September 2, 2024 • 45 mins
Worship transforms us. In our darkest moments, praise invites God to cause breakthroughs in our lives. Patricia Hefti struggled with depression but she discovered that praising God, even when things seemed bleak, can bring true freedom and healing. Drawing from powerful scriptures like Psalm 42:5 and John 12:32, Patricia shifted her focus from her problems to the Problem Solver and it set her free.
Listen as Patricia and host Jodie Chiricosta share the importance of being obedient to God's guidance, in every area of life. They also discuss the significance of knowing our identity in Christ, the healing process, and the freedom found in fully surrendering to God's will. Through personal stories, Patricia illustrates how God works in mysterious but beautiful ways, always leading us to a deeper relationship with Him.
If you are struggling with depression, anxiety, or simply seeking a deeper connection with God, this episode is a reminder that worship and obedience are key to walking in the freedom and fullness of life that God has promised.
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Episode Transcript
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Hey friends, welcome to the Her God Story podcast where you will always hear a good
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story to encourage and inspire you in your walk with the Lord.
I am so glad you tuned in today.
I'm your host, Jodie Chiricosta, ministry leader at Somebody Cares America International, author
and traveler on this journey with Jesus.
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King David of the Old Testament was a man who experienced every emotion imaginable.
From boldly defeating the giant Goliath to cowering in fear before his enemies so much
so that he pretended to be insane, he danced before the Lord as the Ark of the Covenant
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was brought back to Jerusalem.
He also found himself in the pit of despair on numerous occasions as he fled for his life
from his enemies.
But he came through his most difficult moments because he knew the secret of being restored.
He shares it with us in Psalm 42, verses 5 and 11, as well as many other Psalms.
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The NIV reads, "Why my soul are you downcast?
Why so disturbed within me?
Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God."
No matter what circumstances we're in, no matter how we feel, setting our focus and
hope on God changes things.
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I read a quote recently that stuck with me.
It says, Worship will get you through the roughest times in your life because it shifts
your focus from the problem to the problem solver.
However the author was, he or she learned the same truth as King David.
My guest, Patricia Hefti, has definitely learned that truth.
(02:15):
Patricia is a retired homeschool parent who has also worked as a lab technician in the
Texas A&M University Biochemistry, Biophysics Department, as well as an elementary school
teacher at the Lighthouse International Christian Center.
She has also served as a Christians pastor at several local churches, and she and her
husband Roy enjoy spending time with their two grown children and granddaughter and are
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passionate about serving the Lord in whatever way he leads.
Welcome Patricia.
Hi, Jodie
It's nice to be here.
Patricia, share with us a little about how you grew up and when you first encountered
Jesus.
Okay, well I was raised in El Paso, so I was a desert rat.
And we went to the Catholic Church as a family.
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And I can remember growing up, I struggled with depression.
Most of my life, most of my life, I can remember just feeling low and guilty and shameful and
just a lot of self-hatred.
And when I was in first or second grade, my best friend in school, she invited me to her
(03:27):
Baptist church for a hot dog supper.
And that was a draw for me because I loved hot dogs and chips.
So we went to the basement and had our hot dogs and chips, and then we went to the sanctuary.
And that's where I heard the gospel for the very first time.
I had never heard anything other than what I perceived was, God is out to get you.
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You're a sinner and you have no way to get to heaven except if you do this, this, this,
and this.
And I just had a fear of God, but it was the wrong kind of fear.
And I remember going and hearing the gospel for the first time and when the pastor gave
the altar call, I remember running up to that altar and tucking on his coat and looking
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up at him and saying, I want to be saved.
And that was my sinner's prayer.
I didn't pray, no one prayed with me.
Really, they took some information from me, but nobody really prayed with me.
That was my sinner's prayer.
I want to be saved.
And God took that child's heartfelt cry and he did it.
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And I remember walking down the steps of that church was Grandview Baptist Church in El
Paso.
And I remember walking down those steps and saying, I love everybody.
I love the world.
And that was, I knew my heart was changed.
I knew something had changed.
But when I came home, I told my parents about it, all excited.
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And they said, yeah, that's just an emotional experience.
Your sister did the same thing a few years ago.
You'll get over it.
And that was it.
And I had no idea.
My friend, when I came back from being up at the front, she was crying in the church.
And I didn't know why she was crying.
I had no idea what it meant to be saved.
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I just knew I wanted it.
I wanted God.
I just wanted him.
And so I just didn't know what else to do.
So I just went on with life.
Had no teaching.
Years later, when you were in college, God brought someone into your life that showed
you the next step.
(05:45):
Yes.
Tell us about that.
How did that happen?
Well, I was going to Texas A&M.
I had transferred from UTEP and finishing my degree at Texas A&M.
And I was in between semesters or years.
And so I went back home to El Paso to work.
And my boss was a born-again, spirit-filled Christian.
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I had no idea.
And God got me that job.
I knew it.
He led me to that job because there was no reason why I should get that job.
And I did.
And one day he gave me some tracks, some Christian tracks.
And he said, Patricia, would you read these and tell me which one you liked the best?
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And I read them all.
One was a dooming, not a doom and gloom, but a Hellfire and Brimstone track.
And this one that I really liked was a very gentle born-again.
Here's how you get born again from the book of John.
And I said, Rudy, I like this one.
I really like this one a lot.
And I said, you know, I did this.
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And finally my heart and my mind opened up and I said, I did this.
I got saved.
And I told him what happened years ago when I was eight or nine years old.
And I said, that's what happened.
Now I know what happened to me.
And so that was the beginning of my relationship with God.
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And so he helped you start growing in your faith, didn't he?
Yes, he did.
How did you get connected and what did you start learning?
And also how did that impact your family?
Well, I started going to the church he was going to on Tuesday nights.
And then on Sunday morning we went to the Catholic Church.
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And he would share with me all kinds of things of what he was learning and the Word of God.
And we just fellowshiped a lot while we were working.
And then once he told me, he said, you know, Patricia, if you're ever confused, if you
ever don't know how to pray about something, I just asked Jesus to fill you with the Holy
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Spirit and he will.
You can do that in your bedroom anywhere you are.
And so I finally went to the priest of our Catholic Church, the head of our church.
And I said, you know, I'm learning some things that I'm reading the Bible and I love it.
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But I'm learning some things that kind of contradict what's going on here at church
and I wanted to talk to you about it.
And we talked quite a while, but the last thing he told me was, Patricia, I'm glad
you're searching but never leave your Catholic faith.
And I left his office and I was so confused.
And I went home and I just cried and I said, Lord, I don't understand.
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I know I've found something beautiful, but he's saying don't leave the Catholic faith.
And so I, right then I said, you know, I'm confused.
I don't know how to pray.
So I did ask Jesus to fill me with the Holy Spirit.
I started speaking in spirit and then I thought that can't be it.
And so I cried.
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This can be it.
This is so weird.
And then my boss was also going to a home group Bible study and I was going to that
on Friday nights.
And so I went to the home group and I said, I want to be filled with the Holy Spirit.
I need that.
And so they gathered around me and prayed for me.
And I prayed the same as I did, you know, in my room days ago.
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So, but I just went home rejoicing, praying in the spirit, singing in the spirit, just
on cloud nine because it gave me such joy to know.
And then I started learning what praying in the spirit was all about, that I was praying
the perfect will of God, that I was giving thanks well, that my spirit was praying, but
my mind is unfruitful.
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And a lot of time needed my mind to be unfruitful because my mind was messed up.
So I was glad for that, that gift to the Holy Spirit.
So eventually your mom and even your dad joined you at these Bible studies.
What happened with them and how did that impact their life?
My mom had gotten saved at a Catholic Charismatic group a few years before and I didn't even
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realize what had happened to her.
But I knew something was different with her, but I wasn't sure what.
Well, when I started going to that Tuesday night church service with my boss at their
church, she finally said, I want to go with you.
I see something in you.
I want to go with you.
So she would go with me.
So my dad and my brother were at home and we'd invite them every Tuesday, do you want
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to come to Bible study?
And they said, no, you know, and my boss told me, make sure you make it their decision.
