166. You're Never Too Far Gone for God: Molly Stillman

Update: 2024-11-07

Description

Author and speaker Molly Stillman was raised by a Vietnam veteran Army nurse, who acted as the hands and feet of Jesus when chaos and pain and terror were all around. As Molly grew up, she watched her mom trailblaze for veteran's rights, so when she passed away, Molly was devastated and confused and hurt. As she spiraled into a deep, dark place, she found herself looking for hope—and she realized that no one is ever so far gone that God's love can't bring them back.

Quotes

"My mom's death, in a lot of ways, was the catalyst for the rest of my life. Growing up the daughter of this woman who was a trailblazer, full of life and love, but also watching her face an incredibly difficult and dark battle—I really struggled. I didn't have a faith foundation to guide me, and I was in a pretty dark place pretty quickly." - Molly Stillman

"In a lot of ways, I was very angry with God, because I saw this woman who so fiercely loved others and fought so hard. I saw her pray and a lot of times I questioned, Why would God let something like this happen?" - Molly Stillman

"I created this kind of facade that, If I make everything look great on the outside, then I'll actually be that way on the inside, even though I had all this pent up grief and all of these root issues that I had never dealt with after the death of my mom." - Molly Stillman

"God had to continue to strip away everything I had placed my faith in. I had to get to a place where I was at an emotional, mental, spiritual, and physical rock bottom in order to really understand my need for God." - Molly Stillman

"I stepped foot in that church that day desperate—desperate for change, desperate for something different. I heard the gospel for the first time. I heard that there was a God in heaven who loved me, who created me on purpose, with a purpose, and for a purpose, and that there was no part of my story that was too far gone or too broken. I left that church that day with hope, and when you give hope to a hopeless person, that's a really, really powerful, powerful thing." - Molly Stillman

Guest's Links
Molly Stillman's website

Molly Stillman's Facebook

Molly Stillman's Instagram

Molly Stillman's Twitter

Resources Mentioned in This Episode
Can I Laugh on Your Shoulder? Podcast

Mercy Hospital School of Nursing

Vietnam War

PTSD

Vietnam Veterans of America's Women's Project

Home Before Morning by Lynda Van Devanter

Vietnam Women's Memorial

Diane Carlson Evans