June Kohls - Finding Hope at the Well

June Kohls draws listeners in with a profound parallel between her life journey and the Samaritan woman at the well. Like Jesus who traveled specifically to meet this outcast woman, June reveals how God purposefully seeks us in our lowest moments, offering living water when we feel most unworthy.

Growing up with an angry father and a codependent mother, June felt invisible even within her church community where leaders seemed to favor children from "normal" families. Despite early rejection, she maintained a unique connection with Jesus, asking not why her circumstances were difficult, but simply for God to heal her parents' hearts. This foundation of childlike faith eventually blossomed into her life's calling.

After marrying young and losing her infant daughter to medical negligence, June nearly succumbed to despair. The birth of her son Chad gave her reason to persevere as a single mother. Through remarkable divine intervention, a company owner offered to back her in starting a successful clothing store. Later, intentional Bible study transformed her relationship with Christ, leading to founding Heart to Cross, a ministry serving 150 women through both spiritual guidance and practical assistance.

When a stroke left June permanently blind in one eye, she recognized it as a spiritual attack. Rather than retreating, she doubled down on her commitment: "The devil was not taking me from my ordained calling." This resilient faith exemplifies how God weaves even our most painful experiences into something redemptive. June now leads women's groups at Destiny Worship Center, offering the same living water that transformed her life to others seeking wholeness.

Ready to discover how your own painful past can become the foundation for your purpose? Subscribe to Road to Redemption for more powerful testimonies of hope and transformation.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome to Road to Redemption, a show sharing
powerful life testimonies,giving hope to those on their
own road to redemption.

Speaker 2 (00:08):
This is Road to Redemption, and this is Valerie
Peterson, your host for today.
I am so glad you're tuning in.
We have an amazing guest herein the studio with us and her
name is June Coles, and manypeople in this community know
her and she is going to sharetoday.

(00:30):
We're going to start with hertestimony and then from there
she has some words ofencouragement for our listeners.
So, June, welcome to this showtoday.

Speaker 3 (00:40):
Well, thank you.
What an honor to be here.
Anytime I can talk about theLord, you just call me.

Speaker 2 (00:48):
I love it.
It's so true about you.
How many years, June, have youbeen in ministry.

Speaker 3 (00:54):
Here in the area 24.
Wow, 24 years 24 years and inAtlanta a few years prior to
that.
Yeah, so for a while for awhile, for a while.

Speaker 2 (01:08):
Yeah, Amazing, Amazing Cause I'm looking at you
, know I know you well and Iknow what you're doing for and
in this community and I can sayI just so appreciate you and
your ministry with women, youand your ministry with women.

Speaker 3 (01:22):
So I thank you.
I love it.
The women I minister to aregifts.
They're true gifts to me.
That's how I look at it.

Speaker 2 (01:36):
The Lord will lead one to me and I said thank you,
father.

Speaker 3 (01:37):
Thank you, I have an opportunity to love her.

Speaker 2 (01:41):
Can we start and can you share your story, your
testimony, with our listenerstoday?

Speaker 3 (01:47):
Yes, yeah, I thought that I would start there.
I will tell those listening I'mbasing this on the well-watered
woman and that I want to takeit from John 4, when Jesus met
the Samaritan woman at the well,yes, and he knew.

(02:10):
He knew she felt like lessbecause of how others looked at
her, looked upon her, but heknew he made that trip there
just for her, just for her.

Speaker 2 (02:25):
And I look at it.
Wasn't, when she was there, notthe typical time that people
went to the well to get water?
It was so hot.

Speaker 3 (02:33):
It was so hot when he came and even his disciples
said I don't think you should behere.
You know, for whatever you'retired, we had a long journey and
he said no, this is where Ineed to be, isn't that precious
it is?

Speaker 2 (02:51):
Talking about a meeting with Jesus right there,
and I remember reading a book byRachel Cannon about her.
Her name was Fotini and shereally was, you know, the first
female evangelist and her storyis amazing.
Where she went from there.
Yes, like that encounter withGod totally transformed her life

(03:15):
, right?

Speaker 3 (03:15):
Yes, yes, and I mentioned that.
I said that's what we should dowhen we hear the Word of God.
That's what we should do whenwe hear the Word of God.
Even those and I'm going totalk about those that are
needing a relationship with ourLord, when they hear the Word of

(03:37):
God and it touches their heart,they are.
We are to go tell everyone.
Look what Jesus did.