Just invite them, let them make the decision because the man's ego, you know, needs to
make the decision.
So we just invited them and that was it.
And one Tuesday my dad looked at my brother and said, we got to go see what these girls
are up to.
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So they came.
They didn't have an altar call that Tuesday, which crushed me.
I thought, oh gosh, here was a great chance for my dad and my brother to be saved.
But they came the next Tuesday.
They had an altar call and so they were saved and filled with the Holy Spirit.
And we came home and my dad said, you know, I remember hearing this teaching as a kid
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and I never accepted Christ.
And now I'm so old, but I'm asking God to grow me up quick.
And he said, I don't see any reason why we should go back to the Catholic Church.
We're being fed the Word of God here.
So we quit going to the Catholic Church.
Yeah.
So at the end of the summer, you know, this was, you were back home with your parents
and that end of the summer, you had to go back to school, which you didn't have any
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fellowship at school because you hadn't been connected there.
So how did you get connected with other believers and growing your faith in college?
Well, my boss told me before I left, he said, Patricia, here's some basic.
Basic questions that you should ask when you're looking for a good Bible-believing church,
you need a church that teaches the Word of God, the truth.
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And so here's some questions.
So he gave me a list of questions that I could ask them.
And I actually did.
I'd call up and ask, okay, what do you believe about this?
What do you believe?
Do you believe in the Holy Spirit and infill the Holy Spirit, the Virgin birth, you know,
just basic tenets of the faith?
And I did find a good Bible-believing church.
So I started going there.
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I had to buy the church bus because I had no vehicle.
But it was a joy.
It was a real joy to grow there.
And the people really were inviting and welcoming.
And eventually, I ended up being a chiller's pastor at that church.
Wow.
I mean, you were in school, studying pretty rigorous course.
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You were also ministering to children.
And you know, your obedience in following God into children's ministry had an added
personal benefit, didn't it?
Tell us.
Tell us that story.
The main thing is being obedient to go to the church God chose for me.
Not me choosing a church, but I was really praying, God show me where you want me.
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And so that's how the Chins Ministry started.
But then it was a church filled with older folks and families with children, no singles
at all.
And I wanted to be married.
I was looking for my husband.
And finally, I just said, you know, Lord, if I never get married, it's okay.
I'm good with you.
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You are enough for me.
And at that point, when I surrendered it all, then the Lord brought my husband to that
church, that little country church.
And so I had also told the Lord, I don't want to do the dating business anymore.
It's too hard on my heart.
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And so I said, you know, unless you show me, this is my future husband, I am not going
out with anyone.
You're going to have to show me.
And the Lord did.
He showed me that that was my husband to be before we ever went out on a date.
I love it because when you get serious with God, he gets serious with you and he'll answer
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you in the way you need it so that you know it's him.
Yeah.
And you got to know each other because he started helping in children's ministry.
Right.
He drove the bus, the church bus that I had ridden years ago.
And I was riding the bus with him, picking up the children.
And we worked together in church.
We went, we did a lot of things together with the church.
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And but like I said, I, I, before I knew that that was him, I just, you know, hands off
until God really showed me this is, this is him.
You mentioned earlier, Patricia, that you struggled with depression and that continued
even after you put your faith in Jesus and began growing in the Lord.
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You even had suicidal thoughts from time to time.
Yeah.
When and how did you find freedom from that?
I think that, you know, depression plagues a lot of people and actually after COVID,
a lot more people have suffered.
Yes.
And then there was a lot of isolation and depression.
You know, how did the Lord lead you in getting rid of depression?
Well, it was a process, Jody.
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It was a, it was a process of obeying God in what he told me to do.
And I really, I really encourage everyone out there that struggles with depression,
with suicidal thoughts, with anxiety to pray to the Lord and asking for a strategy.
I can just tell you what the strategy he gave me.
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And he will give other people other strategies to combat that because in the, at the end
of the day, depression is really, what he shared with me was, depression is just an adult temper
tantrum.
I am low and I am feeling bad because things are not going the way I think they should.
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And I'm not to be Lord of my life.
He is to be Lord of my life.
So I know that part of the depression that I suffered was part of a generational thing
because there are several members of my family that have struggled with depression and mental
illness.
And so I just, the Lord, you know, I wanted to glorify God and I knew depression was not
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glorifying Him.
And so I can only describe depression for me as a, as a pit, a dark pit.
And I stayed there for years, so long that I didn't know I could feel any other way.
I had no idea I could feel any different.
But when God started showing me the joy, you know, it says in God's presence is fullness
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of joy.
And at His right hand, there are pleasures forevermore.
And so I started getting little tastes of that joy and thinking, hmm, that's different.
I haven't felt like that before.
And then the depression would just take me down that spiral, that spiral down, down,
down to the bottom of the pit.
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But the Lord showed me, He said, I am worthy of your praise.
24 hours a day, seven days a week.
It doesn't matter how you feel.
I am worthy of your praise.
So if you will praise me, you know, the word says, if Jesus will be lifted up, He will
draw all men to Himself.
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And as I, as you lift Jesus up, He lifts you up to where He is.
And you know, the Bible says too that God inhabits the praises of His people.
And so as I would praise, and there were, and when I first started this, I would just
praise in an empty house where I was and tears streaming down my face, feeling low as a,
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as a grasshopper, just feeling like nothing, like, like I, it was not worth anything.
And as I would praise, He would lift me out of that pit.
And if I would just obey Him in that and praise Him, no matter how I felt.
And as I did, He would lift me out of that pit and I'd be out in the sunshine thinking,
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wow, I didn't know I could have this kind of joy.
And then the, the lying thoughts would come again and that spiral will happen again down,
down, down to the pit.
And I'd say, okay, I might stay there two or three weeks.
I might stay there two months.
I might stay there half a year.
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I didn't realize I didn't have to be that way anymore.
But as I would praise, I would get back out of that pit.
And every time it just seemed like I went a little less low, a little less dark, a little
less time in the pit.
And it was just a process of obedience, obeying Him and knowing He is worthy of my praise.
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And I want to glorify Him and if I'm going to glorify Him, I need to walk in joy and
peace so that, you know, the world can walk in depression.
They have no hope.
I have hope.
Jesus is my hope.
And so I can walk in Him and have that peace and joy and be a light and a witness.
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And so, and now I can talk about it like it's somebody else because I haven't been there
in so long and at times when those things try to, you know, lying thoughts can be everybody
at different times.
Yeah, they do.
But we have to know that they were to take those thoughts captive to the obedience of
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Christ.
And for me, that meant praise Him.
Praise Him because He's worthy.
And as I did, then if that ever tries to get back on me, I just praise Him again and He
lifts me back up.
So it's just, I can't say enough about it because that was my lifeline.
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I really think that if I had not found the Lord, if He had not found me and changed me,
I could have been in a sane asylum.
I could have been on medications and, or I could be dead because those suicidal thoughts
came for no reason.
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I had a good home, a good family, I had a good husband, I had, you know, growing up I had
a good home.
So there was no reason for it.
It was the enemy's attack on my mind and my heart.
And he always attacks our identity.
He always attacks who we are.
And when I finally found out who I was in Christ, I thought, no, I don't have to be that.
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I am a child of God.
I am His workmanship created in Christ Jesus unto good works that He's already ordained
for me to walk in.
So I can walk in freedom and in fullness.
Amen.
So after you got married, you tried to start a family.
And in the process, you experienced a miracle.
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Tell us what happened.
I had, I had a surgery scheduled for a month out for endometriosis.
I had endometriosis really bad.
Lots of pain, lots of suffering with that.
And my husband and I were trying to get pregnant and nothing was happening.
So, but I needed to get that, that pain fixed.
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And so I went to my home group right after I scheduled the surgery.
I said, I've got a surgery scheduled in a month.
They prayed for me, so they laid hands on me and prayed for me.
And so we went on and the, the Wednesday, the Monday before the surgery, they, the doctor
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said, you still haven't started your cycle.
We can't operate on you if we have any suspects that we, that you're pregnant.
So I had to go in for a pregnancy test.
And when I went in for the pregnancy test, they came out and said, we can't operate on
you, you're pregnant.
