Some stories make you wonder how one person carried all of it and still kept her faith. This is one of those.

In this episode of Barefoot Conversations, I sit down with my friend Kat, a breast cancer survivor, author, and trauma coach. Eighteen years ago she heard the three words nobody wants to hear: you have cancer. What she learned in that fight became the very thing that carried her through a season she calls harder than cancer itself.

We get into the kind of betrayal that rearranges a person, what happens in the body and the brain when the hard things keep stacking up, forgiveness that has to be spoken more than once, and the question that changed everything for her: am I being punished, or have I been chosen?

Kat does not tie it up with a bow. She is still walking it out, scars and all. But by the end she has a word for anyone sitting in a hard place: there is help, there is healing, and you are not nearly as alone as you have been told.

If you have ever wondered where God was in your hardest season, pull up a chair. This one is for you.

A gentle heads up: this conversation touches on illness, loss, and seasons of deep struggle. Take good care of your heart as you listen.

IN THIS EPISODE

- Why the lessons of cancer became the tools that carried her through what came next

- Forgiveness as a daily practice, not a one time decision

- How trauma that nobody names still shows up in the body

- Where faith and the science of the brain finally meet

- The Job and Joseph question: punished, or chosen?

- A message of hope for anyone suffering in silence

ABOUT KAT

Kat is a breast cancer survivor, author, and trauma coach who walks with people through grief, betrayal, and the hard work of healing. Her devotional, Breast Cancer Radiant, was born out of her own treatment. Learn more at coachwithpurepeace.com.

CONNECT

Kat: coachwithpurepeace.com

Rachel: www.racheldfox.com | [email protected]

If this episode met you somewhere, share it with one person who needs it today, and follow Barefoot Conversations so you never miss a story.

Rachel D. Fox, DSL

CHAPTERS (optional, supported by Apple Podcasts and Spotify)

00:00 The three words no one wants to hear

01:17 A typical suburban mom, then a diagnosis

03:18 Three weeks after radiation

05:43 The trauma no one named

08:32 The hard work of forgiveness

10:45 Why she speaks forgiveness out loud

12:40 When radiation became radiant

15:54 The book that came from the table

16:20 Keeping life normal for the kids

19:23 A neurobiological break in trust

20:13 Betrayal again, and nowhere to go

25:03 When the body keeps the score

29:32 Can you lose trust that God is good?

32:16 When the church is not equipped for real pain

34:08 Where faith meets the science of the brain

38:59 Punished, or chosen?

41:36 A masterpiece in the making

46:04 Why she is telling this story now

48:02 Her message to you: there is hope

51:52 Where to find Kat

Julie Shrader knows what it is to survive. Exploitation, abuse, homelessness, years lost to alcohol, and a voice in her own head telling her she was trash. In this episode, she sits down with me and tells the whole truth about how a trafficking survivor becomes a woman who founds a ministry to help set other women free.

We talk about the day she heard God say "Julie, I told you to stop," and how 14 years of sobriety started not with willpower but with obedience. We get into the part nobody warns you about, that getting saved is not the end of the struggle, it is the beginning of the journey. Julie shares the tear that rolled down her father's face on his deathbed, the wrestling season that felt a whole lot like Jacob, and the gut punch of losing a ministry she poured 12 years of her life into.

Then we get to the new thing. Innocence Freed. Same heart, same mission, brand new wineskin, including a free boutique where trafficking survivors of every age can come shop in private and feel human again.

If you have ever felt like you were too far gone, too messed up, or too late in life for God to use you, pull up a chair. This is one to sit with.

Listen, then share it with one person who needs to hear it today.

A note for listeners: this conversation touches on abuse, addiction, and human trafficking. If you or someone you love is in danger, you are not alone and help exists. In the U.S. you can reach the National Human Trafficking Hotline at 1-888-373-7888, or text 233733.

By 22, Amanda Lawrence had four DUIs, multiple arrests, and had failed out of college twice. The dreams she once had — law school, a future, a plan — were buried under drugs, alcohol, and a three-day party that ended in an overdose.

She woke up in her apartment that Christmas and looked in the mirror. She had no idea who she was looking at.

That was 2006.

Today, Amanda holds a master's degree in clinical mental health counseling. She founded Haia Ministries, which offers mentorship, faith-integrated counseling, and is opening a sober living discipleship home for women. She's living proof that God meets us in our lowest moments — and doesn't leave us there.

In this conversation, Amanda shares it all: the childhood sexual abuse that started her running, the darkness that almost took her out, the woman named Carolyn who loved her without an agenda, and the moment she finally surrendered.

If you're in a season where you feel too far gone, this episode is for you. You're not.

🎧 Listen on Spotify, Amazon Music, iHeartRadio & Apple Podcasts 📺 Watch on YouTube: youtube.com/@RachelDFox 🌐 Learn more about Haia Ministries: www.chayahmin.org

Her dad died when she was five. Her mom was kicked out of church and told God was punishing her. Andrea grew up without boundaries, without faith, and without anyone showing her what love looked like.

By 14, she ran away. By 15, she was in a home for troubled youth. One night, she jumped off a bridge and broke her leg. Her brother spent the entire night writing her a letter — because he thought she was dead.

In this episode, Andrea shares the decade she spent desperately hoping God was real. The night she was attacked in her apartment and knew He was. The 3 AM moment on a porch where God whispered, "Be still." The move to a tiny town in Iowa where she met her husband a month later. And the cancer diagnosis that arrived three days before she boarded a plane to Hawaii.

This is a story about body image and shame. About gaining 45 pounds on medication and learning that beauty isn't a size — it's a story. About a season where all God asked her to do was breathe.

If you've ever looked in the mirror and struggled to love what you see — this one's for you.

Guest: Andrea Mathes — With Light and Lens Photography (withlightandlens.com) Host: Rachel D. Fox

Have a story to share? Apply here: https://forms.gle/4N5hrWWcFWKjvpPB9

She moved to LA with a dream and a packed car. She ended up in rooms most people will never see — label meetings, industry deals, opportunities that looked like gold. But behind the glitter was something darker. In this episode, Ciara shares what the music industry almost took from her — her integrity, her peace, her faith. She talks about the proposition that would have cost her everything, the abusive relationship that left her jaw twisted, the prophetic warnings she couldn't shake, and the studio fire that changed everything. This is a story about chasing something that glitters and discovering it was never what it seemed. About spiritual warfare disguised as opportunity. About a man named Samuel who told her, "God is waiting for you by the well. It's time to come home." If you've ever felt lost in the pursuit of something — this one's for you. Guest: Ciara Lee-Blackstone Host: Rachel D. Fox Apply to share your story: https://forms.gle/4N5hrWWcFWKjvpPB9

Moses wasn't in trouble when God found him. He wasn't in crisis. He was just... hiding. Comfortable in Midian. Forty years into a life that was never meant to be his destination.

I think a lot of women are living in Midian right now.

This podcast is for the woman who feels like she's been on a scavenger hunt — searching for pieces of herself that got lost somewhere along the way. But I don't think you're searching for someone new. I think you're ready to reclaim the woman God called you to be from the very beginning.

Barefoot Conversations is not polished. Some stories might offend you. Some might be hard to hear. But if you're really listening, you'll hear God drop something on your heart.

Take off your sandals. This is holy ground.

I'm Rachel D. Fox. Episode one drops February 20th.