Speaker 2 (03:43):
Yes, yes exactly exactly.

Speaker 3 (03:46):
So, all right, I share parts of my testimony and
I leave out some that we justdon't have time for the goodness
of the Lord in my life.
But I'm going to start with mylife as a child and because my

(04:09):
brothers and I lived in a verydysfunctional home with an
always angry father and a verymeek, codependent mother.
We all suffered emotionally anddid our best to cope with our
life, but it was hurtful and itwas embarrassing.

(04:33):
It was as a child because wenever knew when our dad would
have an explosion of temper.
We never knew.
Therefore, we never invitedanyone to our home any friends.
So mother took us to churchevery Sunday, which I loved.

(04:55):
I love church and that's reallythe only place that, as
children, we went.
They didn't have the money, wedidn't go out, we didn't do a
whole lot, but I love church andas a little girl, I could feel

(05:17):
almost rejection or almost likeI didn't matter to some of the
people in the church that werefrom what I called normal
families.
The children that had normalparents seemed that the people
that ran the church were drawnto them, like if there were

(05:42):
three of us little girls and oneof the uppers in the church
would come to speak.
They would speak, or she wouldspeak to the other two and never
acknowledged me.
So I felt shunned.

Speaker 2 (06:00):
Yeah.

Speaker 3 (06:01):
Yes, and that's not a good feeling.
Yeah, yes, and that's not agood feeling.
So I felt no one knew ouremptiness.
My brothers and I, we wereembarrassed to talk to anyone.
We had no one and even becauseof the attitude from the people

(06:21):
in the church, there was no onethere to go to in church.
Now, that may not have even beentruth.
That may have just been what Ifelt because of my insecurities.
They probably some of them maynot have meant to shun me, but
that's how I took it because ofmy insecurities.

(06:43):
So now the Lord's alwaysworking.
Even in all of my hurt and allof my embarrassment, he was
working.
The enemy was trying to scar myheart so that I would reject
Jesus, even at a young age.

(07:06):
Because I talked to Jesus allthe time and the enemy knew it.
I just talked to him all thetime.
Yes, now, I never questionedhim why I didn't have normal
parents.
I never once questioned him.
I did ask him to heal them,even as a child I did.

(07:31):
I wanted the Lord to changetheir hearts.
So I finished high school ayear earlier than I was supposed
to.
I did everything, hard studied,finished high school a year
early, wow.

(07:52):
Then I married at 18 years old.
Actually, I was 18 only onemonth when I married.
I felt desperate.

Speaker 2 (08:04):
Was he a high school sweetheart to you?

Speaker 3 (08:06):
He was older.
He was five and a half yearsolder.
So I thought finally someonewill take care of me and love me
.
So obviously I didn't havediscussion with the Lord.
Should I marry?
Because desperate people it'strue what people say do

(08:29):
desperate things.

Speaker 2 (08:30):
Right.

Speaker 3 (08:32):
So I thought finally someone would fill that void.
After two years I becamepregnant.
I had a beautiful baby girl.
She died after living only twohours.
I lost her tragically fromnegligence from a doctor and an

(08:54):
unqualified nurse.
My life went from bad to apoint that I really didn't want
to live.
I didn't think I could take anymore hurt.

Speaker 2 (09:08):
Talking about loss.

Speaker 3 (09:09):
Yeah, it was hard.
The doctor.
I changed doctors because Iwanted a Christian doctor and I
told the doctor I just want, Iwant my baby.
The Lord's going to give herback.
You know, you're young, you'renot thinking right.

(09:30):
And he said, well, you do notneed to get pregnant now, your
grief, you need to settle down,heal from your grief.
Well, I didn't listen and I gotpregnant and I had a beautiful
baby boy.
What a gift.
Yes, so my marriage did notlast, but my son, chad, my

(09:58):
precious baby boy, chad, myprecious baby boy, got me
through.
He got me through.
I had someone that I could loveand someone that loved me
unconditionally.
He was a joy.
The Lord blessed me always withgood jobs.