So I mean, it was just the most beautiful thing because it was so unexpected, although we
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had been praying, but it was, why do we, why are we surprised when God answers?
I don't know.
But I went down the highway just crying and laughing and praising God and trying to find
my husband who was working in the house and doing remodeling work and let him know that,
that we were going to have a baby.
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So it was beautiful.
And that, that, that healed my injury, endometriosis.
I didn't have trouble getting pregnant again to have my second daughter.
So he really just completely took all that sickness away and breast-blessed us with a
baby.
So it was very exciting.
And his favor was on you too because while you were pregnant, you were interviewing
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for a job.
And you told them you were pregnant.
So what happened there?
Well, I, I scheduled the surgery and then I applied for the job and then found out that
I was pregnant and I had my interview.
And at the interview I said, by the way, I just want to let you know I'm pregnant and
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I'm going to be leaving in April when I have the baby because I want to be a stay at home
mom.
And they were good with it and said, that's fine.
No problem at all.
So I was, I was free to come in.
That job was such a joy, such a joy.
It paid for all the expenses of having our, our daughter.
So yeah, it was exciting.
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Yeah.
And you and your husband agreed that you wanted to homeschool your children, not for everybody,
but it definitely was a call of God on for you, share how you prepared yourself and just
the whole experience.
Well, I had my bachelor's in microbiology and then we, in 1990, nothing was happening
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in the baby department.
But I said, okay, let me go back to school because eventually we want to have children.
And so we, we feel like we ought to homeschool.
It was just something God put in our hearts.
And I would say to anybody that's contemplating homeschooling to pray, really pray and ask
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God if this is right for you, because it's not right for every family, but it was right
for us.
So I went back to get my master's in education and my teaching certificates so that if they
ever changed the laws in Texas, I would have my credentials and I could just, you know,
teach my children at home.
So it was a real great experience homeschooling them.
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We got to be a family all the time.
We didn't have to, you know, cart them off for the best hours of their day.
We had them around us.
And so we were able to share life with them.
They were able to learn how to deal with cattle, horses, dogs.
We had, we were able to follow their interests.
It was just a very nice time of being a family together where we could vacation when we were
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able to and not have to be on a strict schedule.
So, and my daughters both prayed to receive Jesus.
And in fact, my older daughter witnessed to my younger daughter, and that's how she accepted
Christ and they were filled with the spirit.
And so we did church together.
We served at the churches together as a family.
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Yeah, you really were able to disciple them through the education and through your church
activities.
So you really were able to ground them in their faith.
And after your daughters graduated from high school, God led you to a new direction and
taught you to stand in the face of persecution, which isn't something that we like to think
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about too much.
But as the world gets darker and the light gets lighter, there's going to be more, more
of that.
Yes.
So what did he lead you to do?
And how did you withstand what you experienced?
We had an abortion facility, a Planned Parenthood facility in our community that was doing abortions
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right there at the facility.
4,000 children lost their lives at that facility during the years it was open.
And I started praying at the abortion facility when I found out, I always wondered why these
people were standing outside the abortion facility.
And I finally realized it was 40 days for life vigils.
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They were standing vigil praying for the babies, praying for the moms, extending the love of
God to the moms that were going in and praying that they would change their minds and give
their babies a chance at life.
And so I heard about that and I thought, ooh, I'd love to do that.
So I went down and I prayed three or four times.
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And then the facility closed.
It closed down right after that.
And I thought, hmm, okay.
So it was...
Prayer works.
Prayer works.
And about six years later, in 2018, actually, the Lord started stirring in my heart.
And he said, yes, the abortion facility is closed.
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Yes, it is now the headquarters of 40 Days for Life International.
Life has come to that facility now instead of darkness.
And it's a beautiful thing, a beautiful story.
If anyone's seen the movie unplanned, that's our story with Abby Johnson.
And so...
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But he said...
He told me, he said, there are people driving the streets of Bryant College Station and
they are deciding whether to go to Houston or Austin or Dallas or Beaumont and have an
abortion.
They've got unplanned pregnancies that they are making decisions and they're driving down
your streets.
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They need to know there's a choice.
There's another way to do this besides having an abortion.
And he said also, there are people that have had abortions that are driving the streets
of Bryant College Station that are hurting, they are broken, they're repentant, but they
don't know how to receive forgiveness from Christ, which there is forgiveness for that
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just like there is for anything else.
And then he also said, we need to stand for life.
We need to let people know that I am a God of life.
And so he led me to lead a 40 Days for Life vigil in 2019 and in 2020.
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In the fall, during the football season, we're big football people here at A&M.
And so he led me to do their vigils right in front of Texas A&M.
Thousands of cars go by every day.
And standing with a sign, I had one sign that was Jeremiah 2911 and another sign that said,
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choose life.
God says, I've said before you life and death, blessing and cursing, therefore choose life
that you and your descendants may live.
And so we just had a simple sign, choose life.
We had another one that said, smile, your mom chose life.
And so we had scripture signs, we had regular signs, and it was amazing the reactions we
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got.
We got a lot of thumbs up.
Thank you for what you're doing.
We got people that came by and were so grateful that we were out there standing for these
babies.
And we had a lot of people that were shouting obscenities at us and calling us name after
name after name and coming up on the sidewalk and talking to us and telling us how wrong
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we were and having drinks thrown at us and just very vile and ugly things.
And the presence of God on that sidewalk was incredible.
And the love that he put in our hearts for those people that were yelling at us and gesturing
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to us and everything, there was so much love.
All we could do was just smile and pray for them.
We just prayed and prayed and prayed.
They had no idea we were praying for them because we knew they were hurting in some way.
And so, and then after the 2020 vigil, the Lord, you know, I prayed in 2019 and he said,
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do the vigil.
I prayed in 2020, he said, do the vigil.
But in 2021, God shut it off.
He said, no, don't do it.
And I had no idea that I was going to need to care for my dad whose health was failing.
And so I was so grateful that God, you know, he's so good to show us exactly what he wants
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from us.
And if we will just be obedient, you know, he knows the future.
We don't.
But if we'll just follow him, he knows exactly where we need to be, what we need to do, when
and how.
And he makes it all work.
Yeah, he's not a harsh taskmaster, is he?
No, no, he's gracious and kind and loving and good.
(31:59):
He loves us.
Yes, he loves us.
He loves our families.
And he knows where we fit in the whole scheme of his plan.
And so I didn't do the vigil in 2021.
And then in 2022, when Real Versus Way was reversed, there was a big pro-abortion rally
(32:20):
at the Capitol in Austin.
And I really sense the Lord said, you need to go and join the counter-protests that is
going on.
And I went with shaking knees, but I went.
I didn't know what to expect.
But I've never come across such angry, livid, hateful persecution as I did that day.
(32:53):
And standing there with them yelling at us in our faces, but just standing there and
praying for them and asking God to have mercy on them, please have mercy on them.
They don't know what they're doing.
And it was like Daniel and Lion's Den.
It was like standing before the lions and saying, my God is able to keep me.
(33:16):
And my heart was in my throat.
It was pounding.
But my spirit was at peace.
I knew I was fine.
I knew I was protected.
But I really felt like the Lord wanted me to know how to stand in that kind of an environment
in the peace of God, in the presence of God, and just stand and pray for someone that hates
(33:39):
me so much.
It was incredible.
I've never experienced anything like that.
But I know that I know he led me there.
And he showed me when to go and he showed me when to leave.
And all the time you are involved in your pro-life assignment from the Lord, God had another
little surprise assignment for you that you were working on in the background.
(34:02):
Share about that because it was completely different from everything else you've done.
In 2015, I had an incident happen.
The ministry that we go to, which is our church's SOS ministries in Bryan, and we had all the
(34:23):
SOS family out to our ranch for a picnic for 4th of July.
And some children, during that picnic, they brought me an injured bird that they had found.
They had rescued it from being beat up by a bluejay.
And they had rescued it and they gave it to me and said, Miss Patricia, could you please
help this bird?
(34:43):
I'll do what I can.
But the rescue of that little bird, his restoration to health, he actually was a nestling so he
didn't even have his feathers grown in where he could fly away.
