About me: My name is Kate Eveland Schierholtz. I am 27 years old. I grew up in Southlake, Texas and currently live in Chicago, Illinois. I graduated from San Diego State University with an international business degree where I played college basketball on a full scholarship. I have been fortunate enough to work for a wonderful business consulting firm since 2008. I feel very blessed to be married to my husband Nate, who is a professional baseball player. I have never before written about my faith or a blog article so please bear with me.

After our marriage in December of 2011, I was very excited to start our life together. We had normal goals of living out our dreams as a family. All of my life I have been extremely independent and felt like I was in the driver’s seat which gave me great confidence and comfort. I learned quickly God had other plans for us. In our first 18 months of marriage, my husband’s job moved us 8 times, to 5 different cities, in and out of 6 different homes, and to 3 amazing MLB organizations. Needless to say, it has been a struggle at times to feel normal, find my independence and feel at peace during each change. I am far from having “it all figured out” but I wanted to share 2 changes I made that have helped me “live out the Gospel” by keeping the Lord central in my life & home while everything around me continues to shift and be uncertain from one season to the next.

 Stop trying to take control & trust in God 100% – During times of instability, frequent change, and events in my life where I had prayed for a different outcome, I would become consumed with feelings of doubt, insecurities, fear, frustration, and sometimes anger. These negative emotions impacted every part of my life from my relationship with the Lord, my marriage, my relationships with friends and family, and my overall quality of life. The only time I finally felt at peace was when I truly 100% accepted that I was not in control, God was, and He had a plan for me and my family. 100% was the key for me, because when I held on to even 1%, my own doubt would keep me from feeling peace and appreciating the blessings God was providing. For too many months I missed out on friendships, opportunities to spread God’s love, and a deeper relationship with my husband because I allowed my unstable circumstances to define how I was going to live. Once I starting trusting in God’s plan, I was able to relax, better appreciate the many people and places He put in our lives, and truly see His blessings in ways I never had before.

Find peace in Prayer – Prayer was my lifeline in finding stability and being able to give God control 100%. As I mentioned, I played college basketball and was always the “player” on the court. I never understood why my parent’s got so nervous or emotional. WOW, do I have a different perspective now! As a spectator, you feel an intense sense of helplessness as you watch someone you love go through ups and downs on the field or in life. Prayer was the only way I felt relief from my anxiety & the only way I felt like I was helping the outcome by giving it over to Him in prayer.

Being in the world of baseball with Nate has brought so many blessings into my life and one of the greatest blessings is the people I get to meet. One of those great people helped me start my prayer journal. I don’t journal every day or even every week, but when I do, I spend hours writing my fears, hopes and dreams and all the prayers in between. This has dramatically changed my life and faith. Prayer journaling has been a huge factor in my ability to give God full control and allows me great reflection. It brings me to tears to go back and reread some of my prayers that have been answered in ways I never could have imagined. I also see prayers that have been thankfully unanswered and some that are still in progress. It has helped me give thanks and find such a deeper trust and appreciation for my Heavenly Father. I cherish my prayer journal because it documents my life journey, my faith’s journey, and my love letters to my Heavenly Father.

I am so incredibly thankful for all of the experiences God has brought into my life. Although I may not have understood God’s plan at the time, every move, every team, every change has only made my life and my family’s lives better. These experiences have taught me so many things about myself, my husband, how to act from love not fear, and how to “live out the gospel” in our unpredictable life.

Thank you so much to Shauna for asking me to contribute to her inspiring blog. I have never written about my faith before and I hope my experiences can help enrich your own.  God Bless you all – Go Cubs

Key Verses: Psalms 18: 2; James 1:2,3; Romans 8:38,39; Psalm 27 1-3; Hebrews 13:6; Isaiah 35:4; Psalms 23:4; Isaiah 41:10

Kate Schierholtz calls Chicago home, for now! She is a working woman and cheers on her baseball-playing husband, Nate. Maybe your story resonates with Kate’s as you, too, have made several moves due to yours or your spouse’s careers. Maybe it’s the constant unknowns or the roller coaster of emotions that come from shifts in schedules and routine. Let’s encourage one another today by contributing comments to Kate’s thoughts:

What changes have you had to make to keep Christ central despite change and uncertainty?

You can follow Kate on twitter @KateSchierholtz or leave her a note here on the blogpost today.