Holding On When God Says, ‘Not Yet’

 Life doesn’t always go as planned—but what if that’s exactly how it’s supposed to be? Sometimes when we pray, God’s answer is “not yet.” Those waiting seasons can test our faith, challenging us to trust that He’s working behind the scenes. Even when we don’t see progress, every setback and delay is part of a greater purpose.

 In this episode, Sandy and Lanee have a real, heartfelt conversation about leaning into God’s timing, finding peace in the waiting, and believing that He’s always working for our good. They explore how personal growth and divine intervention can go hand in hand, often revealing blessings we don’t recognize until later. 

Whether you're facing unexpected challenges or preparing for something new, this episode is packed with encouragement and practical wisdom to help you navigate life’s seasons with faith and hope. Let's discover the beauty of embracing the "not yets" together!

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"Imagine Yourself" is hosted by Lanée Blaise and Sandy Kovach—two dynamic voices with a passion for inspiring and uplifting others. Lanée, a TV writer, producer, motivational speaker, and podcaster, brings powerful storytelling and insight. Sandy, a radio personality, voiceover artist, and podcaster, delivers warmth and wisdom with every conversation. Broadcasting from the Detroit Metro area, they welcome guests from around the world to share valuable perspectives on health, career growth, faith, and personal transformation. Tune in and imagine the possibilities for your life!

Transcript

Sandy Kovach  [00:00:03]:
Sometimes when we pray, God's answer is not yet. It's in those waiting seasons that our faith is tested, and we're called to trust that He's working behind the scenes. Even when we don't see progress, God is using every moment, every setback, every delay for a greater purpose. In this episode, we're talking about how to lean into his timing, find peace in the waiting, and believe that he is always working for our good. We're gonna start this episode with kind of a special announcement, then we're gonna dive in. And, warning, things get pretty deep in this one. Hope you enjoy it and bless you.

Lanee Blaise [00:00:43]:
Good day, everyone. I'm Lanee here with Sandy, and we at Imagine Yourself love to talk about how we want to do the best job of entering into our next chapter or next season of life. And so this episode, we are going to practice what we preach because Sandy and I just had a real heart to heart with ourselves and we are looking at our lives and there have been so many beautiful new beginnings and new opportunities that have formed that we wanted to say, Hey, we are at the end of season six. Can you believe completing six years of imagine yourself podcast? And we wanted to just, you know, kind of step back a little bit in that great Sandy. We wanted to just make sure that we give ourselves a little hiatus, a little reset time.

Sandy Kovach  [00:01:36]:
One of the things that God had impressed on me earlier that season seven, which seven we see a lot in the bible, is, gonna be a very special year for us. And another thing that God impressed is, like, to stop doing the podcast for a couple of months. So it's kinda weird. It's like, this is gonna be great, but you can't do it right now. So we're taking a couple of months off and just to sort of pull back and maybe reassess some things. And that's kind of like following God's plan. It's it's hard to do when God, you know, speaks to your heart two completely seemingly opposite things. Right? Does has ever happened to you, Lanee?

Lanee Blaise [00:02:17]:
Yeah. And it's really beautiful to try to make peace and acceptance with that combination. Even in the Bible with Abraham and Sarah, like, I am going to give you this son, but you're also in an older age, and I'm gonna promise you this many nations and everything, but you don't always understand how that's gonna come to fruition. And in our case, you know, Sandy, you have been given all of these wonderful, not only your voice over work opportunities, but the radio opportunities, which we talked about in the last episode. And you need to discern how to balance it best. And then like you said, this is going to be a special season seven, a divine number, a special fresh start. And so in preparation for that, it's beautiful to take a step back and reflect before we step into all of this. And I just wonder if that is the way that it's meant to be for many of you out there also.

Lanee Blaise [00:03:19]:
God has promised you something or put a desire in your heart and you're working towards it. And then it seems like all of a sudden, it's at a standstill. And you're like, wait, I was ready to go. I had God's backing. What's the holdup? Why the delay? The book I read God Calling often says, delay is not denial. And I really believe that we need to embrace that concept more often. Delay is not denial. There's another component too.

Lanee Blaise [00:03:51]:
Many times, I know, like, with my daughter, she is looking for, like, a wonderful guy to be in her life. And I told her, you know, even though she's ready for it and she's a wonderful catch, maybe the person that is meant for her is still, in development. Yes. Baking. He's still baking in the oven.