(10:19):
I was a go-getter, I wasdetermined to-getter, I was
determined to be the best, andso I would move up, get
promotions and all of that.
Now remember, I had a son toraise on my own and I was the

(10:46):
one bringing in the money forChad and I.
But God was working behind thescenes.
You guys, I had no idea thatthe owner of the company I was
working for.
I had never discussed my pastlosing my daughter.
I had discussed nothing withhim, but he knew Someone had

(11:06):
told him, so he brought me intohis office and said that I see
your work, I appreciate it and Iwant you to look for a small
business that I could back youin.

Speaker 2 (11:24):
Wow, Talking about uncommon favor June.

Speaker 3 (11:28):
That's the Lord, he's always working.
So I said, well, okay, let's dothis thing.
So I started looking and tryingto find and I did.
I found a small ladies clothingstore that was for sale and it

(11:52):
was in a nice part of Birmingham.
And I told my boss or the manthat owned he wasn't really my
boss, but he owned the businessthat I had found this.
So he started making calls andeverything.
So the Lord brought that tofruition and there I was Now

(12:14):
remember I'm still in my 20s,y'all Very young.

Speaker 2 (12:17):
Very young.

Speaker 3 (12:19):
And was able to purchase that, and it cared for
Chad and I tremendously.
Okay, what else do I want totalk to you guys about?
I feel like I want to get tothe well-watered woman.

(12:41):
Yes, I want to get to thewell-watered woman, yes, and how
the Lord used every difficulty,every heartache, every
disappointment to bring me to aplace that I wanted to be
well-watered, so to speak.
I wanted more of him, whateverit took.

(13:04):
So I met my now husband and westarted going to Bible study.
That was new for him.
He was a Christian and he grewin his desire for the Lord,
joined a Bible study.
I had been asked to join aBible study where the woman was

(13:29):
only asking 12 women See theLord.
I accepted yes.
So that's exactly what I neededSomeone that I could talk to,
someone I could ask questions.

(13:52):
I always read my Bible.
I love the Bible stories, butthere's something different when
you dig in the Word of God forguidance.
When you dig in the Word of Godfor guidance, and that's what I
knew I needed and what I wanted.
And my husband, greg, was doingthe same thing with his Bible
study.
So it was glorious that we weregrowing together in the Lord.

(14:19):
And what happens with that?
You want everyone to have whatyou have, especially those that
could identify with my past,that they were embarrassed over
their past or they didn't feelgood enough.
My thought to every woman theLord brings to me.

(14:43):
I let them know you are so dear, not only to me but to our Lord
.
You are dear.
You have so much to offer andthey start realizing they are
who the Lord meant for them tobe.

(15:03):
So he will use the hurts now.
He's always there working, butso is the enemy, Because the
enemy could see my potential,could see your potential.
He's going to do anythingpossible to prevent you from
being successful.

(15:24):
So, anyway, when we moved here,the Lord goes before us and
prepares the way.
When we moved here, the Lordgoes before us and prepares the
way we moved here.
And I was immediately asked tobe a core leader at Community
Bible Study and, of course, Isaid yes.

Speaker 1 (15:42):
Talk about Jesus love on women, just all that.

Speaker 3 (15:47):
Community Bible Study was wonderful.
I wanted to be able to.
There were rules, you know, andI wanted a personal
relationship to teach the women,a personal relationship with
the Lord and to be able to prayone-on-one with them, and all
that.
So Cindy Holland and I starteda ministry called Heart to Cross

(16:09):
yes, started a ministry calledHeart to Cross, and back then
this was before the churchesreally had women's work.
We're going back 20-somethingyears.
So we had 150 women thatregistered.
So it was very active.
We were a twofold ministry wetaught the Word of God and we

(16:32):
helped financially destitutewomen.
So the Lord gave me the desiresof my heart.
Well, after two and a halfyears I was considered or given
the title of Mercy Administrator, and I was glad to be that, to

(16:55):
be able to show mercy whenneeded.
Well, in the middle of the nightone night I had a pain in my
head and it was pretty severepain, but it was gone as quickly
as it came.
I went back to sleep.
But when I woke up the nextmorning I was losing sight in my

(17:21):
right eye.
Well, we had a function goingon in destiny.
That night I didn't go to thedoctor.
I thought, oh, I promised I'dhelp in the kitchen and I'll go
to the doctor tomorrow.
Well, my sight continued toslowly disappear and a dear