He was basically...
Really defenseless, right?
(35:03):
Yeah.
Just defenseless, defenseless, yeah.
And through the process of feeding him and caring for him, he grew in his feathers.
He was restored to health and he finally flew away.
So he was actually released back into the wild where he belonged.
(35:23):
And so that story of that bird, I was sharing it with my cousin who likes to write.
And she said, Patricia, you need to write a children's book.
And I thought, no, no, no, you're the writer.
You need to write this book.
She said, no, no, you need to write it.
You experience it, you need to write it.
She said, it sounds a lot like the mission of SOS Ministries, which God told Mr. JJ
(35:50):
Ramirez, the founder, that his mission was to rescue, restore, and release the hurting
from drug-infested dysfunctional families, violence, and despair.
And so that's what we do at SOS all the time.
We see people come in one way and leave another way.
(36:12):
It's beautiful.
So the Lord really put it on my heart.
I want you to write this book.
And the book was to be a gift for Mr. JJ for his 30th anniversary of being in ministry.
And so I started three years earlier.
And in 2023, I was able to present that book to him as a gift for all those years of 24-7,
(36:40):
working with people to rescue them.
You know, it's not, it's not, it's a very messy thing to rescue, to restore, and to
release.
It's messy.
You get into people's lives, and there's a lot of ins and outs of it.
It takes you farther than you want to go and cost you more than you want to pay.
(37:03):
But Jesus gives us life and that more abundantly.
And so after working on that book for three years, the illustrator he brought had actually
been in our man's home and had graduated from our man's home.
And he's a beautiful illustrator.
And he just, the book, it looks exactly the way the Lord showed it to me in my heart,
(37:24):
in my mind.
Exactly.
Exactly.
And I can't thank them, should press enough for working with me to get it finished for
the anniversary, to have it look the way it does, because the Lord was very specific.
And so I wanted to obey him in that.
(37:47):
And the beautiful thing is all the proceeds for the book, all the prophets go back to
SOS Ministries so they can continue to rescue, restore, and release, just like the Good Samaritan
story.
It's been exciting.
Yeah, and we'll have a link in our show notes if anyone wants to check it out online so
they could get it from you because it's not available on Amazon, is it?
(38:08):
Yes, it is.
It actually is.
Oh, it is.
You can get it from Redemption Press, many different places.
Tell us the name.
It's called J's Tale, J-A-Y-A-Pasphia's Tale, T-A-L-E.
It's funny because Mr. JJ, people that know him, have been known him for a long time,
they call him J.
Okay.
And the children named the bird J from the very beginning.
(38:30):
They said, we need to call him J. Okay, call him J.
It's a fun way that God works, you know?
He works in mysterious ways, but when you look back at what he's done, it's amazing,
isn't it?
It is.
It is.
Yeah.
Well, Patricia, as you look back over your life and how God's led you, what life lesson
do you want to pass on to others?
(38:50):
I think the main thing is obedience.
To the Holy Spirit, obedience to the Word of God, to His prompting in your heart, and
to know that when you accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior, you are His sheep.
And the Bible says, His sheep hear His voice and they follow Him.
(39:11):
And so as I follow the Lord, He has taken me so many different places that I can't even
describe.
He's taken me to Mexico to do mission work.
He's taken me many, many different places through many, many different assignments.
And it's all been exciting.
It hasn't been easy a lot of times, but He didn't say it was going to be easy.
(39:32):
It was going to be fulfilling and it was going to bring Him glory.
And so obedience, really, to have an ear tuned to the Lord, Father, what do you want me to
do?
What do you say about this situation, that situation?
What do you say about this depression or this anxiety I'm experiencing?
(39:53):
What do you say I need to do?
What is the strategy that you give me to combat this?
I want to glorify you.
How can I do that?
He will answer you.
And one of my favorite verses is Jeremiah 33.:3
3.
Call unto me and I will answer you and show you great and mighty things that you don't
(40:15):
know.
And I don't know how many times I've stood in my living room or in my bedroom or whatever
and said, Father, there's a lot I don't know.
But I'm calling on you and I'm asking you to answer.
And He does answer every time He answers.
As we close, Patricia, would you share about a woman of the Bible whose story has inspired
(40:37):
and encouraged or taught you something?
You know, I had never thought about that until you asked me to.
But looking at everything, Mary.
And that's Mary because she, you know, the angel came to her and gave her this news and
she's a teenager and she's going to carry the Son of God.
(41:02):
And that could be, you know, it's got to be scary.
But she didn't, she didn't balk at it.
She didn't anything.
And just one clarifying question, how can this be since I do not know a man?
She had just asked for clarification.
And when the angel had given her clarification, she said, be it unto me according to your will.
(41:25):
Be it unto me as you have said.
You know, she just said, okay, yes, yes, Lord.
The leader of our women's ministry at SOS, she always says the word no and the word Lord
do not belong in the same sentence.
We don't say no, Lord.
It's always yes, Lord.
Yes, Lord.
(41:46):
If He's our Lord, we say yes.
And that's what Mary did.
She said yes.
And look what it took her.
So saying yes is very powerful.
Well, you know, as I think about your life, Patricia, reminds me of Galatians 5, 13, which
the new living translation reads, for you've been called to live in freedom.
(42:07):
My brothers and sisters, don't use your freedom to satisfy your sinful nature.
Instead, use your freedom to serve others in love.
Patricia was set free from sin first when she came to Christ, then she was set free
from depression.
And in her freedom, she's followed the Lord in serving others in many different ways.
(42:30):
Her direction changed over time.
She's been free to step into all God has had for her to do.
You dear friend, have that freedom too if you've put your faith in Christ and He is
your Lord.
So when you feel a nudge from God, step out in faith.
I took a step in faith when I started this podcast.
And now you're hearing encouraging stories that are building your faith.
(42:53):
So step out and see what God will do through you.
Patricia, would you take a moment and pray for our listeners?
Absolutely.
Father God, we love you so much.
You are high and lifted up.
You are most holy God.
We love you and we trust you with our lives, Father.
And I pray for every woman that's listening right now.
(43:13):
I pray for every woman that is dealing with depression, with suicidal thoughts, with anxiety,
with mental illness of any kind, Father.
Father, you said in your word that you are the good shepherd and you restore our souls.
And so I'm asking you for restoration of their souls right now, Father.
I'm asking you to restore them like you did me and more, Father.
(43:37):
You are no respecter person.
You love us all.
And so I just ask in the name of Jesus that you would restore their souls, that you would
give them strategy to come against the wilds and schemes of the enemy.
And I come against the plans and the attacks of the enemy upon them in the name of Jesus.
(43:59):
And I say, no, you are defeated.
The cross of Jesus and the blood of Jesus is our victory.
And I thank you, Father God, that they will walk in victory.
I speak freedom to every woman listening right now.
I speak freedom of spirit, soul, and body, their finances, their relationships, freedom
(44:19):
in every area of life, Father.
And I ask in the name of Jesus that as they walk in that freedom that you would get all
the praise and glory and honor for the beautiful things you will do through them, Father, because
you've already planned those beautiful things that they're to do.
And so I ask that you give them the freedom so that they can walk in the inheritance that
(44:40):
you have for them.
And I bless them in the name of Jesus.
Amen.
Well, thank you for tuning in.
Check out our show notes at hergodstory.org for scriptures and other information we talked
about.
And remember to get your free six-week devotional on Women of the Bible.
We'd also love to pray with you on our 24-7 prayer and text line.
(45:01):
So give us a call or text anytime at 855-459-CARE or email us at prayer at somebodycares.org.
And now dear friends, I leave you with a blessing adapted from Psalm 90 verse 17.
May the favor of the Lord our God rest on you, establishing the work of your hands.
(45:24):
Her God Story is a ministry of Somebody Cares America and International.
To find out more about or support the ministry, go to somebodycares.org.
Hey friends, welcome to the Her God Story podcast where you will always hear a good
(00:04):
story to encourage and inspire you in your walk with the Lord.
I am so glad you tuned in today.
I'm your host, Jodie Chiricosta, ministry leader at Somebody Cares America International, author
and traveler on this journey with Jesus.
