{"id":302066,"date":"2010-06-28T11:00:00","date_gmt":"2010-06-28T15:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/podcast\/%series%\/a-shaky-beginning\/"},"modified":"2010-06-28T11:00:00","modified_gmt":"2010-06-28T15:00:00","slug":"a-shaky-beginning","status":"publish","type":"podcast","link":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/podcast\/familylife-today\/a-shaky-beginning\/","title":{"rendered":"A Shaky Beginning"},"content":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Her mother tried to abort her.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":91,"featured_media":294104,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","inline_featured_image":false,"_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","episode_type":"","audio_file":"https:\/\/web.familylifetoday.com\/fl2010-06-28.mp3","podmotor_file_id":"","podmotor_episode_id":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"00:","filesize":"30.27M","filesize_raw":"31744831","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":""},"categories":[2822],"tags":[4491,2949,2712,4465,5154],"podcast_series":[7739],"cwp_profile":[9203],"series":[2101],"class_list":["post-302066","podcast","type-podcast","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-growing-in-your-faith","tag-abortion","tag-abuse","tag-adoption","tag-drugs","tag-violence","podcast_series-unfavorable-odds","cwp_profile-kim-and-corwin-anthony","series-familylife-today"],"acf":[],"episode_featured_image":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1001\/2024\/09\/FLT-Podcast-Cover-2-508x508-3.jpg?w=508","episode_player_image":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1001\/2023\/02\/image-scaled.jpg","download_link":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/podcast-download\/302066\/a-shaky-beginning","player_link":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/podcast-player\/302066\/a-shaky-beginning","audio_player":null,"episode_data":{"playerMode":"light","subscribeUrls":{"apple_podcasts":{"key":"apple_podcasts","url":"https:\/\/podcasts.apple.com\/us\/podcast\/familylife-today\/id212174303?mt=2&app=podcast","label":"Apple Podcasts","class":"apple_podcasts","icon":"apple-podcasts.png"},"google_podcasts":{"key":"google_podcasts","url":"","label":"Google Podcasts","class":"google_podcasts","icon":"google-podcasts.png"},"spotify":{"key":"spotify","url":"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/show\/0j5UaKdQOHQCuo1bt0ebEm","label":"Spotify","class":"spotify","icon":"spotify.png"},"youtube":{"key":"youtube","url":"","label":"YouTube","class":"youtube","icon":"youtube.png"}},"rssFeedUrl":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/feed\/podcast\/familylife-today","embedCode":"<blockquote class=\"wp-embedded-content\" data-secret=\"2tbz6nyQEU\"><a href=\"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/podcast\/familylife-today\/a-shaky-beginning\/\">A Shaky Beginning<\/a><\/blockquote><iframe sandbox=\"allow-scripts\" security=\"restricted\" src=\"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/podcast\/familylife-today\/a-shaky-beginning\/embed\/#?secret=2tbz6nyQEU\" width=\"500\" height=\"350\" title=\"&#8220;A Shaky Beginning&#8221; &#8212; FamilyLife\u00ae - A Cru Ministry\" data-secret=\"2tbz6nyQEU\" frameborder=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" class=\"wp-embedded-content\"><\/iframe><script>\n\/*! This file is auto-generated *\/\n!function(d,l){\"use strict\";l.querySelector&&d.addEventListener&&\"undefined\"!=typeof URL&&(d.wp=d.wp||{},d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage||(d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage=function(e){var t=e.data;if((t||t.secret||t.message||t.value)&&!\/[^a-zA-Z0-9]\/.test(t.secret)){for(var s,r,n,a=l.querySelectorAll('iframe[data-secret=\"'+t.secret+'\"]'),o=l.querySelectorAll('blockquote[data-secret=\"'+t.secret+'\"]'),c=new RegExp(\"^https?:$\",\"i\"),i=0;i<o.length;i++)o[i].style.display=\"none\";for(i=0;i<a.length;i++)s=a[i],e.source===s.contentWindow&&(s.removeAttribute(\"style\"),\"height\"===t.message?(1e3<(r=parseInt(t.value,10))?r=1e3:~~r<200&&(r=200),s.height=r):\"link\"===t.message&&(r=new URL(s.getAttribute(\"src\")),n=new URL(t.value),c.test(n.protocol))&&n.host===r.host&&l.activeElement===s&&(d.top.location.href=t.value))}},d.addEventListener(\"message\",d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage,!1),l.addEventListener(\"DOMContentLoaded\",function(){for(var e,t,s=l.querySelectorAll(\"iframe.wp-embedded-content\"),r=0;r<s.length;r++)(t=(e=s[r]).getAttribute(\"data-secret\"))||(t=Math.random().toString(36).substring(2,12),e.src+=\"#?secret=\"+t,e.setAttribute(\"data-secret\",t)),e.contentWindow.postMessage({message:\"ready\",secret:t},\"*\")},!1)))}(window,document);\n\/\/# sourceURL=https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-includes\/js\/wp-embed.min.js\n<\/script>\n"},"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1001\/2024\/09\/FLT-Podcast-Cover-2-508x508-3.jpg",508,508,false]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"kfairris@familylife.com","author_link":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/author\/kfairrisfamilylife-com\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"Her mother tried to abort her.","meta_box":{"show_notes":"","transcript_url":"https:\/\/transcript.familylifetoday.com\/fl2010-06-28.pdf","transcript_content":"<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong><strong>\u00a0 <\/strong>Kim Anthony has a lot of painful and hard memories from her childhood, including a night when she remembers seeing her father try to take his own life.