Susan Lim, Part 1

[00:00:04] Welcome to Women Worth Knowing, the radio program and podcast hosted by Cheryl Brodersen and

[00:00:10] Robin Jones Gunn.

[00:00:11] If you've been listening to our podcast for a while, you know that Cheryl and I believe

[00:00:16] there are many Christian women with fascinating stories, whether they're missionaries, musicians,

[00:00:22] reformers, authors, wives, mothers, their examples are inspirational to us all.

[00:00:27] It is so, so true.

[00:00:29] And without exception, we have a guest in studio.

[00:00:33] And Robin and I always get excited when we have a live person in studio, because most

[00:00:38] of the women we talk about are deceased.

[00:00:42] We love talking about those women too, because they set such a great example for us.

[00:00:46] But in studio today, we have Susan Lim.

[00:00:49] And she is an author, you're a mother, you're a wife, you have a PhD, you are a former

[00:00:58] college professor.

[00:00:59] So we are so excited because you were not born a Christian.

[00:01:05] You have a full background.

[00:01:07] Tell us a little bit about your origins.

[00:01:09] Well, first of all, thank you, Cheryl, for having me and so nice to meet you, Robin.

[00:01:15] And I'm really excited to be here.

[00:01:18] Well, I guess I'll start at the beginning.

[00:01:21] I'm a historian by training.

[00:01:22] So maybe we can go decade by decade.

[00:01:24] I love that.

[00:01:25] I turned 50 this year.

[00:01:27] So maybe we can go like first decade.

[00:01:29] Yeah.

[00:01:30] If you were in studio with us, you would gasp.

[00:01:31] Yes.

[00:01:32] You would gasp because she's beautiful and she looks so young.

[00:01:35] Okay.

[00:01:36] And Cheryl and I will both say, oh, you're just a baby.

[00:01:38] Yeah.

[00:01:39] Well, these ladies are very kind and generous.

[00:01:41] So we'll leave it at that.

[00:01:42] I was born in 1973.

[00:01:45] I sound like I'm like, you know, telling this like old story.

[00:01:47] It kind of is.

[00:01:48] I was born in South Korea, and I was born to Buddhist parents.

[00:01:53] So my mom was a Buddhist and my dad was nominally a Buddhist.

[00:01:57] And my dad moved to Guam, which was where his work visa came through.

[00:02:02] And he moved when I was three months old.

[00:02:05] And so I didn't get to meet him until I was three years old.

[00:02:07] Oh my goodness.

[00:02:09] And I still remember the first time I met my dad.

[00:02:12] And so we moved to Guam and I'll just kind of lay it all out because I, you know, I'll

[00:02:17] just share.

[00:02:18] But part of the story is a little bit tawdry, for lack of a better word.

[00:02:23] So my dad actually ended up opening a nightclub in Guam and he, they obviously weren't saved

[00:02:31] and it was really good money.

[00:02:33] And we would go there during the mornings to help them clean up.

[00:02:38] And I was about four or five.

[00:02:39] And I remember looking at some of the pictures that were up in the nightclub thinking, ooh,

[00:02:45] these are a little bad.

[00:02:47] Like they're shady.

[00:02:48] Wow.

[00:02:49] And you're young even then.

[00:02:50] Yeah.

[00:02:51] Wow.

[00:02:52] It's like the conscience I think God puts in all of our hearts.

[00:02:53] I love that.

[00:02:54] And you're like, okay, this is kind of shady.

[00:02:57] But they put me in Catholic school and they wanted us to get a good education.

[00:03:03] Interesting.

[00:03:04] And there are two big recollections I have of Catholic school.

[00:03:08] One was every day I would have this bully at the bus stop beat me up for my lunch money.

[00:03:16] Was it a girl or a boy?

[00:03:19] It was a boy.

[00:03:20] Okay.

[00:03:21] Oh, that's just terrible.

[00:03:22] And I remember he was kind of hefty.

[00:03:23] And so he, I mean, I was very, very like real thin.

[00:03:26] He had a lot of pounds and energy and height on me.

[00:03:30] And I should have just given it to him, but I fought him every time.

[00:03:36] And I lost every time.

[00:03:38] But one day I was like, I'm just so tired.

[00:03:41] Just take it.

[00:03:42] And he said, didn't you pay attention in Bible school or Bible class?