Did you know you can download a free six-week devotional on Women of the Bible at hergodsstory.org?
(00:25):
We are confident that God will use it to minister to you in so many ways.
We also have a 12-week devotional on Women of the Bible that you can purchase for just
$12 and all the proceeds will go to our Widow and Orphan Fund, so check them out.
And I have a favor to ask you.
Would you rate this podcast on your favorite streaming platform or just click on rate the
(00:47):
show in our episode description that will help others find this podcast too?
King David of the Old Testament was a man who experienced every emotion imaginable.
From boldly defeating the giant Goliath to cowering in fear before his enemies so much
so that he pretended to be insane, he danced before the Lord as the Ark of the Covenant
(01:10):
was brought back to Jerusalem.
He also found himself in the pit of despair on numerous occasions as he fled for his life
from his enemies.
But he came through his most difficult moments because he knew the secret of being restored.
He shares it with us in Psalm 42, verses 5 and 11, as well as many other Psalms.
(01:31):
The NIV reads, "Why my soul are you downcast?
Why so disturbed within me?
Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God."
No matter what circumstances we're in, no matter how we feel, setting our focus and
hope on God changes things.
(01:52):
I read a quote recently that stuck with me.
It says, Worship will get you through the roughest times in your life because it shifts
your focus from the problem to the problem solver.
However the author was, he or she learned the same truth as King David.
My guest, Patricia Hefti, has definitely learned that truth.
(02:15):
Patricia is a retired homeschool parent who has also worked as a lab technician in the
Texas A&M University Biochemistry, Biophysics Department, as well as an elementary school
teacher at the Lighthouse International Christian Center.
She has also served as a Christians pastor at several local churches, and she and her
husband Roy enjoy spending time with their two grown children and granddaughter and are
(02:38):
passionate about serving the Lord in whatever way he leads.
Welcome Patricia.
Hi, Jodie
It's nice to be here.
Patricia, share with us a little about how you grew up and when you first encountered
Jesus.
Okay, well I was raised in El Paso, so I was a desert rat.
And we went to the Catholic Church as a family.
(03:02):
And I can remember growing up, I struggled with depression.
Most of my life, most of my life, I can remember just feeling low and guilty and shameful and
just a lot of self-hatred.
And when I was in first or second grade, my best friend in school, she invited me to her
(03:27):
Baptist church for a hot dog supper.
And that was a draw for me because I loved hot dogs and chips.
So we went to the basement and had our hot dogs and chips, and then we went to the sanctuary.
And that's where I heard the gospel for the very first time.
I had never heard anything other than what I perceived was, God is out to get you.
(03:53):
You're a sinner and you have no way to get to heaven except if you do this, this, this,
and this.
And I just had a fear of God, but it was the wrong kind of fear.
And I remember going and hearing the gospel for the first time and when the pastor gave
the altar call, I remember running up to that altar and tucking on his coat and looking
(04:16):
up at him and saying, I want to be saved.
And that was my sinner's prayer.
I didn't pray, no one prayed with me.
Really, they took some information from me, but nobody really prayed with me.
That was my sinner's prayer.
I want to be saved.
And God took that child's heartfelt cry and he did it.
(04:39):
And I remember walking down the steps of that church was Grandview Baptist Church in El
Paso.
And I remember walking down those steps and saying, I love everybody.
I love the world.
And that was, I knew my heart was changed.
I knew something had changed.
But when I came home, I told my parents about it, all excited.
(05:02):
And they said, yeah, that's just an emotional experience.
Your sister did the same thing a few years ago.
You'll get over it.
And that was it.
And I had no idea.
My friend, when I came back from being up at the front, she was crying in the church.
And I didn't know why she was crying.
I had no idea what it meant to be saved.
(05:25):
I just knew I wanted it.
I wanted God.
I just wanted him.
And so I just didn't know what else to do.
So I just went on with life.
Had no teaching.
Years later, when you were in college, God brought someone into your life that showed
you the next step.
(05:45):
Yes.
Tell us about that.
How did that happen?
Well, I was going to Texas A&M.
I had transferred from UTEP and finishing my degree at Texas A&M.
And I was in between semesters or years.
And so I went back home to El Paso to work.
And my boss was a born-again, spirit-filled Christian.
(06:07):
I had no idea.
And God got me that job.
I knew it.
He led me to that job because there was no reason why I should get that job.
And I did.
And one day he gave me some tracks, some Christian tracks.
And he said, Patricia, would you read these and tell me which one you liked the best?
(06:28):
And I read them all.
One was a dooming, not a doom and gloom, but a Hellfire and Brimstone track.
And this one that I really liked was a very gentle born-again.
Here's how you get born again from the book of John.
And I said, Rudy, I like this one.
I really like this one a lot.
And I said, you know, I did this.
(06:51):
And finally my heart and my mind opened up and I said, I did this.
I got saved.
And I told him what happened years ago when I was eight or nine years old.
And I said, that's what happened.
Now I know what happened to me.
And so that was the beginning of my relationship with God.
(07:12):
And so he helped you start growing in your faith, didn't he?
Yes, he did.
How did you get connected and what did you start learning?
And also how did that impact your family?
Well, I started going to the church he was going to on Tuesday nights.
And then on Sunday morning we went to the Catholic Church.
(07:33):
And he would share with me all kinds of things of what he was learning and the Word of God.
And we just fellowshiped a lot while we were working.
And then once he told me, he said, you know, Patricia, if you're ever confused, if you
ever don't know how to pray about something, I just asked Jesus to fill you with the Holy
(07:57):
Spirit and he will.
You can do that in your bedroom anywhere you are.
And so I finally went to the priest of our Catholic Church, the head of our church.
And I said, you know, I'm learning some things that I'm reading the Bible and I love it.
(08:18):
But I'm learning some things that kind of contradict what's going on here at church
and I wanted to talk to you about it.
And we talked quite a while, but the last thing he told me was, Patricia, I'm glad
you're searching but never leave your Catholic faith.
And I left his office and I was so confused.
And I went home and I just cried and I said, Lord, I don't understand.
(08:41):
I know I've found something beautiful, but he's saying don't leave the Catholic faith.
And so I, right then I said, you know, I'm confused.
I don't know how to pray.
So I did ask Jesus to fill me with the Holy Spirit.
I started speaking in spirit and then I thought that can't be it.
And so I cried.
(09:02):
This can be it.
This is so weird.
And then my boss was also going to a home group Bible study and I was going to that
on Friday nights.
And so I went to the home group and I said, I want to be filled with the Holy Spirit.
I need that.
And so they gathered around me and prayed for me.
And I prayed the same as I did, you know, in my room days ago.
(09:24):
So, but I just went home rejoicing, praying in the spirit, singing in the spirit, just
on cloud nine because it gave me such joy to know.
And then I started learning what praying in the spirit was all about, that I was praying
the perfect will of God, that I was giving thanks well, that my spirit was praying, but
my mind is unfruitful.
(09:46):
And a lot of time needed my mind to be unfruitful because my mind was messed up.
So I was glad for that, that gift to the Holy Spirit.
So eventually your mom and even your dad joined you at these Bible studies.
What happened with them and how did that impact their life?
My mom had gotten saved at a Catholic Charismatic group a few years before and I didn't even
(10:09):
realize what had happened to her.
But I knew something was different with her, but I wasn't sure what.
Well, when I started going to that Tuesday night church service with my boss at their
church, she finally said, I want to go with you.
I see something in you.
I want to go with you.
So she would go with me.
So my dad and my brother were at home and we'd invite them every Tuesday, do you want
(10:33):
to come to Bible study?
And they said, no, you know, and my boss told me, make sure you make it their decision.
Just invite them, let them make the decision because the man's ego, you know, needs to
make the decision.
So we just invited them and that was it.
And one Tuesday my dad looked at my brother and said, we got to go see what these girls
are up to.
(10:54):
So they came.
They didn't have an altar call that Tuesday, which crushed me.
I thought, oh gosh, here was a great chance for my dad and my brother to be saved.
But they came the next Tuesday.
They had an altar call and so they were saved and filled with the Holy Spirit.
