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Now, on to the podcast. If hope is only rooted in an outcome, then your expectations will crush you. I am Rob West. Those are the words of Catherine Wolf, who knows this truth in a deeply personal way. At just 26, she suffered a massive stroke that forever changed her life, yet God has used her journey to bring hope to countless others.
Today, she shares how that hardship has reshaped her life, her faith, and even her finances. And then it's on to your calls at 800-525-7000. That's 800-525-7000. This is Faith and Finance, biblical wisdom for your financial journey. Yeah.
Boy, what a joy it is to have Catherine Wolf with us on the program today. She's a gifted communicator. She's the founder of the ministry Hope Heals and co-author with her husband Jay of the inspiring book Hope Heals, a true story of overwhelming loss and an overcoming love. Catherine, a privilege to have you with us today. Hi, there is so wonderful to be here.
Thank you for having me. I am so delighted. And you and I were just chatting off air there for a moment. And I'll tell you, my kids and my wife, Julie, were at Hope Heels, the camp, this summer, and they had an absolute ball. We're going to have to talk about Hope Heels and what you're doing through the ministry in a moment, but I want to start by having you take us back.
Back in 2008, you were only 26 and caring for your new baby when everything suddenly changed. Tell our audience what unfolded in that moment. Absolutely. Out of nowhere with no medical history, no family history, no symptoms prior, nothing. I was completely typically able-bodied one moment, and the next moment I had a massive brainstem stroke due to a birth defect I never knew that I had, called an AVM, an arterial venous malformation.
And that caused the massive stroke that would then leave me after a 16-hour brain surgery extremely impaired. I live with profound disabilities today. I use a wheelchair. I can no longer drive a car. I'm deaf in one ear.
I do not have use of most of my right hand. My face is paralyzed. And I have many other significant Health challenges, but um. I did live and am doing great despite it all. You sure are, and God is using you in immense ways.
Your recovery, of course, has been a long journey, and you've been very open about the challenges. Yet, you've also shared that Jesus really met you, Catherine, in that valley. How did you cling to your faith when everything around you felt shattered? Absolutely. Oh, in so many very, very clear ways, actually.
It was almost as if the stroke clarified the years of learning the truths of Jesus for me. It was the moment that the puddle hit the metal. It was my moment of going, this is no longer a drill. And all of the deep scripture I've been immersed in throughout my life, all of the deep teachings of Jesus, all of the, I mean, every sermon I've heard my whole life, I received Christ as a four-year-old child and had spent many years imperfectly for sure walking with the Lord.
So I have a lot of material through the years to work on. Yes, man, we all do. You share much of your journey in your book, Hope Heels. For those who haven't had a chance to read it yet, just give us, and we've got about a minute till our first break here. What is the main message you hope they walk away with from that book?
Oh, yes. I hope Hills is really the memoir story of what happened to me and how we learned to cope in this new reality. And the message that is loud and clear throughout that book and my other two books is that suffering is never the end of the story, but rather suffering is the beginning of a new story. Said a different way, hope. Hope is the powerful truth of acknowledging as believers that all is not well in our stories, but deeply believing that all is not lost at the very same time.
That is profound. Catherine, we are delighted that you're here today. We're looking forward to continuing the conversation with Catherine Wolfe just around the corner. We'll talk about how all of this intersects with your financial life. You know, when it comes to medical difficulties and medical crises, they can bring on incredible financial strain.
Catherine will weigh in on that. Plus, tell us about her incredible ministry, Hope Heals. Catherine Wolfe here today. She's the author of the book, Hope Heals, and we've got a lot more to come just around the corner. Stick around.
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Our guest today, Catherine Wolf, at just 26, she suffered a massive stroke that forever changed her life, but God met her there and he has used her journey to bring hope to countless others. Catherine, we were talking about your book, Hope Heals, and you've also written about what you call treasures in the darkness. I'd love for you to unpack that idea for our listeners today. Absolutely. You're right.
My third book is entitled Treasures in the Dark, and it is reflections on finding hope even in the deep darkness in our stories. And this whole idea is based on the beautiful truth of Isaiah 45:3, that he gives hidden treasure in the darkness, riches stored in secret places so that we may know that he is God, the God of Israel, the God who summons us by name. And I love the thought that if we have to be in the deep darkness in our stories, and we all do at some point, that the Lord has special treasure for us there. And when we're in the darkness, we might as well get the treasure out. Don't waste the pain.
And let that treasure, those riches, inform the way that we live the rest of our lives.
Well, one of those treasures for you certainly has been the ministry that God gave you called Hope Heals. And I'd love for you to share a bit about that. And as I mentioned at the top of the program, my family has a special connection to it as well. Absolutely. Hope heels has been Among the greatest joys of my life.
I just can't believe it's real. Hope Healed is our 501c3 faith-based nonprofit where we get to build sacred spaces of belonging and belovedness for people affected by disability and invite them into interability community. We do this through a summer camp that your sweet family volunteered at, where we have families apply to a lottery and come for free. From all over the country to experience rest, resources, and relationships. And it's glorious.