[00:03:46] And I was like, what?

[00:03:48] And he's like, God told us not to steal.

[00:03:50] So I was like, oh yeah.

[00:03:56] And so he kind of shared the gospel with me.

[00:03:58] The bully.

[00:03:59] The bully.

[00:04:00] Okay, that's a first.

[00:04:01] He must have been born again.

[00:04:04] So I have this kind of Buddhist home life and these rituals.

[00:04:10] And I'm just kind of trying to figure out who God is because I always knew he existed

[00:04:14] from an early age.

[00:04:16] I just didn't know him by name.

[00:04:19] And so...

[00:04:20] Now, what language did they use at the Catholic school in Guam?

[00:04:24] Because you grew up Korean, speaking Korean.

[00:04:28] Yeah, Korean was my first language.

[00:04:31] And my mom and all of my siblings and I, we spoke to her in Korean.

[00:04:37] But in Guam, English was the main language.

[00:04:40] I did not know that.

[00:04:41] That's very fascinating.

[00:04:43] So we became bilingual pretty quickly.

[00:04:47] And we stayed in Guam until I was about in second grade.

[00:04:52] And I also learned a lot in religion class.

[00:04:56] Now in terms of some of the Hail Marys and rosaries and confessions, I always kind of

[00:05:03] put that in the back of my mind.

[00:05:05] But what was at the fore was this message that was pronounced by the bully, which is

[00:05:11] God wants us to be honest and that there is forgiveness.

[00:05:17] Because if this bully can find forgiveness, then I...

[00:05:20] He was the big villain in my life at the time.

[00:05:23] And anyone can find forgiveness.

[00:05:25] So that kind of characterized the first decade.

[00:05:28] And then we moved to California.

[00:05:31] And yeah, so I'll let you guys interject before we go on to the second decade.

[00:05:35] What was your dad doing that prompted a move to California?

[00:05:38] That's a good question.

[00:05:39] That was what I was going to ask.

[00:05:40] Great minds think alike.

[00:05:41] Exactly.

[00:05:42] That's right.

[00:05:43] That's right.

[00:05:44] So my dad's business obviously was not the most wholesome.

[00:05:49] And my dad actually ended up drinking quite a lot initially with probably his patrons

[00:05:55] and then just on his own.

[00:05:57] And it caused a big fissure in their marriage.

[00:06:00] And my mom basically gave him an ultimatum.

[00:06:03] Either we leave this or I leave with the kids.

[00:06:08] And by God's grace, my dad said, okay, let's sell it.

[00:06:11] So they did and they moved to California and bless their hearts.

[00:06:14] I mean, they didn't have a lot of translatable...

[00:06:20] I don't know the term like cachet, like education wouldn't have translated over.

[00:06:25] So they opened up a dry cleaning business in Garden Grove.

[00:06:29] And they worked from, I would say, sun up to sundown for a big majority of my childhood.

[00:06:35] Did they have relatives here or just the California dream called to them?

[00:06:39] Yeah, no, they didn't.

[00:06:41] They checked out New York.

[00:06:43] They checked out a few of the other big hubs where I think a lot of immigrants go to.

[00:06:48] And they found that the weather here and they had a couple of friends, but not close friends.

[00:06:54] But yeah, it was just kind of this like, okay, we think God's calling us.

[00:06:58] Not God, but their God at the time.

[00:06:59] They prayed to Buddha and they felt like that's where their God was leading them.

[00:07:03] Now, did you have any culture shock coming to California?

[00:07:08] I didn't at the time because Guam in a lot of ways was like California from what I can remember.

[00:07:14] And when you're a kid, I think it's more or less the same.

[00:07:17] I don't know.

[00:07:18] A lot of it is covered by your parents.

[00:07:20] It's mostly just school life.

[00:07:23] And Guam school and California schools were...

[00:07:26] I mean, they were different because I was at Catholic school and then I went to a public school.

[00:07:30] Now, how many siblings do you have?

[00:07:32] I have an older sister and then I have a younger brother.

[00:07:34] By the way, they're both getting married this year.

[00:07:37] Oh, how exciting.

[00:07:38] Yeah.

[00:07:39] Now, is it the first marriage for your older sister?

[00:07:42] It is.

[00:07:42] Oh my goodness.