Sandy Kovach  [00:04:14]:
I remember that analogy. Yeah. Yes.

Lanee Blaise [00:04:17]:
We don't wanna take him out too soon because then she's gonna get a dud. We wanna wait until he's fully finished and baked and nice and oven browned and just perfect to take out. And sometimes it's us that needs the extra baking, you know, to get through some components of our personality, some components of our soul that have us on pause. The other thing is Sandy and I were talking about this. We had a guest named Elizabeth Sherman, and she is a wellness and nutrition certified coach. And I had been working with her. And she told me before you go into this several weeks of filming, this was back for the Christmas film. She's like, I want you to sit for a minute.

Lanee Blaise [00:05:06]:
And I want you to think about who do you need to be in order to successfully go on that set and do that production and deal with those long days and nights of filming and all the different personalities involved and all the things that, you know, have to be, accountable. Who do you need to be right now so that you can be the best future Lanee for that season? And I really want everyone out there, including you, Sandy, to think about that. Who do you need to be? Do you need to be a more patient person? Do you need to be a more organized person? Do you need to be a more centered in God person? Do you need to be more skilled? Do you need to brush up on certain skills? Do you need to get some of the things within your relationship or in your home in order before you go out and start this new business that you want or this new endeavor or activity? Who do you need to be? Do you need to get your health life in check before you go out? Who do you need to be in order to have the best future you for what you're trying to do in this great new beginnings and great new season?

Sandy Kovach  [00:06:27]:
Boy, that's Yeah, that's a good list, and I would say I probably need to do all that.

Lanee Blaise [00:06:33]:
But you've been working on the centered in god part, and you I feel like you're very organized. But I wonder that this is just me talking to you. I wonder if yours is to make sure that you get some fun in your life. I know that you have an upcoming trip. I want you to savor that trip and enjoy it and not feel held down and burdened down by work, work, work.

Sandy Kovach  [00:06:59]:
I don't know. Yeah. You know, you may be on to something, although I think I do need to work on my organization piece just in getting systems in place. But I do tend to be a workaholic. I've always been a workaholic. Fortunately, I've always loved my work, so that hasn't been a problem. But here lately, especially in my, you know, getting older years, I have put fun to the side. You know? I just, I think I need to get away, and I that's part of maybe the reason that, at least for me personally, and I know, you know, god is thinking of both of us when he's thinking of a hiatus.

Sandy Kovach  [00:07:38]:
For me, I do need to get away and get everything off of my mind because, really, you know, that's when you get the freshest ideas, whether you're talking about for a radio show or you're talking about a podcast or you're talking about just life in general or maybe certain advice you need to give to people or for yourself. If your mind is constantly cluttered with the next thing I mean, all I do is, okay. What's the next right thing I have to do? And, and I just kinda go on this linear part path on my day, And that's fine. It's not good to keep worrying, like, okay. I'm overwhelmed. But at the same time, you need to get your mind in a creative space too, especially if you're in a creative field.

Lanee Blaise [00:08:21]:
That is actually great. If I'd like, how am I supposed to sit over here and write a great scene or a great episode or film about something exciting and intriguing when I'm not living. Living, living, you know, I'm just working, working. You gotta live in order to have something to say that's right. Something to write about. And I just feel like we, gosh, I'm thinking it was maybe something on Instagram where it's like, when you get to heaven, God is not going to ask you how many hours did you work at your job? How many projects did you get completed on time? God is going to ask you who you were being, who you were kind to, what thoughts were going through your mind, when it comes to savoring your life and savoring your relationships and savoring your time with God. Not what checklist things you marked off on your calendar for work or even around the house. And we really need to remember that because nothing is promised.

Lanee Blaise [00:09:30]:
The people that we love, you gotta savor them. I encourage everyone to reach out to someone you love. I encourage people to live. And I'm not saying you have to spend a lot of money to do it either, but live. We talked on this podcast too about, like, how back when it was warmer here, I was sitting in my backyard, like on a picnic blanket, just laying out there in the grass, looking at the trees, looking at the little squirrels, think thanking God for my life, touching the grass. It's the little things. Yeah. And sometimes we need to pause because when the big things happen in the new beginnings and all that stuff comes, at least you had a moment to pause before it.

