A Letter to the Woman Practicing Courage // KJ Ramsey

<p>We’ve all experienced moments of pain and suffering. And while all of us carry different crosses, suffering is something that is part of every one of our stories.&nbsp;But how do you pray when you struggle to find words to express your pain and trauma?</p> <p>How do you validate the emotions you experience in the valleys of life and embrace them as a gift instead of stuffing them down some place deep inside you?&nbsp;And in those hard seasons that seem to stretch on forever, how can you refresh your faith and find peace that lasts?</p> <p>In this episode of Letters to Women, I’m sitting down with K.J. Ramsey. She intimately understands the reality of fear and the reward of courage. A survivor of spiritual abuse and religious trauma who suffers from chronic illness, KJ is a licensed counselor who recognizes the chasm that opens between our hearts and hope when life hurts. Through her struggle with emotional and physical pain, K.J. discovered a route to connection and joy:courage— the practice of trusting we will be held and loved no matter what.</p> <p>We’re talking about praying the Psalms word by word, how courage has impacted KJ’s journey of trauma and chronic pain, and the importances of witnesses in our lives as women.</p> <p>If you’re walking through a valley or a challenging season and want to cultivate courage and compassion and reignite joy, sister, this letter is for you.</p> <p><strong>Topics we talked about in this episode:</strong></p> <ul> <li>The inspiration behind KJ’s new book, <em>The Book of Common Courage: Prayers and Poems to Find Strength in Small Moments</em> and what it was like to write a book on courage while experiencing chronic illness</li> <li>What courage looks like as a practice</li> <li>How encountering poetry both from the Psalms and other authors helps us enter into prayer—especially in seasons when it’s difficult to find words</li> <li>Why the presence of witnesses and the experience of with-ness crucial in seasons of suffering</li> <li>How KJ has witnessed the co-exis