[00:07:43] That's really exciting because she's in her 50s, right?

[00:07:46] That's right.

[00:07:47] Wonderful.

[00:07:48] Very exciting.

[00:07:49] Yes.

[00:07:50] Okay, so we've digressed because I want to talk about the weddings now.

[00:07:53] Yes.

[00:07:54] So you're in your second decade, so I suspect you're close to junior high.

[00:07:59] Right.

[00:07:59] And you've moved to California and you've made that adjustment to school.

[00:08:03] Are you in public school or private school?

[00:08:06] I've been in public school my whole life.

[00:08:08] So public school from...

[00:08:10] besides from Catholic school all throughout elementary, middle school, high school,

[00:08:14] and then I went to UCs for undergrad and grad school.

[00:08:17] So public school my whole life.

[00:08:18] I'm a big believer.

[00:08:19] I feel like a hypocrite because my kids are in private school right now.

[00:08:23] But I think they're probably a little bit different in this era.

[00:08:26] Right.

[00:08:27] Now, which UC campus were you at?

[00:08:29] I went to Berkeley for undergrad and then I went to UCLA for my master's.

[00:08:33] Okay.

[00:08:33] Okay, I went to UCI, so I'm like, you know...

[00:08:36] I love UCI too.

[00:08:37] It's so beautiful there.

[00:08:38] Yes, it is a beautiful campus.

[00:08:40] So now when you were in...

[00:08:43] what made you choose that college?

[00:08:45] Like what I really want to get to is did you feel any direction or any sense

[00:08:52] of God in your life during this time?

[00:08:57] Yeah, so I would say although I've been around for five decades,

[00:09:03] the second decade was probably one of the most pivotal

[00:09:07] because it was in this decade that God made himself real to me.

[00:09:11] Oh, I like that.

[00:09:13] After we moved to California, we had a relative come live with us

[00:09:19] and this relative was very abusive.

[00:09:24] My parents weren't around and in ways singled me out.

[00:09:30] And I remember one night just crying after an especially bad day

[00:09:38] and I was just so broken thinking, I don't know how to live from this point.

[00:09:46] And as I was crying, this love and warmth entered into the room

[00:09:54] and I just knew that that was God.

[00:09:59] And it was a peace and like a warm wave of security just wrapping around me.

[00:10:10] Beautiful.

[00:10:12] And I knew that God existed at that moment.

[00:10:15] Now, fast forward about five years.

[00:10:19] I was a senior in high school.

[00:10:22] I was 17 and a friend had invited me to church.

[00:10:26] I went without my parents' permission because I was forbidden to go to church.

[00:10:30] Oh my goodness.

[00:10:32] As my parents, my mom in particular, was very, very committed to Buddhism

[00:10:37] and she said if you go to church, then you will be inviting warring spirits into the house.

[00:10:43] I went to church with my friend.

[00:10:45] It was charismatic and there were people who were praying in tongues

[00:10:51] and people who were being prayed over in the spirit.

[00:10:54] And it freaked me out a little bit because I had never seen anything like that.

[00:10:59] But I just kind of sat there and took it all in.

[00:11:02] And then at the end, we broke out into small groups

[00:11:06] and my leader, who was very calm and very articulate,

[00:11:12] shared the gospel in a way that was so clear.

[00:11:17] And he just shared that we're all sinners in need of a savior

[00:11:21] and if anyone needs the savior to come into their lives to raise their hand.

[00:11:27] And at that moment, it was a duality as these human words were being spoken.

[00:11:33] The spirit spoke into my heart and said,

[00:11:36] that night when there was so much love and light in that room,

[00:11:42] that was me and my name is Jesus.

[00:11:45] It's so gorgeous.

[00:11:47] I just love it.

[00:11:48] It's so fascinating how God chooses to reveal himself to us

[00:11:52] and for him to have used the bullion elementary school

[00:11:56] as a bully under your own roof.

[00:11:59] And yet he was there and he affirmed to you

[00:12:02] and even used the bully to speak his truth to you.

[00:12:06] God can do anything.

[00:12:07] You know, there's so many people that when they're bullied

[00:12:11] or they have somebody who's abusive in their life,

[00:12:13] they're like, why God?

[00:12:15] How dare you allow this?