And then we also have a coffee shop. Here in Atlanta, that employs people with disabilities to work. It's called Mend. Mend is universally accessible, meaning everything is incredibly wheelchair-friendly, wonderful for adapted devices, and made for people with disabilities to feel like they have a place to come and belong. It's glorious.
You should come. I'm going to. It's right here in Atlanta, so it's in my backyard. I've got to get down there. And let me just say, you mentioned my family went to Hope Heels Your Camp.
Julie, my wife, Mason, my now freshman in college, and Abby, my junior in high school. I think they're going to be there every year. I'm going to have to go with them. They came home just so overjoyed at how God met them there and just the chance they had to just pour into these sweet children and families that had disabilities. And oh man, it was incredible, Catherine.
Well done. Oh, goodness. It is the joy of my life. I can't believe we get to go. My plus fountain is glorious.
I know it is.
Well, I want to talk about the financial aspect of these challenges because, you know, suffering impacts every part of life, as you're well aware, not just our health and emotions, but even our finances. And I know you've written about what you call invisible wheelchairs, those hidden struggles that can hold people back. Talk about financial hardship and how that intersects with this.
Well, in multiple ways. First of all, so many times when disability is in the family story or there is an event that leads to disability, the finances can be ravaged. It's a tragedy.
So many times, many, many people in the disability community have split every dollar they have to try to get their person well. It's tragic.
So there is a need for much financial wisdom and planning. And definitely, I talk a ton about the wheelchairs in each one of our stories that you don't have to have a physical disability. To be mogged down and in deep constraints of the story. And of course, financial instability is definitely one of those that deeply, deeply holding you back and a deep vortex in your life. For sure, it's a tragedy.
For someone listening today, Catherine, that finds themselves in that place and maybe they have their own financial strain as a result of an event like this, what encouragement would you offer to families who are dealing with medical debt specifically right now? I would say there are pain and problems and hardships of all kinds. As we live in a fallen world and are broken human beings, no one is exempt from hard things. And I think there is such a beautiful camaraderie in that, that everybody's going through something hard. And maybe it is financial, maybe it's relational, maybe it's medical.
We're all dealing with hard things, and God has given us each other for the healing. We can cling to the body of Christ, look to him, and hold on, even when it's so hard.
Well, I know in your own life, your entire life was reshaped, no doubt, but that included finances in significant ways. How have you, Catherine, surrendered that area to the Lord and found his faithfulness there? Oh, goodness, in every way. You know, I see surrender as this beautiful gateway to a relief. You know, so many people see surrendering anything as.
Bitening you up, it's holding you back, is preventing something. But I see surrendering something as a relief, as God, you take it all, you take the wheel here. And I think that is the way for us all to live. Yeah, I couldn't agree more. You know, plenty of people listening today, Catherine, feel their finances are shaky even without perhaps facing a major crisis.
So I'd love for you to finish today just by providing some encouragement to them as they trust God in the middle of their uncertainty. Absolutely. Trusting God means that we don't have to live afraid about what will happen. It means we can live deeply into the reality that, yes, everything may not feel okay in this moment, but ultimately everything is okay because we know Jesus. In fact, it may feel really hopeless in your life in this moment, but do not lose hope because the good things of God are inside of you when you are in Jesus.
They're not external.
So as hard as our circumstances may be, they are not what determines what is good in our story. The good things of God are the things already inside of us when we know him. Wow. What a great place for us to finish today.
Well, unfortunately, we've come to the end of our time together. But, Catherine, what a gift it's been to have you with us. Your story certainly shows us that God's power is made perfect in weakness, and we're so thankful for your encouragement today. Lord bless you. Oh, bless you.
Thank you. Folks, if you want to check out Hope Heals, go to hopeheals.com. And if you're in the Atlanta area, stop by Mend, the coffee shop in Buckhead. Folks, this February, we're thrilled to welcome Catherine as our speaker at our conference for thousands of financial advisors.
So, if you work with a certified kingdom advisor, ask if they'll be there to hear Catherine and many others who are equipping them to serve you with excellence. They can learn more at redeemingmoney.com. That's redeemingmoney.com. All right, your calls are next. The number 800-525-7000.
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Start your journey today by going to kingdomadvisors.com/slash get certified. Hey, thanks for joining us today on Faith and Finance. We've got two lines open. You can call right now, 800-525-7000. Let's dive into your questions today.
We're going to begin in Indiana. Sasha, so glad you're calling. How can I help? Um I had invested Money, listen to a family friend. It was supposed to have been a guaranteed investment.
And um I lost fifteen thousand dollars. And I'm a single lady. I don't have a lot of money. I was supposed to have gotten 25,000. From this And, you know, I'm put prayer I'm prayerful about making rent next month.
And I just wanted some advice on how to recover from this. Oh wow.
Well, first of all, Sasha, I am so sorry to hear about what you've experienced. I know that's a painful situation, and I can certainly understand how you want to think about what it looks like to proceed forward after probably feeling betrayed. But I want you to know you're not alone. You know, many smart, caring people are hurt by, quote, guaranteed investments that turn out to be unsafe or mismanaged or just straight out fraud. And I think the first step is really to release that to the Lord and just acknowledge before him, Lord, I want to be found faithful and stewarding what you've entrusted to me.
