Hi, friend!

In this powerful episode, I interview Karen Cook, a Bible teacher and associate minister who shares her modern-day prodigal son story. After suffering mental illness in her late teens that left her believing she was damned, Karen walked away from God completely—choosing rebellion, a live-in boyfriend, and a lifestyle that broke her father's heart.

But God wasn't finished with her. When Karen flippantly prayed, "Well, God, I suppose if you wanted to get my attention, you could do it," He took her up on it. The very next day, her beloved 1972 Buick Skylark—the car she called her "metallic child"—was totaled in a seemingly impossible low-speed accident that left the other vehicle with only a dent. Karen knew immediately: God was getting her attention.

Yet the turning point came earlier, when Karen got stuck in mud on a two-track road and had to call her estranged father at midnight. Despite everything she'd done—the violence, the stolen items, the character destruction—he simply said, "I'll be right there... Gotta go, toots. I love you." That disarming kindness became the crack in her armor that eventually led her home to God.

Karen vulnerably shares how God used divine intervention (the totaled car), human kindness (her father's mercy), and persistent discipleship (a woman named Joan who called twice daily) to draw her back from the far country.

This episode offers hope for parents of prodigals, encouragement for those who feel too far gone to return to God, and testimony to God's relentless, pursuing love that never gives up on His children.

May you experience the power of God's love and His plan for you in your life, my friend.

Always, Anna

Mentions:

CTAs