[00:12:17] And yet here's the very implements that God used

[00:12:20] to bring you to him and to desire him

[00:12:25] and made himself known in those places, which I find fascinating.

[00:12:30] So now you're in, you're about to enter into college.

[00:12:35] Did you have any sense of I'm supposed to go to Berkeley

[00:12:37] or I'm supposed to?

[00:12:38] And may I say Berkeley is not the place you expect somebody

[00:12:41] to find God.

[00:12:44] I mean, I have friends that graduated from Berkeley.

[00:12:46] It was like it was an experience.

[00:12:49] So she's Christian.

[00:12:50] My husband was certain he wanted to go to Berkeley

[00:12:52] and his dad drove him up there.

[00:12:53] They just kind of did a loop around campus

[00:12:55] and his dad just drove back home.

[00:12:58] His dad wasn't a Christian either.

[00:13:01] It was like, oh no, I'm not leaving you here.

[00:13:02] That's right.

[00:13:03] Yeah.

[00:13:04] I always say God can do much in Babylon.

[00:13:06] Oh, that's good.

[00:13:07] It's so true.

[00:13:08] That's good.

[00:13:09] But going back to the bully thing,

[00:13:11] it's so true because that's the apostle Paul.

[00:13:14] He was the ultimate bully and by God's grace,

[00:13:17] I don't think I've done anything like this relative has done

[00:13:21] or I don't think I've done anything

[00:13:22] like this bully has done, but I know I've fallen short.

[00:13:26] I know I've hurt people.

[00:13:28] And I know that when I do,

[00:13:30] I have to tell myself God can still use me

[00:13:33] and he can use anyone.

[00:13:35] So no one is outside of his redemption.

[00:13:39] Amen.

[00:13:40] I don't want to downplay when we hurt others

[00:13:43] or if people have been hurt

[00:13:45] because God is a God of justice and holiness

[00:13:48] and he will bring everything to account.

[00:13:50] Praise God.

[00:13:52] I'm so glad.

[00:13:53] Yeah.

[00:13:53] Yeah, and I hope this isn't too much of a tangent,

[00:13:56] but I did struggle with forgiving that relative.

[00:13:59] I would think so.

[00:14:00] That's good.

[00:14:01] That's just, that's human.

[00:14:02] It's so human.

[00:14:03] So it's a process.

[00:14:04] Forgiveness is a process.

[00:14:06] I always tell people it's a process.

[00:14:08] I wish it was a one-off.

[00:14:10] I choose to forgive, boom.

[00:14:11] Done.

[00:14:12] But it's-

[00:14:13] Wouldn't that be great?

[00:14:14] Yes.

[00:14:15] No.

[00:14:16] But it's a process.

[00:14:16] And we don't know how God is going to work that process

[00:14:18] for different people.

[00:14:20] You know, for me, I have been in counseling

[00:14:23] and I still see a spiritual director

[00:14:26] and just, and I believe in just community healing

[00:14:31] and Bible studies.

[00:14:32] And then one day I was reading the verse where it says,

[00:14:35] it is better for you to have a millstone

[00:14:37] tied around your neck and go into the ocean

[00:14:40] than cause one of these little ones to stumble.

[00:14:43] Just something broke in the spirit for me that moment

[00:14:46] where I knew that this person needs God's mercy

[00:14:49] when this person meets God, his maker.

[00:14:51] Absolutely.

[00:14:53] And so, yeah, it is a process.

[00:14:55] I don't know how it works for everyone else.

[00:14:57] But I was not the best student.

[00:15:00] I was so preoccupied with so many things

[00:15:02] throughout high school that I, I mean,

[00:15:05] I guess I did okay, but I wasn't the best student.

[00:15:08] And I did get into a few colleges,

[00:15:10] but it was really God's grace

[00:15:11] that opened the doors to Berkeley.

[00:15:13] It's not a, I know that it's a crazy place.

[00:15:16] When I first got there, I was like,

[00:15:17] why does everything smell like pot and urine?

[00:15:20] Like there's-

[00:15:20] That's pretty much it.

[00:15:22] It was so close to Oakland.

[00:15:23] Absolutely, yes.

[00:15:25] It is pretty incredible.

[00:15:28] I met my husband there and some of my dearest friends

[00:15:31] who are pastors and missionaries,

[00:15:33] we all went to the same church there.