(17:44):
friend was working in thekitchen with me, sherry Bowling,
and she was a next nurse and Ijust mentioned.
By the way, have you ever had apain in your head and it
affected your eyesight?
She said no, and I said well, Ican't even see out of my right

(18:08):
eye, hardly right.
So the next morning I did, andI did what they say I had a
stroke in the optic nerve.
It, I guess, passed from mybrain through the optic nerve.
Well, now, guys, I realize theenemy was trying to kill me

(18:33):
because we were doing greatthings for the Lord.
He was mad, he tried to take meout and I feel that the Lord
said you got our eye, you're notgetting anything else.
So he was right, I tried to.
I even went to a doctor andstayed for treatment in

(18:55):
California to try to bring myeyesight back.
Well, I still am blind in myright eye.
But you know what?
It made me more determined,more determined to do the Lord's
work.
The devil was not taking me frommy ordained calling.
My calling is to love women, tominister to them.

(19:20):
Use my testimony to let themknow it's okay, what your past
was, and let them know I madewrong.
I look to the world sometimesto fill the void in my life.
It never worked.
So, coming back to John 4, whenJesus met the Samaritan woman,

(19:42):
he went to the well just for her.
He asked her for a drink,making her feel that she can and
does have something to offer.
But she asked questions how canI do this?
Da, da, da, da.
And he said you can do allthings through me, I'll give you

(20:09):
strength.
Things through me, I'll giveyou strength.
So the cup of water that Jesusoffered the Samaritan woman at
this point was fresh, unpolluted, clean water.
So my not issue, butdeclaration to women going

(20:32):
through anything, don't seek thepolluted water that the world
offers.
Go to Christ, go to someonethat can lead you to Christ.
And I'll close with this.
It's from Psalm 4610.

(20:54):
I want you to understand thisdeeply Nothing in your life, no
pain, no setback, no moment ofconfusion, is wasted.
I am weaving every thread ofyour story, even the ones that
seem broken or frayed, intosomething beautiful.
You may not see it now, but Iam working behind the scenes,

(21:19):
shaping every detail for yourgood, because you love me,
because I have called you for apurpose that reaches beyond what
you can imagine.
I will not let anything be invain.
Trust me, I am turning it allyes all of it into something
glorious.

Speaker 2 (21:41):
Wow, and aren't you an example of Romans 8, 28, that
he takes, doesn't say somethings or a few things, all
things, and he weaves themtogether for good.
It doesn't mean they are good,right, june Right, but he weaves
it together for good.
Yes, what would you say?
You know we always like toclose and say get in the word,

(22:04):
Absolutely.

Speaker 1 (22:05):
Yes.

Speaker 2 (22:05):
Find a good Bible-based church, yes, and
also find accountability.
There's something aboutshoulder to shoulder with other
women.
Anything you would like to addto that as we close out today?

Speaker 3 (22:21):
I always give the girls, the women that the Lord
brings to me Joel 2, 25, 27.
I will restore to you the yearsthat swarming locusts has eaten
the hopper, the destroyer, sometranslations say the canker
worm.
You shall eat in plenty and besatisfied and praise the name of

(22:45):
the Lord, your God, who hasdealt wondrously with you
Awesome.

Speaker 2 (22:53):
Thank you for joining us today.

Speaker 3 (22:54):
I loved it and appreciate the offer.
Thank you, yes thank you.

Speaker 2 (22:58):
If someone wanted to find out more about your
ministry, can we close out therewhat you do here at Destiny?

Speaker 3 (23:04):
Worship Center.
Yes, I lead a women's group onTuesday at 9 o'clock.
Unfortunately, right now we'refull over full, but you can
contact me at June Coles andthat's K-O-H-L-S at gmailcom and

(23:27):
I will meet with you one-on-oneat the church cafe.

Speaker 2 (23:32):
Awesome, Thank you, June Thank you Appreciate it.

Speaker 1 (23:35):
You've been listening to Road to Redemption, sharing
powerful life testimonies,giving hope to those on their
own road to redemption.
If you have any comments orquestions, we would love to
connect with you.
You can reach out to us atdestinyradiolive.
Thank you for listening andwe'll see you next week on road
to redemption.