Help & Hope

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In this inspiring podcast former baseball star, Dave Dravecky and Dr. Chuck F. Betters talk about how cancer destroyed Dave’s successful baseball career and Dave’s struggle to deal with not only the loss of his career but understanding his true identity.

In the 1980s Dave Dravecky was a long-sought-after relief specialist. His pitching helped key the San Diego Padres' Word Series run. After a few years in San Diego, Dravecky moved on to San Francisco, where he was a key part of their World Series run.

However, things in 1989 would take a bitter turn for the Youngstown, Ohio native. Experiencing weakness in his pitching arm, he was examined by the Giants team doctor. The doctor noticed a lump in Dravecky's arm and sent him to a specialist in New York. It was there that Dravecky learned his pitching arm was ripe with cancer. Draveckey underwent treatment in hopes on returning to baseball.

In September of 1989, Dravecky returned to the pitching mound, mere months after under going treatment for cancer. In one appearance, Draveckey's arm, weakened from treatment, snapped and broke while he delivered a pitch. He would re-break the same arm weeks later celebrating his team's berth in the World Series.

Any full-time comeback for Dravecky would be forever denied when in 1991, in a surgery to save his life, his pitching arm was amputated above the elbow. Dave Draveckey's plight inspired the Giants, though they were unable to overcome an earthquake, and an ultra powerful Oakland A's line up. Dravecky retired officially from baseball after losing his arm. But his story was just beginning. 

The Help & Hope podcast is produced by MARKINC Ministries. You can find more Help & Hope episodes and all that MARKINC has to offer, by visiting helpandhopenow.org. You can also download the FREE mobile app, Help and Hope, by using this link - https://subsplash.com/markincministries/app, or by searching Help and Hope in your mobile app store. 

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We have this hope (Jesus) as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure… Hebrews 6:19

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On average, nearly 20 people per minute are physically abused by an intimate partner in the United States. During one year, this equates to more than 10 million women and men. About 2 in 4 women have experienced some form of physical violence by an intimate partner. This includes a range of behaviors (e.g. slapping, shoving, pushing) and in some cases might not be considered "domestic violence." These statistics do not include abuse of men. These are just a few of domestic abuse statistics on the National Statistics Domestic Violence website. Many more people do not report abuse. If these stats are true, it’s likely 1 in 4 women sitting in our church pews have experienced severe physical violence. Sadly, the place where wounded women should feel safest – the church – is the one place they are too ashamed to be transparent. In this informative but at times disturbing interview, Darby Strickland draws from years of not only studying the impact of abuse but her interaction through counseling abused women. Darby is passionate about equipping local churches to be a safe place for the abused. To go deeper, you can order her newest book: Is it Abuse? A Biblical Guide to Identifying Domestic Abuse and Helping Victims

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Did you know that one recent study found that 1 in 7 women may experience postpartum depression in the year after giving birth? With approximately 4 million live births occurring annually in the United States, this equates to almost 600,000 postpartum depression diagnoses. It’s important to understand that these numbers only account for live births. When including women who have miscarried or have had a stillbirth, around 900,000 women suffer from postpartum depression annually in the U.S.

 
Not so long ago, postpartum depression was not recognized as a real medical crisis for a mother – rather, she was often told to shake it off, pull it together, with no sympathy – after all, she was a new mother – why wasn’t she happy? Fortunately, today, postpartum depression is recognized as a real illness, a real physical crisis and there is hope. Christine Chappell knows what it is to experience post-partum depression. In this conversation with Sharon Betters, she shares her wildly changing emotions and shock that her third child’s birth did not fill her with joy but despair. Her desire to help the woman who is walking in darkness and is completely mystified by her feelings is clear. Christine is a counselor, writer, speaker, wife, mom, and podcast host. This conversation is especially helpful for the woman experiencing post-partum depression and those who love her.

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Each year about 50,000 children die in the United States. While a profound loss for parents, what about their siblings? Doug MacGray, was eleven years old when he lost his sixteen-year-old brother, Ricky. How does an eleven-year-old grieve? How is the grief journey of a sibling different than the grief journey of parents? In this sometimes emotional conversation, Doug shares with Dr. Chuck F. Betters some of the ways his brother’s death affected him and how grief for a child is different than the grief of an adult. It’s our hope that Doug’s story will help parents understand the grief of their children a little better and also encourage those who have lost siblings at a young age. 