Sandy Kovach  [00:10:14]:
Yeah. Absolutely. And getting physical rest is important too for your new perspective. And you realize that, as you're getting into whatever new project that you're getting into, it helps if you can just trust that God will equip you. If he calls whatever he calls you to, he's gonna equip you to do. So that trust in God, peace, Proverbs three five also, trust in the Lord with all your heart, lean not on your own understanding. Because, you know, if I start to think about, oh my gosh. How am I gonna get all these things on my list tackled? I'm just gonna get stuck and overwhelmed and worried instead of leaning on god.

Sandy Kovach  [00:10:55]:
And then, we gotta be careful too to not run off in a a bunch of different directions that god has we felt god saying. No. Like, if I said to you, Lanee, you know, I feel like god is kind of, wanting us to pause, but I think we're good. Let's just, you know

Lanee Blaise [00:11:10]:
Disobeying him. Or even worse, trying to pull up some new thing like, hey, Lanae. Let's take a pause from the podcast. But I am going to take up deep sea fishing or or or I don't know. I'm gonna learn how to play the fiddle. Fiddle. I am

Sandy Kovach  [00:11:25]:
Wait a minute. Wait a minute. I just finished Cobra Kai. How about, I'm gonna start karate, and Ralph Macchio is gonna be my teacher.

Lanee Blaise [00:11:32]:
Yes. I mean, although that would be fun. But but it shows that you are not setting yourself up for success for the new beginnings and the new opportunities that God had and told you were right around the corner. There's these ebbs and flows that you're supposed to have quiet still rest time to prepare you for when you're about to be busier and fully engaged time, and God means for you to rest in the middle and not fill it up and cram it up even with Ralph Macchio. You know? Don't don't, you know, just cram things in there. And there are gosh, there's so many people that I've spoken with. I talked to a friend very recently, and she knows that God has plans and opportunities right around the corner for her in her profession, but also in her speaking career and also in her podcast career. And she said she took this weird detour where she got this little side job that is not in connection with any of the things that, you know, that her goals are.

Lanee Blaise [00:12:45]:
But she was like, oh, I can pick up a little extra money. And she actually did a not great job on it. They were like, yeah, you're you did all the things incorrectly. Yes. And she kind of was like, alrighty. And she thought it was like a simple job and make a little money, but she realized I had no business taking on that extra job for that little extra money. It was not meant for me and she got a lesson from it and she had to like, you know, dust herself off and say, okay, I won't do that again. I will focus on this quiet time right now, and then when God pulls the trigger, I'll be ready for the new beginnings and the fresh starts that He has for me, and I'll do great, you know, with it.

Lanee Blaise [00:13:35]:
And that's how we need to approach it because a lot of people hustle, hustle, hustle is the mentality. No breaks. I'll sleep when I'm dead. Absolutely not. No. No. No. No.

Lanee Blaise [00:13:47]:
Linnea is saying no to that.

Sandy Kovach  [00:13:49]:
Yeah. No. So let me ask you this because I'm I'm wondering, and I know we've talked about this a little in other podcast, but if somebody's just coming across this and they're hearing us talk about, okay, following God's direction and not doing what we weren't supposed to do. How can we be sure, in your opinion and based on scripture, that we are following God's leading? Because that's important.

Lanee Blaise [00:14:15]:
Two answers from me. First answer is where there's something that you know is the desire of your heart, and you know that it's in line with God, and you're getting the nudge. And especially if you feel a little bit intimidated by it and feel that you can't do it on your own probably means that you're right in the right direction. As you said, Sandy, you will need to be equipped by God. You will need God's help. And you maybe even need some other folks help as well. Second part is as you're starting to move towards that direction, and like I said, you're you're building up new skills to help, prepare for that. And you're getting certain things pruned out of your life or you're or putting things in more organization, things like watch out for the possibility that there's this moment where it seems like everything is about to be derailed.

Lanee Blaise [00:15:15]:
Like wait a second, all this was lining up and then now it's not? Don't give up, try not to get rattled, try to remember Linnea kind of warned me of this that it maybe just means you need to slow down just a little bit more, but still stay on track, still continue and to continue to go back and ask God, over and over. Am I still on the right track? Am I still going in the right direction? Because I liken it to, if you've ever taken a little kid to the playground and you say, Hey, we're at the playground, go off and enjoy yourself. But check back with me every once in a while to make sure you're good. The playground, these big structures can be a little intimidating. You're looking at the jungle gym and you're as a little kid and thinking, oh my goodness, can I am I, you know, strong enough to climb up it? But you go ahead and you climb up it and you kinda look back at at your parent or your auntie or grandma, whoever's there, and you kinda wave like, I'm up here, I'm doing it. And they're like, yes, you're doing a great job. You're doing a great job. Then there's this part that comes like, oh, shoot.