And we came home and my dad said, you know, I remember hearing this teaching as a kid
(11:17):
and I never accepted Christ.
And now I'm so old, but I'm asking God to grow me up quick.
And he said, I don't see any reason why we should go back to the Catholic Church.
We're being fed the Word of God here.
So we quit going to the Catholic Church.
Yeah.
So at the end of the summer, you know, this was, you were back home with your parents
and that end of the summer, you had to go back to school, which you didn't have any
(11:41):
fellowship at school because you hadn't been connected there.
So how did you get connected with other believers and growing your faith in college?
Well, my boss told me before I left, he said, Patricia, here's some basic.
Basic questions that you should ask when you're looking for a good Bible-believing church,
you need a church that teaches the Word of God, the truth.
(12:02):
And so here's some questions.
So he gave me a list of questions that I could ask them.
And I actually did.
I'd call up and ask, okay, what do you believe about this?
What do you believe?
Do you believe in the Holy Spirit and infill the Holy Spirit, the Virgin birth, you know,
just basic tenets of the faith?
And I did find a good Bible-believing church.
So I started going there.
(12:24):
I had to buy the church bus because I had no vehicle.
But it was a joy.
It was a real joy to grow there.
And the people really were inviting and welcoming.
And eventually, I ended up being a chiller's pastor at that church.
Wow.
I mean, you were in school, studying pretty rigorous course.
(12:50):
You were also ministering to children.
And you know, your obedience in following God into children's ministry had an added
personal benefit, didn't it?
Tell us.
Tell us that story.
The main thing is being obedient to go to the church God chose for me.
Not me choosing a church, but I was really praying, God show me where you want me.
(13:10):
And so that's how the Chins Ministry started.
But then it was a church filled with older folks and families with children, no singles
at all.
And I wanted to be married.
I was looking for my husband.
And finally, I just said, you know, Lord, if I never get married, it's okay.
I'm good with you.
(13:30):
You are enough for me.
And at that point, when I surrendered it all, then the Lord brought my husband to that
church, that little country church.
And so I had also told the Lord, I don't want to do the dating business anymore.
It's too hard on my heart.
(13:50):
And so I said, you know, unless you show me, this is my future husband, I am not going
out with anyone.
You're going to have to show me.
And the Lord did.
He showed me that that was my husband to be before we ever went out on a date.
I love it because when you get serious with God, he gets serious with you and he'll answer
(14:11):
you in the way you need it so that you know it's him.
Yeah.
And you got to know each other because he started helping in children's ministry.
Right.
He drove the bus, the church bus that I had ridden years ago.
And I was riding the bus with him, picking up the children.
And we worked together in church.
We went, we did a lot of things together with the church.
(14:35):
And but like I said, I, I, before I knew that that was him, I just, you know, hands off
until God really showed me this is, this is him.
You mentioned earlier, Patricia, that you struggled with depression and that continued
even after you put your faith in Jesus and began growing in the Lord.
(14:56):
You even had suicidal thoughts from time to time.
Yeah.
When and how did you find freedom from that?
I think that, you know, depression plagues a lot of people and actually after COVID,
a lot more people have suffered.
Yes.
And then there was a lot of isolation and depression.
You know, how did the Lord lead you in getting rid of depression?
Well, it was a process, Jody.
(15:18):
It was a, it was a process of obeying God in what he told me to do.
And I really, I really encourage everyone out there that struggles with depression,
with suicidal thoughts, with anxiety to pray to the Lord and asking for a strategy.
I can just tell you what the strategy he gave me.
(15:40):
And he will give other people other strategies to combat that because in the, at the end
of the day, depression is really, what he shared with me was, depression is just an adult temper
tantrum.
I am low and I am feeling bad because things are not going the way I think they should.
(16:02):
And I'm not to be Lord of my life.
He is to be Lord of my life.
So I know that part of the depression that I suffered was part of a generational thing
because there are several members of my family that have struggled with depression and mental
illness.
And so I just, the Lord, you know, I wanted to glorify God and I knew depression was not
(16:27):
glorifying Him.
And so I can only describe depression for me as a, as a pit, a dark pit.
And I stayed there for years, so long that I didn't know I could feel any other way.
I had no idea I could feel any different.
But when God started showing me the joy, you know, it says in God's presence is fullness
(16:52):
of joy.
And at His right hand, there are pleasures forevermore.
And so I started getting little tastes of that joy and thinking, hmm, that's different.
I haven't felt like that before.
And then the depression would just take me down that spiral, that spiral down, down,
down to the bottom of the pit.
(17:13):
But the Lord showed me, He said, I am worthy of your praise.
24 hours a day, seven days a week.
It doesn't matter how you feel.
I am worthy of your praise.
So if you will praise me, you know, the word says, if Jesus will be lifted up, He will
draw all men to Himself.
(17:34):
And as I, as you lift Jesus up, He lifts you up to where He is.
And you know, the Bible says too that God inhabits the praises of His people.
And so as I would praise, and there were, and when I first started this, I would just
praise in an empty house where I was and tears streaming down my face, feeling low as a,
(17:58):
as a grasshopper, just feeling like nothing, like, like I, it was not worth anything.
And as I would praise, He would lift me out of that pit.
And if I would just obey Him in that and praise Him, no matter how I felt.
And as I did, He would lift me out of that pit and I'd be out in the sunshine thinking,
(18:22):
wow, I didn't know I could have this kind of joy.
And then the, the lying thoughts would come again and that spiral will happen again down,
down, down to the pit.
And I'd say, okay, I might stay there two or three weeks.
I might stay there two months.
I might stay there half a year.
(18:42):
I didn't realize I didn't have to be that way anymore.
But as I would praise, I would get back out of that pit.
And every time it just seemed like I went a little less low, a little less dark, a little
less time in the pit.
And it was just a process of obedience, obeying Him and knowing He is worthy of my praise.
(19:09):
And I want to glorify Him and if I'm going to glorify Him, I need to walk in joy and
peace so that, you know, the world can walk in depression.
They have no hope.
I have hope.
Jesus is my hope.
And so I can walk in Him and have that peace and joy and be a light and a witness.
(19:30):
And so, and now I can talk about it like it's somebody else because I haven't been there
in so long and at times when those things try to, you know, lying thoughts can be everybody
at different times.
Yeah, they do.
But we have to know that they were to take those thoughts captive to the obedience of
(19:52):
Christ.
And for me, that meant praise Him.
Praise Him because He's worthy.
And as I did, then if that ever tries to get back on me, I just praise Him again and He
lifts me back up.
So it's just, I can't say enough about it because that was my lifeline.
(20:15):
I really think that if I had not found the Lord, if He had not found me and changed me,
I could have been in a sane asylum.
I could have been on medications and, or I could be dead because those suicidal thoughts
came for no reason.
(20:36):
I had a good home, a good family, I had a good husband, I had, you know, growing up I had
a good home.
So there was no reason for it.
It was the enemy's attack on my mind and my heart.
And he always attacks our identity.
He always attacks who we are.
And when I finally found out who I was in Christ, I thought, no, I don't have to be that.
(20:59):
I am a child of God.
I am His workmanship created in Christ Jesus unto good works that He's already ordained
for me to walk in.
So I can walk in freedom and in fullness.
Amen.
So after you got married, you tried to start a family.
And in the process, you experienced a miracle.
(21:23):
Tell us what happened.
I had, I had a surgery scheduled for a month out for endometriosis.
I had endometriosis really bad.
Lots of pain, lots of suffering with that.
And my husband and I were trying to get pregnant and nothing was happening.
So, but I needed to get that, that pain fixed.
(21:45):
And so I went to my home group right after I scheduled the surgery.
I said, I've got a surgery scheduled in a month.
They prayed for me, so they laid hands on me and prayed for me.
And so we went on and the, the Wednesday, the Monday before the surgery, they, the doctor
(22:06):
said, you still haven't started your cycle.
We can't operate on you if we have any suspects that we, that you're pregnant.
So I had to go in for a pregnancy test.
And when I went in for the pregnancy test, they came out and said, we can't operate on
you, you're pregnant.
