“I never thought I would be here…. yet again”. That’s the phrase that ran through my mind while attending a single mom’s conference over four years ago. You see, I had already walked through devasting divorce years prior, so to find myself as a single mom again after my second divorce felt a bit like a nightmare that I couldn’t wake up from.
Wading into the depths of healing was hard. Grieving was difficult. Forgiveness was a daily choice. But I have to say one of the most impactful things for me was to have friends by my side who could raise their hand and say “me too.” To have a person next to me who had walked through what I had walked through and had seen God’s faithfulness all the way through was a source of comfort and hope that I can’t even explain.
Fast forward to 2 years ago, and the Lord had placed on my heart to host a podcast called Bringing Her Hope. I wanted this podcast to be a platform that could be used to share stories of God’s redemption through women’s testimonies. I desired to communicate three things to our listening community with every episode 1) that they weren’t alone in their story, 2) that God would be faithful to redeem their story, 3) to inspire them to step into the story God had for them.
I am not an on-air talent. I don’t have a 3 step plan on how to make a podcast successful. I am a girl who had a team that was willing to take a chance on me and my google search bar as I delved deeply into the research of how to create a podcast.
I knew with this endeavor the definition of “success” wasn’t going to be based on analytics, the most well-known guests, or an eloquent host (because that I am not ?). This podcast was put out in the world because we as a station believe in the power of a testimony. We believed in using our platform as a place where others maybe didn’t have one. We believed that lives would be pointed to Jesus, and a ripple effect would occur. And you know what? It did.
I have received countless emails, messages, and phone calls from women who have listened to the podcast, and it was “just what they needed” at the moment in their lives when they felt like the walls were crashing down around them.
To be honest, never in a million years did I think that I would be writing THIS article for all of the CMB community to read. Still, I want to remind you from one friend to another that through our transparency, vulnerability, and willingness to share our testimonies, God will get the glory, and He will use it in greater ways than we can ever imagine.
Bethany Bravery
Promotions Director, KHPE/Albany
bethany@hope1079.com
Bethany joined Hope 107.9, in Albany, Oregon, part-time in 2016, the Social Media Director, but her role quickly expanded and evolved into a full-time position as Marketing and Social Media Director.
She enjoys networking with people from all walks of life and has a deep passion for encouraging and helping others to be all that God has created and called them to be!
During her short tenure at Hope, she’s helped developed and host a podcast called, ‘Bringing Her Hope’, where she interviews a variety of women who share their story of how God carried them through something challenging and brought hope and healing to their lives. The goal of the podcast is to impact women and encourage them in their own journey.
She’s also helped build a ministry called ‘Prayer Live’. Each week prayer requests are gathered via our social media platforms and Bethany goes live on Facebook and Instagram and shares scripture and encouragement as she prays with our community of listeners.
When she’s not working, you can find her on all sorts of outdoor adventures making memories with her two kids and spending intentional time with her friends!
All of this fuels her soul as she lives into her personal calling of connecting others to Jesus!