnosed with Lupus after second child….my son was born with Down syndrome…marriage difficulties…weight issues…financial problems…suffering depression…what to do with my life? I am very blessed but need direction…would love your help.

    1. Allison, I would love to encourage you to step out in faith and start sharing your testimony! What an amazing story! When we start focusing on sharing Jesus’ love with others, something within us changes and we are able to start making progress in other areas of our life. When I’ve struggled with depression in the past, getting out and helping others lifted my spirits every time. Sending a prayer for you tonight!

  22. I have never been able to pin down the right career for myself. Now that I am a stay-at-home mom turned single mom, being able to provide has become a serious need. If I just knew where God wants me to focus my talents…I’ve prayed over this for so many years, and my frustration about a career even contributes to the demise of my marriage. I just need help. I don’t know if one hour can do it when I’ve been in Christian counseling for 2, but it certainly won’t hurt!

    Thanks for sharing your gift.

  23. I am struggling with my thoughts. I keep trying to let it go, give it to God, but somehow I have a battle in my brain. I find myself being negative, defensive and critical to those who I love. This is not who I want to be. I am a believer but seem to have some problem connecting. Thank you for sharing your story.

  24. I have been fighting my marriage for almost 3 years. My husband isnt a believer but i believe that one day my husband is going to be saved. He has a problem with woman and being faithful but i dont belive in divorce and know that god can do the miracle. I have read many books, fast, prayed and I want my blessing now. I am expecting our 2nd child and want my family to stay together. Please help pray for my marriage so God can restore our love, respect and trust towards one another. I want our marriage to be a grand testimony for many others going through what we have. I am real insecure, have lots of fear, doubt and i dont want that for my life. I want to be able to forgive and forget and move on truly in this life. I dont want to be miserable and be the cause for anything else.

  25. I struggle with a lot of things: I am hard on myself. Most of all now is marriage. Not enough quality time tpogether, busy schedules and short tempers! Help! Also with relations with others as well.

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