So I mean, it was just the most beautiful thing because it was so unexpected, although we
(22:32):
had been praying, but it was, why do we, why are we surprised when God answers?
I don't know.
But I went down the highway just crying and laughing and praising God and trying to find
my husband who was working in the house and doing remodeling work and let him know that,
that we were going to have a baby.
(22:54):
So it was beautiful.
And that, that, that healed my injury, endometriosis.
I didn't have trouble getting pregnant again to have my second daughter.
So he really just completely took all that sickness away and breast-blessed us with a
baby.
So it was very exciting.
And his favor was on you too because while you were pregnant, you were interviewing
(23:17):
for a job.
And you told them you were pregnant.
So what happened there?
Well, I, I scheduled the surgery and then I applied for the job and then found out that
I was pregnant and I had my interview.
And at the interview I said, by the way, I just want to let you know I'm pregnant and
(23:38):
I'm going to be leaving in April when I have the baby because I want to be a stay at home
mom.
And they were good with it and said, that's fine.
No problem at all.
So I was, I was free to come in.
That job was such a joy, such a joy.
It paid for all the expenses of having our, our daughter.
So yeah, it was exciting.
(24:00):
Yeah.
And you and your husband agreed that you wanted to homeschool your children, not for everybody,
but it definitely was a call of God on for you, share how you prepared yourself and just
the whole experience.
Well, I had my bachelor's in microbiology and then we, in 1990, nothing was happening
(24:24):
in the baby department.
But I said, okay, let me go back to school because eventually we want to have children.
And so we, we feel like we ought to homeschool.
It was just something God put in our hearts.
And I would say to anybody that's contemplating homeschooling to pray, really pray and ask
(24:46):
God if this is right for you, because it's not right for every family, but it was right
for us.
So I went back to get my master's in education and my teaching certificates so that if they
ever changed the laws in Texas, I would have my credentials and I could just, you know,
teach my children at home.
So it was a real great experience homeschooling them.
(25:08):
We got to be a family all the time.
We didn't have to, you know, cart them off for the best hours of their day.
We had them around us.
And so we were able to share life with them.
They were able to learn how to deal with cattle, horses, dogs.
We had, we were able to follow their interests.
It was just a very nice time of being a family together where we could vacation when we were
(25:32):
able to and not have to be on a strict schedule.
So, and my daughters both prayed to receive Jesus.
And in fact, my older daughter witnessed to my younger daughter, and that's how she accepted
Christ and they were filled with the spirit.
And so we did church together.
We served at the churches together as a family.
(25:54):
Yeah, you really were able to disciple them through the education and through your church
activities.
So you really were able to ground them in their faith.
And after your daughters graduated from high school, God led you to a new direction and
taught you to stand in the face of persecution, which isn't something that we like to think
(26:15):
about too much.
But as the world gets darker and the light gets lighter, there's going to be more, more
of that.
Yes.
So what did he lead you to do?
And how did you withstand what you experienced?
We had an abortion facility, a Planned Parenthood facility in our community that was doing abortions
(26:37):
right there at the facility.
4,000 children lost their lives at that facility during the years it was open.
And I started praying at the abortion facility when I found out, I always wondered why these
people were standing outside the abortion facility.
And I finally realized it was 40 days for life vigils.
(27:02):
They were standing vigil praying for the babies, praying for the moms, extending the love of
God to the moms that were going in and praying that they would change their minds and give
their babies a chance at life.
And so I heard about that and I thought, ooh, I'd love to do that.
So I went down and I prayed three or four times.
(27:23):
And then the facility closed.
It closed down right after that.
And I thought, hmm, okay.
So it was...
Prayer works.
Prayer works.
And about six years later, in 2018, actually, the Lord started stirring in my heart.
And he said, yes, the abortion facility is closed.
(27:46):
Yes, it is now the headquarters of 40 Days for Life International.
Life has come to that facility now instead of darkness.
And it's a beautiful thing, a beautiful story.
If anyone's seen the movie unplanned, that's our story with Abby Johnson.
And so...
(28:07):
But he said...
He told me, he said, there are people driving the streets of Bryant College Station and
they are deciding whether to go to Houston or Austin or Dallas or Beaumont and have an
abortion.
They've got unplanned pregnancies that they are making decisions and they're driving down
your streets.
(28:28):
They need to know there's a choice.
There's another way to do this besides having an abortion.
And he said also, there are people that have had abortions that are driving the streets
of Bryant College Station that are hurting, they are broken, they're repentant, but they
don't know how to receive forgiveness from Christ, which there is forgiveness for that
(28:51):
just like there is for anything else.
And then he also said, we need to stand for life.
We need to let people know that I am a God of life.
And so he led me to lead a 40 Days for Life vigil in 2019 and in 2020.
(29:12):
In the fall, during the football season, we're big football people here at A&M.
And so he led me to do their vigils right in front of Texas A&M.
Thousands of cars go by every day.
And standing with a sign, I had one sign that was Jeremiah 2911 and another sign that said,
(29:36):
choose life.
God says, I've said before you life and death, blessing and cursing, therefore choose life
that you and your descendants may live.
And so we just had a simple sign, choose life.
We had another one that said, smile, your mom chose life.
And so we had scripture signs, we had regular signs, and it was amazing the reactions we
(30:02):
got.
We got a lot of thumbs up.
Thank you for what you're doing.
We got people that came by and were so grateful that we were out there standing for these
babies.
And we had a lot of people that were shouting obscenities at us and calling us name after
name after name and coming up on the sidewalk and talking to us and telling us how wrong
(30:24):
we were and having drinks thrown at us and just very vile and ugly things.
And the presence of God on that sidewalk was incredible.
And the love that he put in our hearts for those people that were yelling at us and gesturing
(30:49):
to us and everything, there was so much love.
All we could do was just smile and pray for them.
We just prayed and prayed and prayed.
They had no idea we were praying for them because we knew they were hurting in some way.
And so, and then after the 2020 vigil, the Lord, you know, I prayed in 2019 and he said,
(31:16):
do the vigil.
I prayed in 2020, he said, do the vigil.
But in 2021, God shut it off.
He said, no, don't do it.
And I had no idea that I was going to need to care for my dad whose health was failing.
And so I was so grateful that God, you know, he's so good to show us exactly what he wants
(31:37):
from us.
And if we will just be obedient, you know, he knows the future.
We don't.
But if we'll just follow him, he knows exactly where we need to be, what we need to do, when
and how.
And he makes it all work.
Yeah, he's not a harsh taskmaster, is he?
No, no, he's gracious and kind and loving and good.
(31:59):
He loves us.
Yes, he loves us.
He loves our families.
And he knows where we fit in the whole scheme of his plan.
And so I didn't do the vigil in 2021.
And then in 2022, when Real Versus Way was reversed, there was a big pro-abortion rally
(32:20):
at the Capitol in Austin.
And I really sense the Lord said, you need to go and join the counter-protests that is
going on.
And I went with shaking knees, but I went.
I didn't know what to expect.
But I've never come across such angry, livid, hateful persecution as I did that day.
(32:53):
And standing there with them yelling at us in our faces, but just standing there and
praying for them and asking God to have mercy on them, please have mercy on them.
They don't know what they're doing.
And it was like Daniel and Lion's Den.
It was like standing before the lions and saying, my God is able to keep me.
(33:16):
And my heart was in my throat.
It was pounding.
But my spirit was at peace.
I knew I was fine.
I knew I was protected.
But I really felt like the Lord wanted me to know how to stand in that kind of an environment
in the peace of God, in the presence of God, and just stand and pray for someone that hates
(33:39):
me so much.
It was incredible.
I've never experienced anything like that.
But I know that I know he led me there.
And he showed me when to go and he showed me when to leave.
And all the time you are involved in your pro-life assignment from the Lord, God had another
little surprise assignment for you that you were working on in the background.
(34:02):
Share about that because it was completely different from everything else you've done.
In 2015, I had an incident happen.
The ministry that we go to, which is our church's SOS ministries in Bryan, and we had all the
(34:23):
SOS family out to our ranch for a picnic for 4th of July.
And some children, during that picnic, they brought me an injured bird that they had found.