[00:15:36] And one story that I love to share is

[00:15:39] I went back to Berkeley.

[00:15:40] So I know I'm jumping chronology,

[00:15:42] I'm jumping the decades,

[00:15:44] but I went back as a visiting scholar

[00:15:46] after I was done with school.

[00:15:48] And there's actually a Friday faculty fellowship there with-

[00:15:53] Oh, that's excellent.

[00:15:54] With Christian faculty who do Bible studies on Fridays.

[00:15:58] Oh, thank you, Jesus.

[00:15:59] He's got his remnant every place, doesn't he?

[00:16:02] Yeah, right, right.

[00:16:03] His light.

[00:16:04] Right.

[00:16:05] Okay, so you're at Berkeley and you start going to church?

[00:16:09] I do, right away.

[00:16:10] Wow, and that's where you,

[00:16:12] did you meet your husband at church or just, all right.

[00:16:15] I did.

[00:16:16] We were friends for a long time

[00:16:19] Friends from Berkeley.

[00:16:21] So we were just friends for over about 12 years

[00:16:24] before we dated, and that's a story for another time.

[00:16:27] I can't wait, maybe part two.

[00:16:28] Well, yes.

[00:16:29] Yes, I wanna know all this, yes.

[00:16:31] Quite a story.

[00:16:32] Yes, but yeah, I went to Berkeley

[00:16:35] and I actually did so poorly there.

[00:16:39] I got in and to be honest, school itself wasn't hard for me,

[00:16:44] but it was hard focusing

[00:16:46] when you felt like you were falling apart.

[00:16:49] So I'm saved, I know God's grace,

[00:16:52] I know his presence, but I don't know how to live.

[00:16:56] Now I have to stop you for a second.

[00:16:57] How are your parents reacting to this?

[00:16:59] Now you're on your own, you're going to church

[00:17:02] and you're a professing Christian.

[00:17:07] How did they deal with that, especially your mom?

[00:17:09] I didn't tell them for a little bit.

[00:17:11] It was this guard, like really highly guarded secret

[00:17:16] in my heart and at a certain point though,

[00:17:19] I worried so much about my mom's life

[00:17:22] because she was always so sickly.

[00:17:25] And I think because their marriage had been so hard,

[00:17:28] one of the things that she did was just internalize it

[00:17:32] and it manifested in these ailments

[00:17:34] that would just make her bedridden.

[00:17:37] In fact, I was so scared

[00:17:39] that she would just pass in her sleep

[00:17:41] that I purchased this little mirror

[00:17:43] and while she was sleeping,

[00:17:44] I would put it right against her nose

[00:17:46] so that it would fog over.

[00:17:48] And so I'm like, okay, she's alive, she's gonna be okay.

[00:17:51] So maybe like a few months after salvation,

[00:17:54] I started thinking, God, you need to save her

[00:17:57] so that she doesn't step into eternity without you.

[00:18:01] And her mom had passed when she was in her late 30s,

[00:18:05] early 40s and my mom had always thought

[00:18:08] that would be her fate.

[00:18:09] So I was thinking we don't have that much time.

[00:18:12] So I shared the gospel with them and blessed them.

[00:18:17] I think when a child comes to you

[00:18:20] and with tears and with sincerity,

[00:18:24] even if you don't believe in that truth,

[00:18:26] I don't think they had it in their hearts to chastise me.

[00:18:30] So they listened,

[00:18:32] but this is the greatest thing about our God.

[00:18:35] He sent so many other people into their lives

[00:18:38] intersecting in that season that they both got saved.

[00:18:42] I love that.

[00:18:43] Yes.

[00:18:44] And then both my siblings got saved.

[00:18:46] Oh, excellent.

[00:18:47] And so the whole family got saved

[00:18:49] within a few years after 1991 when I got saved.

[00:18:53] Isn't he so great you guys?

[00:18:54] I feel like clapping for God right now.

[00:18:56] Yeah, I love that.

[00:18:57] You know, my son-in-law, his mom was a Buddhist, she's Thai

[00:19:02] and his father was a Baptist, but not practicing, right?

[00:19:07] And so Michael got saved through navigators

[00:19:12] when he was in college.

[00:19:13] And he came and he told his mom,

[00:19:15] mom, you know, here's the gospel and you need Jesus.