Lanee Blaise [00:16:20]:
Okay. I don't know how to get back down or get around. And you, you look back and you ask for help. And that nice, wonderful, figure tells you, you know, just step down one step at a time and or go over to the side. You are constantly in this rhythm of checking with God, and you're constantly in this state of this is exciting yet intimidating. I feel like all those things actually mean that you're on the right track.

Sandy Kovach  [00:16:49]:
Wow. So it's got all the elements. Those are the things that maybe we should look for. And different situations for different people, it doesn't script isn't, you know, written for everybody the same way. But the basic gist of the plot is to, you know, keep bringing it to god, like you were saying. Am I still doing it right? And don't necessarily give up if you face some obstacles. But there should be some sense of peace as well, I feel like.

Lanee Blaise [00:17:17]:
Yeah. Some sense of peace even in the midst of the intimidation, even in the midst of I don't know how to do the next step. And you ask for God's help on getting you to that next step. Because I just wonder if more successful people were to explain their story and say, oh, yeah. Like, even though it seems like I was an overnight success, I really was on this one course, and then I got a little bit to the left and then a little bit of a detour and then swung back around and got on track. I think it would make all of us feel a lot more comfortable in trying the new things and knowing that it might not be the straight line point a to point b type of scenario and that it might not really be the overnight success type of vibe that we all It usually isn't. Right?

Sandy Kovach  [00:18:15]:
It usually isn't that? I mean, it's in anybody's life, in anybody's course. You learn by doing things, obviously. And the more challenges you have, the more opportunities that you have to you know, whatever process you're following, okay. That didn't work. Let me go back and try it again. And don't look at mistakes as something that you should be ashamed of. It's just like, well, you know, you're trying. You're doing the best that you can.

Sandy Kovach  [00:18:45]:
And even I was reading, I think, I mean, James this morning see, I'm back in my devotions. Yay. Yay. Taking my advice about, you know, the whole idea of trials producing perseverance and how I I've always hated that scripture that says, you should be joyful in your trials. And I can't say, okay. I'm clapping right now every time I have a problem. But I do get it. You do learn perseverance, and you do learn how to work through it.

Sandy Kovach  [00:19:12]:
And God, like you said, doesn't take you from a to b in a straight line. You learn the process in whatever industry you're in or in a relationship or whatever. It doesn't matter. Just life in general.

Lanee Blaise [00:19:26]:
There's a certain peace even in accepting that and expecting that. Because now I'm at an age where I'm starting to expect the unexpected, which sounds like the big brother TV show, but I'm starting to expect the unexpected. I'm starting to understand that in many cases, there's a desire in my heart. And God, in many cases, seems to be green lighting that desire. And then I begin to slowly feel the nudge in working in that direction. And then I begin to actually have like, we did just, my husband and I were out to dinner two nights ago, and we were seated at a table. And at the very next table was someone that he knew, hadn't seen in a long time. I didn't really know the man, but the man and his wife were there.

Lanee Blaise [00:20:24]:
And so my husband got up and they were shaking hands and kind of hugging, and, like, reconnecting. And then they're like, oh, well, this is my wife and meet my wife. And she said that they had just come from a book signing because the couple had written a book together, a fiction book, very interesting storyline that they were kind of mentioning. And my husband said, oh, well, my wife is in films, and this storyline seems to be something that would make for a great film. Why don't you two connect? So she and I have exchanged numbers, gotten in connection with one another, and I don't know exactly where it's going to lead, but there's this openness that I've had, as you know, about producing films and writing, and people start coming and showing up. And of course, like you say, well, how do you know that which things to take on and which things not to take on? Well, I start with an openness, and I'll take the we'll we'll have a meeting together, and we'll see if it's a great fit. And we'll also notice if it's not a great fit. But we just keep that openness, and I keep checking back with God, just like on the jungle gym.