They had rescued it from being beat up by a bluejay.
And they had rescued it and they gave it to me and said, Miss Patricia, could you please
help this bird?
(34:43):
I'll do what I can.
But the rescue of that little bird, his restoration to health, he actually was a nestling so he
didn't even have his feathers grown in where he could fly away.
He was basically...
Really defenseless, right?
(35:03):
Yeah.
Just defenseless, defenseless, yeah.
And through the process of feeding him and caring for him, he grew in his feathers.
He was restored to health and he finally flew away.
So he was actually released back into the wild where he belonged.
(35:23):
And so that story of that bird, I was sharing it with my cousin who likes to write.
And she said, Patricia, you need to write a children's book.
And I thought, no, no, no, you're the writer.
You need to write this book.
She said, no, no, you need to write it.
You experience it, you need to write it.
She said, it sounds a lot like the mission of SOS Ministries, which God told Mr. JJ
(35:50):
Ramirez, the founder, that his mission was to rescue, restore, and release the hurting
from drug-infested dysfunctional families, violence, and despair.
And so that's what we do at SOS all the time.
We see people come in one way and leave another way.
(36:12):
It's beautiful.
So the Lord really put it on my heart.
I want you to write this book.
And the book was to be a gift for Mr. JJ for his 30th anniversary of being in ministry.
And so I started three years earlier.
And in 2023, I was able to present that book to him as a gift for all those years of 24-7,
(36:40):
working with people to rescue them.
You know, it's not, it's not, it's a very messy thing to rescue, to restore, and to
release.
It's messy.
You get into people's lives, and there's a lot of ins and outs of it.
It takes you farther than you want to go and cost you more than you want to pay.
(37:03):
But Jesus gives us life and that more abundantly.
And so after working on that book for three years, the illustrator he brought had actually
been in our man's home and had graduated from our man's home.
And he's a beautiful illustrator.
And he just, the book, it looks exactly the way the Lord showed it to me in my heart,
(37:24):
in my mind.
Exactly.
Exactly.
And I can't thank them, should press enough for working with me to get it finished for
the anniversary, to have it look the way it does, because the Lord was very specific.
And so I wanted to obey him in that.
(37:47):
And the beautiful thing is all the proceeds for the book, all the prophets go back to
SOS Ministries so they can continue to rescue, restore, and release, just like the Good Samaritan
story.
It's been exciting.
Yeah, and we'll have a link in our show notes if anyone wants to check it out online so
they could get it from you because it's not available on Amazon, is it?
(38:08):
Yes, it is.
It actually is.
Oh, it is.
You can get it from Redemption Press, many different places.
Tell us the name.
It's called J's Tale, J-A-Y-A-Pasphia's Tale, T-A-L-E.
It's funny because Mr. JJ, people that know him, have been known him for a long time,
they call him J.
Okay.
And the children named the bird J from the very beginning.
(38:30):
They said, we need to call him J. Okay, call him J.
It's a fun way that God works, you know?
He works in mysterious ways, but when you look back at what he's done, it's amazing,
isn't it?
It is.
It is.
Yeah.
Well, Patricia, as you look back over your life and how God's led you, what life lesson
do you want to pass on to others?
(38:50):
I think the main thing is obedience.
To the Holy Spirit, obedience to the Word of God, to His prompting in your heart, and
to know that when you accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior, you are His sheep.
And the Bible says, His sheep hear His voice and they follow Him.
(39:11):
And so as I follow the Lord, He has taken me so many different places that I can't even
describe.
He's taken me to Mexico to do mission work.
He's taken me many, many different places through many, many different assignments.
And it's all been exciting.
It hasn't been easy a lot of times, but He didn't say it was going to be easy.
(39:32):
It was going to be fulfilling and it was going to bring Him glory.
And so obedience, really, to have an ear tuned to the Lord, Father, what do you want me to
do?
What do you say about this situation, that situation?
What do you say about this depression or this anxiety I'm experiencing?
(39:53):
What do you say I need to do?
What is the strategy that you give me to combat this?
I want to glorify you.
How can I do that?
He will answer you.
And one of my favorite verses is Jeremiah 33.:3
3.
Call unto me and I will answer you and show you great and mighty things that you don't
(40:15):
know.
And I don't know how many times I've stood in my living room or in my bedroom or whatever
and said, Father, there's a lot I don't know.
But I'm calling on you and I'm asking you to answer.
And He does answer every time He answers.
As we close, Patricia, would you share about a woman of the Bible whose story has inspired
(40:37):
and encouraged or taught you something?
You know, I had never thought about that until you asked me to.
But looking at everything, Mary.
And that's Mary because she, you know, the angel came to her and gave her this news and
she's a teenager and she's going to carry the Son of God.
(41:02):
And that could be, you know, it's got to be scary.
But she didn't, she didn't balk at it.
She didn't anything.
And just one clarifying question, how can this be since I do not know a man?
She had just asked for clarification.
And when the angel had given her clarification, she said, be it unto me according to your will.
(41:25):
Be it unto me as you have said.
You know, she just said, okay, yes, yes, Lord.
The leader of our women's ministry at SOS, she always says the word no and the word Lord
do not belong in the same sentence.
We don't say no, Lord.
It's always yes, Lord.
Yes, Lord.
(41:46):
If He's our Lord, we say yes.
And that's what Mary did.
She said yes.
And look what it took her.
So saying yes is very powerful.
Well, you know, as I think about your life, Patricia, reminds me of Galatians 5, 13, which
the new living translation reads, for you've been called to live in freedom.
(42:07):
My brothers and sisters, don't use your freedom to satisfy your sinful nature.
Instead, use your freedom to serve others in love.
Patricia was set free from sin first when she came to Christ, then she was set free
from depression.
And in her freedom, she's followed the Lord in serving others in many different ways.
(42:30):
Her direction changed over time.
She's been free to step into all God has had for her to do.
You dear friend, have that freedom too if you've put your faith in Christ and He is
your Lord.
So when you feel a nudge from God, step out in faith.
I took a step in faith when I started this podcast.
And now you're hearing encouraging stories that are building your faith.
(42:53):
So step out and see what God will do through you.
Patricia, would you take a moment and pray for our listeners?
Absolutely.
Father God, we love you so much.
You are high and lifted up.
You are most holy God.
We love you and we trust you with our lives, Father.
And I pray for every woman that's listening right now.
(43:13):
I pray for every woman that is dealing with depression, with suicidal thoughts, with anxiety,
with mental illness of any kind, Father.
Father, you said in your word that you are the good shepherd and you restore our souls.
And so I'm asking you for restoration of their souls right now, Father.
I'm asking you to restore them like you did me and more, Father.
(43:37):
You are no respecter person.
You love us all.
And so I just ask in the name of Jesus that you would restore their souls, that you would
give them strategy to come against the wilds and schemes of the enemy.
And I come against the plans and the attacks of the enemy upon them in the name of Jesus.
(43:59):
And I say, no, you are defeated.
The cross of Jesus and the blood of Jesus is our victory.
And I thank you, Father God, that they will walk in victory.
I speak freedom to every woman listening right now.
I speak freedom of spirit, soul, and body, their finances, their relationships, freedom
(44:19):
in every area of life, Father.
And I ask in the name of Jesus that as they walk in that freedom that you would get all
the praise and glory and honor for the beautiful things you will do through them, Father, because
you've already planned those beautiful things that they're to do.
And so I ask that you give them the freedom so that they can walk in the inheritance that
(44:40):
you have for them.
And I bless them in the name of Jesus.
Amen.
Well, thank you for tuning in.
Check out our show notes at hergodstory.org for scriptures and other information we talked
about.
And remember to get your free six-week devotional on Women of the Bible.
We'd also love to pray with you on our 24-7 prayer and text line.
(45:01):
So give us a call or text anytime at 855-459-CARE or email us at prayer at somebodycares.org.
And now dear friends, I leave you with a blessing adapted from Psalm 90 verse 17.
May the favor of the Lord our God rest on you, establishing the work of your hands.
(45:24):
Her God Story is a ministry of Somebody Cares America and International.
To find out more about or support the ministry, go to somebodycares.org.
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