[00:19:18] And she said, you know, Michael,

[00:19:19] I go to this Baptist church with your dad.

[00:19:21] I've heard it all.

[00:19:22] You show me, show me for two years and I'll see if it's real.

[00:19:26] And she said she observed it for two years

[00:19:29] and she said she loved that two years

[00:19:30] because she was able to hold it over his head.

[00:19:33] Like if he was rebellious at all, she's like,

[00:19:35] oh, is that what your God does?

[00:19:38] You know?

[00:19:39] And he'd be like, hell no, no.

[00:19:41] You know, he said it just,

[00:19:42] it really held his feet to the fire, so to speak.

[00:19:45] And after two years she said,

[00:19:46] Michael, you have shown me by your life that Jesus is real.

[00:19:49] I want to receive him.

[00:19:50] So it kind of reminds me of what you're saying.

[00:19:53] So you graduated from Berkeley and you're just friends

[00:19:56] with, what was your bachelor's in?

[00:20:00] It was in history.

[00:20:01] Oh, history.

[00:20:02] Oh wow, okay.

[00:20:03] So then what direction did you seek after that?

[00:20:07] You know, when you graduate?

[00:20:09] Yeah, well, actually it took me eight years

[00:20:13] to graduate undergrad.

[00:20:15] And it was this mark of shame in my heart for a long time.

[00:20:20] So coming from an Asian culture, education is so important.

[00:20:24] And I felt like I'd really just let my parents down

[00:20:28] and let myself down.

[00:20:30] But I ended up on academic probation

[00:20:33] and I dropped out of Berkeley.

[00:20:35] So hard to believe when you're so brilliant.

[00:20:37] No, it was, I mean, I just remember sitting there thinking,

[00:20:42] I don't think I can finish this God.

[00:20:45] And so I dropped out of school

[00:20:47] and I felt really lost for a really long time.

[00:20:51] And I initially, I was pre-med

[00:20:55] and I thought I should be a medical doctor

[00:20:58] because my mom wanted me to be a medical doctor.

[00:20:59] There you go, right.

[00:21:01] And no wonder you were struggling.

[00:21:03] Well, I failed OCHEM.

[00:21:05] And then I remember thinking,

[00:21:06] if I did become a medical doctor,

[00:21:08] I think I will kill someone.

[00:21:10] Like I'm really bad at this.

[00:21:12] And so I ended up dropping out of school

[00:21:16] and I went to community college

[00:21:19] and I just started thinking,

[00:21:21] wow, history is so fascinating.

[00:21:24] But what do you do with history if you're not gonna teach?

[00:21:26] And I had no plans of teaching at that time.

[00:21:30] And I didn't know at the time,

[00:21:31] but of course as God always does,

[00:21:34] those eight years taught me

[00:21:38] the truth of what it means to walk with God

[00:21:40] on a daily basis,

[00:21:42] because he was all that I had.

[00:21:44] So when I went back to Berkeley,

[00:21:45] all my friends had graduated.

[00:21:47] And so I was by myself

[00:21:49] and I started writing out the Bible.

[00:21:54] Really?

[00:21:55] And I started in Genesis

[00:21:57] and he allowed me to write out

[00:22:00] the whole Bible book by book.

[00:22:03] And in a lot of ways,

[00:22:04] I felt like he started to heal my heart verse by verse.

[00:22:09] That's fascinating.

[00:22:11] I have never heard of anyone doing that.

[00:22:12] I love that.

[00:22:13] It was-

[00:22:14] I think I need to do that.

[00:22:16] Because there's different ways to learn

[00:22:18] and so that kind of tactile thing

[00:22:20] and touching the pen and the words

[00:22:22] and that completes that cycle

[00:22:24] of how it connects in your thoughts.

[00:22:26] I think you should totally start.

[00:22:28] Yes!

[00:22:29] Yes!

[00:22:29] I love it.

[00:22:30] A few of my friends have started

[00:22:32] I started a new one for both of my kids

[00:22:34] and I wanted to give it to them for college

[00:22:37] so that when they're in the dorms,

[00:22:38] they can read it.

[00:22:39] This time I'm making it into a commentary Bible,

[00:22:41] but I'm kind of behind

[00:22:43] so I might make it a wedding gift for them.