I trust you as my provider. And then I think we also need to learn from it. Anytime we go through a situation like this, we need to say, what can I take away from this that I could apply in the future? I think one thing that stands out to me, Sasha, anytime somebody is offering something to you that sounds too good to be true, that involves any kind of investment or finances, or they're placing pressure on you. I would see that as a red flag.
If the returns, the prospect of returns seem unusually high, they probably are for a good reason. Because it's all about risk and return. And if without much risk, you're going to get a high return, that just doesn't work. There's something wrong underneath it. Those situations just don't come.
And so let's learn from this the next time around. Let's pass on these things, especially when it involves a family member or a friend. But no matter the situation, if it sounds too good to be true or you don't understand it. Or the risk doesn't match the appropriate return, then pass and walk away. And let's move forward from here.
And I think the first step is really to stabilize Sasha your immediate needs. You know, if you're struggling to make rent, that's the priority.
So let's talk to the landlord early. Let's be honest about the situation.
Sometimes they'll agree to a partial payment or a short grace period. Contact some local assistants. Maybe your local church would be willing in this situation to step in and provide a couple of months that could be covered. But make sure you reach out and look to see what's available. A lot of times you can find a one-time rent aid from Salvation Army.
You could go to 211.org. You can apply for utility and food assistance to free up cash for housing. But let's just take this one month at a time. And then I think with regard to the family friend, you know, I would review what happened with the investment. I mean, if you gave this to a family friend who promised a, quote, guaranteed return, you know, gather the paperwork, the messages, the bank records.
You know, if fraud is possible, you know, and you're going to need to think about this prayerfully. And you didn't mention whether you want to pursue it. That's between you and the Lord. But, you know, perhaps filing a police report or a complaint, you know, even if you don't expect repayment, it's going to protect others. And, you know, if it was just simply a poor decision, then we learn from it and we move on.
I think the goal here is going to be to try the best we can to manage what you have coming in. And focus on once we get the immediate bills covered and get back on track, let's start to try to rebuild an emergency fund starting with $1,000. What would it take over a number of months to get back up to $1,000 in buffer that you can hang on to and a safe investment? We're not investing that in anything, no matter what anybody says they can do with it. We want to keep that liquid and stable.
And that's what you fall back on when the unexpected comes, because it will. And that may be $25 or $50 per paycheck for you to get back to that. And I would stick to bank accounts and high-yield savings accounts, things like that.
Now, what I want to provide to you, Sasha, is one of our certified Christian financial counselors. We're going to pay for this. It's not going to cost you anything, but I'm going to gift you several meetings with one of our cert CFCs who can come alongside you, pray with you, help you set up your budget, look at your overall situation, and help you chart a path forward. They'll meet with you over the phone or through a Zoom meeting, but they're going to help you get back on track and kind of journey with you over a few months, okay? Thank you so much.
I appreciate it. You're welcome. And by the way, if anybody out there is hearing Sasha's story today and you'd like to be of help in this situation, call our team. We have a way where we can do that. You're welcome to call into the program right now if that's something the Lord has placed on your heart as you heard her story.
Sasha, Lord bless you. Stay on the line. We'll get your information and get somebody in touch with you. Antoinette, I know you have two questions. I'm only going to have time for probably one.
I've got just about 90 seconds. Go ahead. Yeah, that's okay. I just want to ask for if I have real estate properties that I want to leave it to my children. I understand there's supposed to be like a trust that they don't have to pay capital gains.
And do I also need a well? Yeah. Well, um you're not going to pay capital gains anyway if you leave it to your heirs.
So if they receive uh these properties as an inheritance, they enjoy what's called a step up in basis.
So, the cost basis, the purchase price that you had for these properties when you originally bought them, that's what's used to determine if there's a capital gain upon the sale. But when you receive it as an inheritance, that cost basis steps up to the market value as of the date of death. And so they're not gonna have any capital gains, and you're not gonna have any estate taxes if your estate is under $13 million.
Now, do you need a will or a trust or what's called a transfer on death deed? A transfer on death deed is available in Illinois, and it allows you to name your children on the deed so the property passes directly to them at death. Skipping probate. It's fairly simple. It costs maybe between $200 and $500 to set up with a lawyer.
And it works well if your kids, you know, if you're in agreement on the ownership and, you know, determining what percent goes to each child. And as long as they're all okay with selling it, then it's going to be fairly simple. The other approach would be a trust. It's not necessary, but it's an option. It's going to cost you a little bit more, but it would also give you a little bit more control over the property with regard to how the money is distributed.
And it could allow you to name a trustee so that even prior to your death, if you were incapacitated, the trustee could step in and manage things. I think your next step, Antoinette, is to go visit with a godly estate planning attorney to talk through all this and get it set up. If you don't have one, you could get a referral from a CKA in your area. Just go to faithby.com. Thanks for your call.
Thanks to Devin, Sandy, Taylor, and everybody here at Faith Buy. We'll see you next time. Bye-bye. Faith in Finance is provided by Faith Buy and listeners like you.