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In 2016 about 20% of US adults had chronic pain – that’s about 50,000,000. Eight percent of those adults had high-impact pain – that’s about 20,000,000 people with debilitating chronic pain. People suffering from high -impact pain often suffer in isolation and without much understanding or sympathy. They don’t have a cast or any visible sign of injury, yet their pain changes the way they live life. In this Help & Hope podcast, Dr. Betters talks with Bill Condon, who knows what it is to not only experience chronic pain with no hope of healing, but also the devastation of the losses that often accompanies chronic pain. Bill explains how depression took him into such a dark place he no longer wanted to live. Yet in the middle of debilitating pain, Bill’s story is one of hope. If you or someone you love suffers from any kind of ongoing pain, Bill’s story will encourage you, and help you find a way to walk by faith in the middle of the pain and/or come alongside someone who lives with chronic pain.

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Our culture deifies strength—and sadly, the church does too. Who has the most successful ministry, the largest congregation, or the godliest family? Our misplaced faith in human strength is a false hope with no basis in Scripture. 

But a closer look throughout the Bible reveals the central role human frailty plays in the redemption story. From Genesis to Revelation, God’s power is made perfect when people are at their weakest. Far from an undesirable defect, God designed our weakness to draw us closer to himself.

In this conversation with Sharon Betters, Eric Schumacker shows us how weakness is a main theme throughout Scripture and encourages us to ask the question about every Bible story, “Where is the weakness?” The answer to that question will also showcase our utter dependence on the Lord’s strength. And then Eric shows how God designed our human frailty to draw us closer to Him in a way that helps us display His perfect strength amid our weakness.
 
As we learn to accept the good gift of weakness, we will experience true strength—the kind that only comes from a loving and infinitely powerful God. 

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In this conversation with Sharon Betters, Miho Kahn and her husband share the story of Miho’s journey into a world of drugs, violence and abuse. At the age of fourteen, Miho pushed against the boundaries of her parents’ quiet life and struck out on her own, telling her sister, “Don’t try to find me.” As you listen, you might think, “This story could be a compelling movie” as you imagine a young girl hitch-hiking alone across America and exposing herself to danger and abuse. Miho shares the story of her drug addiction, rape, co-dependency, abortion - and all of this happened before she was seventeen years old. Miho transparently shares her journey and how she found peace and direction in a personal relationship to Jesus.

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Is it possible to break free from drugs after a lifetime of addiction? Shelley Tribbitt says yes. After using drugs for over thirty years, Shelley broke free from the drugs, but then had to face the obstacle of the collateral damage that she had done to her family and friends. In this poignant interview, Shelley describes the devastation drug use brought on her family, including the loss of the custody of her children. Her daughter, Bay, joins the conversation, and describes how she reconciled with her mother, and why she never gave in to the temptation of drug use, even though they were readily available.

Drug use in our culture is an epidemic. It isn’t just teenagers who fall prey to this dangerous life choice. Shelley’s story reminds us that drugs know no age limits. We are also able to see that reconciliation with estranged family members is possible, though the pathway to reconciliation will be painful and often long.

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Perhaps one of the hardest pains for a parent to endure is when a child makes dangerous choices that are sure to lead to life-changing consequences. Judy Douglass, author of When You Love a Prodigal, knows this anguish first hand yet her story focuses on how parenting her son Josh drove her to the heart of Jesus where she learned truths about herself and the life—transforming power of God’s grace. In this conversation with Sharon Betters, Judy talks about how it was in the darkness that she discovered the power of prayer. Judy’s story is not only instructive for parents of a prodigal but brings hope to those who are in the “prodigal child waiting room”. Judy is the founder and host of Prayer for Prodigals, an online worldwide community for those who love someone who is making destructive choices.

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Gary Episcopo joins us on the Help & Hope podcast to share how God used his love for motorcycles and the brotherhood and comradery of motorcycle clubs to lead him into a life of demonstrating the love of Jesus to the one percenters or outlaw gangs. Growing up and even into adulthood, Gary struggled with many of the same temptations of these men and women and his understanding of the deep mercy God extended and continues to extend to him compels him to see many of these gang members as family who need the same mercy he has received. Gary transparently shares how the Lord used the death of his beloved wife and even the overdose death of a young man he mentored, to deepen his passion for sharing the love of Jesus with those often misunderstood and rejected.

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