[00:22:45] I like that.

[00:22:46] Susan, you actually pen and paper,

[00:22:50] so not typing.

[00:22:51] That'd be a different-

[00:22:52] It doesn't really retain that what you were saying.

[00:22:54] Yeah.

[00:22:54] Oh, that's beautiful.

[00:22:55] So I started writing it out

[00:22:58] and it became my pastime.

[00:23:01] I would go to school

[00:23:02] and I did pretty well when I went back.

[00:23:04] I actually did very well.

[00:23:06] I ended up on the Dean's List

[00:23:08] and it was very redemptive at the time.

[00:23:10] Oh yeah, from academic probation

[00:23:12] to the Dean's List is excellent.

[00:23:14] A fresh start.

[00:23:15] And here's the thing,

[00:23:16] you kept at it,

[00:23:18] which I know when the listeners hear things like that

[00:23:22] and they're stuck right in the middle

[00:23:24] and they go,

[00:23:25] here's a real person who kept going,

[00:23:26] maybe I should give it another try.

[00:23:30] Your testimony is just such an encouragement that way.

[00:23:33] Yeah, keep going.

[00:23:34] I'm glad you share that

[00:23:35] because we usually hide it.

[00:23:36] You could have skipped over that,

[00:23:37] yeah, and then I graduated and go on,

[00:23:40] but to tell the difficult things

[00:23:41] allows us to say,

[00:23:44] we all go through something

[00:23:46] and the Lord is with us,

[00:23:47] just keep going.

[00:23:48] Keep going.

[00:23:50] Like all the stories in the Bible

[00:23:51] where you step into the Jordan and it parts,

[00:23:54] you step into the Red Sea and it parts,

[00:23:56] or you have the fishes and loaves

[00:23:58] and it feeds thousands,

[00:24:00] just keep going

[00:24:01] because He's the one who's going to lead you.

[00:24:04] So if there's like a glimmer,

[00:24:05] follow the glimmer

[00:24:06] because that's God's light,

[00:24:07] just enough for the next step.

[00:24:09] And so yeah,

[00:24:11] I ended up,

[00:24:13] it took me eight years

[00:24:14] and when I finished,

[00:24:18] I remember thinking,

[00:24:21] I'll do anything God you want me to do.

[00:24:23] You just let me know.

[00:24:25] So on that note,

[00:24:25] we're gonna have to pause

[00:24:27] because this will be part one.

[00:24:29] We're gonna come back with part two

[00:24:30] because God did a lot with Susan's life

[00:24:34] and we're gonna get to that in part two.

[00:24:37] Once again, a woman who says,

[00:24:38] God, I'm available.

[00:24:40] Right, we had,

[00:24:42] we found that to be kind of a thread

[00:24:45] as we've been looking at some of the different women

[00:24:48] who made a difference.

[00:24:50] It's always God, here I am.

[00:24:52] Yes.

[00:24:53] You know, use me for your glory

[00:24:55] and you know, God is so good

[00:24:56] to take us up on that offer.

[00:24:59] Isn't he?

[00:25:00] True, true, true.

[00:25:10] Thank you for listening to Women Worth Knowing

[00:25:13] with Cheryl Broderson and Robin Jones-Gunn.

[00:25:15] For more information on Cheryl,

[00:25:17] visit CherylBroderson.com

[00:25:19] or follow her on Instagram or Facebook.

[00:25:21] For more information on Robin,

[00:25:23] visit RobinGunn.com

[00:25:25] or follow her on Instagram or Facebook.

[00:25:27] Join us each week for a lively conversation

[00:25:29] as we explore the lives of well-known

[00:25:31] and not so well-known historical

[00:25:33] and contemporary Christian women.

[00:25:35] If you think there is a woman worth knowing,

[00:25:38] we'd love to hear from you.

[00:25:39] Email us at WWK at CCCM.com.

[00:25:44] We hope you've enjoyed today's episode.

[00:25:46] Make sure you rate us on your podcast app,

[00:25:48] subscribe and share it with a friend.

[00:25:50] Thank you again for listening to Women Worth Knowing

[00:25:53] with Cheryl Broderson and Robin Jones-Gunn.

[00:25:56] Women Worth Knowing is a production

[00:25:58] of Calvary Chapel Costa Mesa.