Lanee Blaise [00:21:38]:
You know, is this is this the equipment that I'm supposed to join in with or not? And we try to do it with this little fear, but knowing that there's unexpected things that'll come up. Knowing that there's challenges that'll come up, not necessarily enjoying the challenges because, Sandy, I'm the first one to say, hey, god. It would be really great if you just do it like this, and then everybody will be happy, and it'll be so smooth and easy. And God is like, well, I have chosen to do it this way, and you will have to figure it out, you know, and make it work. And I'm I'm starting to go along with that less and less reluctantly and less and less thinking that things have to go my way for it to be an opportunity. Because I guess I used to think, like, if if this is the path that God has me on, then everything's gonna go super smooth, super efficiently, and super straightforward. And I really wanna caution people that many times that's not the case. It there may be some smoothness.

Lanee Blaise [00:22:43]:
There's something to be said about it. Everything is going wrong and that if you feel like god is really telling you, no, turn around, go back, abort the mission, do not do this, then, you know, listen to that. But if it's just a few hang ups or snafus, that does not mean that you're on the wrong path. Maybe it means that you're supposed to learn something from it. It'll help you avoid a bigger future problem, but it doesn't necessarily mean that you're supposed to turn around and give up on that on that dream.

Sandy Kovach  [00:23:13]:
Like we were saying in the last podcast too, it's like a puzzle piece. We have this one puzzle piece that we're putting in, and god sees the whole picture. And he's gonna work it out for our good and his glory. And how could we possibly know all that? You know? So Right. When twists and turns come in life, if you can trust God has a plan and I know when the harder things come, that's when it really gets difficult. I mean, I'm not gonna sit here and pretend that, you know, everything is gonna be rosy.

Lanee Blaise [00:23:42]:
Yeah. Because to your point, I I I do always have a heart for people who are listening and who are right now saying, okay, Lanae and Sandy. I had a desire in my heart. I wanted to start a business or something, and I was able to raise the funds, and I was able to get the building, and I was able to start the process. And then I got a terrible health diagnosis, which has seemingly derailed my success with this. What do we say about that? And that's one because there's some things that I really gosh, we just don't know the answer to it. And the only thing that we can offer in those cases are, yes, in that case, you will have to do a pause. You will have to do some deep face down on the floor before God asking and questioning.

Lanee Blaise [00:24:46]:
God does not mind if we question him. You know, Job questioned him. Gideon really questioned him. You know? So we are allowed to question God and say, why is this happening? How do I get out of this? What do I do next? How do I get back to the dream that that I was on par for before this terrible health crisis or whatever crisis came up? So all we're saying in that case is to still have hope and to still have trust in God and to know that you're putting your whole body and mind and spirit before him, and asking, like you said to, what's the next best thing that I can do in this unfortunate situation?

Sandy Kovach  [00:25:30]:
Yeah. Sometimes it's day to day and minute to minute. Right?

Lanee Blaise [00:25:33]:
Yes. And we we don't always know why. I think I've said this before too that my daughter has this whole list of questions she's gonna ask god when she dies and goes to heaven. Just And she's like, I've got all these. Why did this happen? What was up with that? I didn't really didn't understand that one. She may not know those answers on this side of heaven, but it's all a process. God is really concerned with our spirit. I know that we have bodies.

Lanee Blaise [00:26:01]:
Our bodies are important too. Our minds are important, but our soul is really where it's at. And when we keep that in mind, that is a more eternal answer.

Sandy Kovach  [00:26:12]:
Yeah. Sometimes we won't know. And sometimes God will give us a revelation later in life. There are things that I didn't understand when I was a young adult, and now I look back and I say, okay. Whether it's a health crisis, just something that happened, whether it's something in a relationship that goes wrong, whether there are so many things can kinda derail life. Just remember, God can redeem that story. God can use all of it. He uses everything.

Sandy Kovach  [00:26:41]:
I'm not saying, okay. I'm gonna just go through this horrible thing, and then I'm gonna get excited about how god's gonna use it. But if you can kinda hold that out in the future, that, yes, at some point, whether, like you said, it's in the next life or whether it's further down the road or generationally. I feel like sometimes god answers prayers generationally as well.

Lanee Blaise [00:27:03]:
Agreed. This is like this is an interesting episode to me because there's all this hope about the new beginnings and about, you know, what you're doing in your next chapter. But there's also the reality of some folks who have, you know, seen that part derailed even if it's temporarily. And so there's this balance of understanding that we're not in control, that God does love us. God does take care of us. I encourage everyone, if possible, this is an interesting one, to say, like, 10 times a day for the next ten days, which will equal a hundred times, saying god takes care of me or god takes care of us, because sometimes, you know, I'm including, like, my family members. But I've taught this to my kids since they were little buddies. I would say God takes care of us.

Lanee Blaise [00:27:54]:
God takes care of us. And they say it, and they know it. It is in their core. It is is part of the way that they see life. And when you begin to see life from a lens from your deep core that God takes care of us, you start to focus less on how everything may not look the way you wanted it to or expected it to, and the fact that there are still these beautiful things that happen in life. I know that when my stepmom passed away, and it was so hard, and it was the deterioration that happened as she was dealing with cancer and trying to care for her and my siblings and my dad and I trying to just get through it. Now that we look back on it, crazy enough, there are the most hilarious and interesting things that we find to be grateful for. For example, when she was, her body was in a point where she could no longer speak to communicate, and there was this mean nurse that nobody liked.

Lanee Blaise [00:29:06]:
The mean nurse was over there talking to her, waiting for an answer, and then say- I was like, Excuse me, she's not able to communicate anymore. And she's like, oh, yeah. She yes, she is. And I'm like, this mean nurse is just a nut. She's like, no. She tells us with her foot. I'm like, what? She's like, yeah. If I ask her a question and she feels that it's yes, She wiggles her foot.

Lanee Blaise [00:29:28]:
And if it's no, she doesn't wiggle her foot. I'm like this lady's crazy, but we tested it and sure enough, we spent the remainder of her, the, of our time with her, those, those last few weeks asking her questions and having her wiggle her foot or not.

Sandy Kovach  [00:29:44]:
Oh my goodness.

Lanee Blaise [00:29:46]:
That was one of the little things that in the midst of the pain and the hardship and the grieving, I will never forget that little foot. And even the fact that how about before everything happened, she had, she knew she was not doing what she wanted me to paint her toes. And so I painted her toes this fun bronze, cute little color. And she was so delighted. And I know in my heart that she was so grateful that while she'd be over there wiggling that little foot, that she had a nice freshly painted little toe Yes. You know, to chew it with. It is just the most bizarre things that sometimes we can find to be grateful for. You know, I'm not grateful that she got cancer.

Lanee Blaise [00:30:28]:
I'm not grateful that she passed away. But if it had to happen, and because we know that God knew even before she was born what day she would pass and the circumstances she passed, I am at least grateful for that little painted toe foot. And the way that we got to ask and tell her, we got to know that she could hear us. We got to say our proper goodbyes.

Sandy Kovach  [00:30:54]:
I don't know. You couldn't have before, right?

Lanee Blaise [00:30:57]:
No. We were just looking at her sad and moping around and thinking that she was like, couldn't even hear us. And we were not being very careful about what we were saying around her, which I regret that now. It would have been better if I'd been saying more positive things or if some of the things that the doctor was saying may have we I would have stepped in the hallway to say it instead of saying it right in front of her listening, but not being able to say anything back. But, honey, once we found that out, I got to tell her about my daughter. You know, my daughter's going to med school, University of Michigan. How do you like that? And her little foot just wiggle, wiggle, wiggle, wiggle, wiggle, you know? It's

Sandy Kovach  [00:31:37]:
an excited one.

Lanee Blaise [00:31:38]:
It's like, yes. It was an exciting one. All I'm saying is I don't wanna be like Pollyanna, but I also wanna realize that even in the most hard that was the hardest time of my whole life ever, if anything, and yet now here I am talking about this one blessing that God gave us with through a mean nurse of all people that we didn't even like, but that was something to look forward to. So the hard times, the new beginning times, look for some of those blessings. Look for some of those pieces of light.

Sandy Kovach  [00:32:14]:
So since you shared a a story about your stepmom and I started to share this before when I was talking about answering prayers generationally, but then I pulled back. But it seems appropriate. My mom passed away when I was, a lot younger, but I was still an adult. And, my mom struggled all of her life that I know of with alcoholism. And she was she went to church, and she was she was praying. And I I mean, I I know she was a believer. And I didn't even become a believer till later in life, but I knew that my mom was. And then once I did become a believer, I I said, god, why didn't you ever deal with her alcoholism? Why didn't you ever deal with all these issues? And her alcoholism was based on mental health issues back in the day, you know, in the seventies and whatever.

Sandy Kovach  [00:33:00]:
Do you The care. The care was The care was terrible, and you health people self medicated and alcoholism.

Lanee Blaise [00:33:07]:
The stigma the stigmas were hardcore back then. Yeah.

Sandy Kovach  [00:33:12]:
I under and I I did. I understood that part, but I just didn't understand why did god let that happen. One time, I think I was at some kind of a women's conference, and it was a big it was a Christian conference. And God put on my heart that she prayed for me to answer the prayer in my generation that I would never become addicted to anything. And, I mean, I went through when I was a young adult, I smoked for a moment. Well, I would say longer than a moment. You know, it was more like social smoking, but and I partied in college and, you know, sometimes drank too much and all these things, but yet I never became addicted to anything. And that was because my mom prayed for me and answered generationally because a lot of times, it it passes on.

Sandy Kovach  [00:34:02]:
God you just never know what he's gonna do.

Lanee Blaise [00:34:05]:
You almost you have me in tears because it's so precious. It's so precious what you're saying as far as how God ended up actually blessing her by keeping you protected and blessed and safe. And, that's So

Sandy Kovach  [00:34:24]:
that that's my son. You know? I mean, he he will grow up with a completely different parent.

Lanee Blaise [00:34:30]:
Yeah. And that's what you said. It stopped generationally, and that probably was the biggest desire of her heart all along. Oh my gosh. Okay. So How about that one?

Sandy Kovach  [00:34:46]:
First, you were thinking about your stepmom, and you got emotional, and now I threw this at you. So But it's true. This these when we talk about things like this,

Lanee Blaise [00:34:56]:
honestly and vulnerably and with hope, I truly think that's what blesses people who hear it. I think that's what makes people understand, Okay. I can try to look at this a different way. I can try to get through this a different way. I can try to have hope for this in a new way. And sometimes that's the goal. That's the new beginning right there.

Sandy Kovach  [00:35:23]:
Yeah. Just a change of mindset, a change of perspective. Oh, well, maybe God has a different purpose or plan or it's gonna be okay. It's gonna be okay. And if it's not okay, it's not the end. Right? As the old quote says. Yeah.

Lanee Blaise [00:35:41]:
Because there's two things. When we were preparing for this podcast, there were two beautiful scriptures that you had mentioned. You had mentioned from Lamentations, God brings new mercies every morning. That was Lamentations three twenty two through 23. God's mercies are new every morning. Every season of life is a chance for renewal. And then the other scripture that you had said that, you know, we might end up touching on in this episode was from Isaiah forty three nineteen. See, I am doing a new thing.

Lanee Blaise [00:36:22]:
Now it springs up. Do you not perceive it? Those are some beautiful scriptures when it comes to realizing that things are temporary. You know, the sun comes up the next day, whether that's literally or metaphorically or, you know, figuratively, but the sun comes up a new day, a new dawn, a new season, a new chapter, and how God is doing a new thing within us spiritually, emotionally, physically, professionally, relationship be, you know, all the different possibilities. This episode at its heart is about believing in God's ability and desire to have us live out new beginnings. Amen. So we dropped the mic with imagine yourself as a little kid at that playground, looking back and ahead, looking forward towards the new opportunities and the jungle gyms and the the teeter totters and the playgrounds that life has to offer, but always taking time to check back with God so that you'll know when you're supposed to move on it, when you're supposed to pause, when you're supposed to grieve, when you're supposed to laugh and rejoice so that you have a full bodied life and so that you are the person that you need to be in order to step into all the wonderfulness that God has for you. And we are here praying for all of you. We don't know your names.

Lanee Blaise [00:38:02]:
We don't know your situations, but we know that you are God's children, and we love you for that.

Sandy Kovach  [00:38:10]:
We do. And we're so glad that, you've spent some time with us, whether it's your first episode or you've been listening for a while. Like we talked about in the beginning, gonna take just a couple of months off, and we'll talk to you again, oh, around the first week in May. We'd love a rating or review on this podcast, and hopefully, this gives you a chance to catch up on some you may not have listened to. We break them down on our website as far as topics are concerned. Please visit us at imagineyourselfpodcast.com or on our social media on Facebook and Instagram. We'll have all the links in the show notes.