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Kim:<\/strong><strong>\u00a0 <\/strong>I heard this commotion, in the bathroom, which was next door and I remember hearing my mother screaming, \u201cNo! No!\u00a0 Don\u2019t!\u00a0 You can\u2019t!\u201d\u00a0 He wasn\u2019t screaming but I just heard wrestling.\u00a0 I remember stepping into the doorway and seeing the both of them wrestling in the bathroom, and my father was trying to drink something.\u00a0 I don\u2019t know what it was, but I assumed it was poison, and I remember knowing without a doubt that he was trying to kill himself.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong><strong>\u00a0 <\/strong>This is <em>FamilyLife Today<\/em> for Monday, June 28<sup>th<\/sup>.\u00a0 Our host is the President of FamilyLife Dennis Rainey and I\u2019m Bob Lepine.\u00a0 Today, Kim Anthony shares how she overcame unfavorable odds to become a six-time all-American gymnast.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tAnd welcome to <em>FamilyLife Today<\/em>, thanks for joining us.\u00a0 You know, you\u2019ve said for years and I think it\u2019s been demonstrated not only what we\u2019ve talked about on <em>FamilyLife Today<\/em>, but just in life\u2014family is powerful for good or for ill; your family marks you for life.\u00a0 But at the same time, family is not necessarily determinative.\u00a0 You can\u2019t point back and say, \u201cWell I can\u2019t\u201d or \u201cI\u2019m not\u201d because of what happened in your family.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong><strong>\u00a0 <\/strong>There are too many great stories of people who have come from, well, families that frankly almost put a sense of evil, a stamp of evil on their lives.\u00a0 They were abused or taken advantage of or came from such a rugged background.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tWe\u2019re going to hear a great story today, and we got a couple in the studio that I know both you and I are looking forward to chatting with them.\u00a0 Corwin and Kim Anthony join us on <em>FamilyLife Today.<\/em>\u00a0 Kim, Corwin, welcome to the broadcast.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Corwin:<\/strong><strong>\u00a0 <\/strong>Thank you, we\u2019re glad to be here.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Kim:<\/strong><strong>\u00a0 <\/strong>Thanks for having us.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong><strong>\u00a0 <\/strong>I almost introduced Kim as Kim Hamilton, which is how she was known as the first African-American gymnast to go to scholarship at UCLA, is that right?\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Kim:<\/strong><strong>\u00a0 <\/strong>That\u2019s right.\u00a0 I was the first female to get that.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong><strong>\u00a0 <\/strong>I was looking at your record, and I just got a real rugged question, Kim, right off the bat to ask you.\u00a0 This could be very embarrassing to you\u2026\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Kim:<\/strong><strong>\u00a0 <\/strong>Uh-oh, I\u2019m scared!\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t(laughter)\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong><strong>\u00a0 <\/strong>\u2026but it says here that you were a four-time National Champion and a six-time all-American, and you were inducted into UCLA\u2019s Hall of Fame in October of 2000.\u00a0 I know we all go to school for four years in college\u2026\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t(laughter)\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t\u2026is there something you need to share with our listeners about flunking a couple years, so you became an all-American for six years?\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Kim:<\/strong><strong>\u00a0 <\/strong>Okay.\u00a0 No, I was at UCLA for four years.\u00a0 I finished and got my degree in four years.\u00a0 However, I competed on four events each year, so at nationals, I had the opportunity to get four all-American titles because I competed all-around:\u00a0 vault, bars, beam, and floor.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong><strong>\u00a0 <\/strong>Oh!\u00a0 I knew there would be a good answer!\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Kim:<\/strong><strong>\u00a0 <\/strong>Yes!\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong><strong>\u00a0 <\/strong>So six-time all-American, how many of those were floor and how many of those were beam, I mean what were you?\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Kim:<\/strong><strong>\u00a0 <\/strong>Oh goodness!\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong><strong>\u00a0 <\/strong>You don\u2019t know?!\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Kim:<\/strong><strong>\u00a0 <\/strong>I don\u2019t know.\u00a0 It\u2019s really sad.\u00a0 But I did win the national floor title three times, three years in a row, and then I added a vault title to that as well. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong><strong>\u00a0 <\/strong>Was that your favorite?\u00a0 The floor?\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Kim:<\/strong><strong>\u00a0 <\/strong>The floor?\u00a0 Yes it became my favorite because I love to perform.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong><strong>\u00a0 <\/strong>Wow.\u00a0 Great experience!\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong><strong>\u00a0 <\/strong>Yes, we didn\u2019t introduce your husband, Corwin, here, and I know\u2026\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong><strong>\u00a0 <\/strong>He\u2019s used to this!\u00a0 Aren\u2019t you used to it?\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Corwin:<\/strong><strong>\u00a0 <\/strong>Very much so.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t(laughter)\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong><strong>\u00a0 <\/strong>He\u2019s over here smiling!\u00a0 Corwin is a pretty significant athlete in his own right.\u00a0 In fact, both Bob and I are checking out his biceps and comparing our own\u2026\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong><strong>\u00a0 <\/strong>I\u2019m comparing my thighs to his biceps!\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong><strong>\u00a0 <\/strong>Yes, there you go!\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong><strong>\u00a0 <\/strong>And they\u2019re smaller!\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong><strong>\u00a0 <\/strong>He was an all Pac 10\u2026\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong><strong>\u00a0 <\/strong>I mean my thighs are smaller his biceps are bigger.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t(laughter)\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong><strong>\u00a0 <\/strong>He was an all Pac 10 tight-end for UCLA in the late eighties.\u00a0 He graduated with a degree in economics.\u00a0 He went on to play in the NFL for the Los Angeles Rams and the New York Jets.\u00a0 He\u2019s worked with Promise Keepers for a number of years, and today he gives leadership to the pro ministries of Athletes in Action, which is a ministry of Campus Crusade for Christ, which we are, too, so he\u2019s a fellow staff member of Campus Crusade for Christ.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tLet\u2019s see, Corwin, you have chaplains in about 12 NFL teams across the country, is that right?\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Corwin:<\/strong><strong>\u00a0 <\/strong>Yes, that\u2019s right, and we have about five full-time chaplains with soccer MLS and a couple of chaplains that serve in the NBA as well as MLB.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong><strong>\u00a0 <\/strong>And you yourself are chaplain for the \u2018mighty\u2019 Miami Dolphins, right?\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Corwin:<\/strong><strong>\u00a0 <\/strong>Yes that\u2019s right.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong><strong>\u00a0 <\/strong>Bob!\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t(Laughing)\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tYou found a fresh way to insult \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong><strong>\u00a0 <\/strong>No!\u00a0 I\u2019m trying\u2026.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong><strong>\u00a0 <\/strong>\u2026a guys whose biceps\u2026He can crush you, Bob!\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong><strong>\u00a0 <\/strong>I was trying to get on the bandwagon!\u00a0 The mighty Miami Dolphins, right?\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong><strong>\u00a0 <\/strong>Sure you were!\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong><strong>\u00a0 <\/strong>This is going to be a great year for the Dolphins, isn\u2019t it?\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Corwin:<\/strong><strong>\u00a0 <\/strong>Oh yes, definitely!\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong><strong>\u00a0 <\/strong>There we go!\u00a0 See?\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t(laughter)\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong><strong>\u00a0 <\/strong>Well, and we got to say that Kim is the wives\u2019 chaplain for the Dolphins as well, so you guys work as a team with pro athletes.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tWe started the broadcast with Bob making a statement about how the families we come from can be incredibly powerful, but they\u2019re not necessarily determinative.\u00a0 In other words, if we come from a good family, that doesn\u2019t guarantee that we\u2019re going to necessarily follow the Savior and be good.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tOn the other hand, if we come from a tough family that, too, doesn\u2019t mean that our future is locked in either. I want to take just a paragraph out of your book that you\u2019ve written, Kim.\u00a0 It\u2019s entitled <em>Unfavorable Odds, <\/em>and I just want to read this to our listeners because I want to give them a picture of how you started life.\u00a0 You write:\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t\u201cI was destined for a rough life, even before I was born.\u00a0 It was 1967.\u00a0 My mother was just a teenager when she became pregnant with me.\u00a0 We lived in a poor area of Richmond, Virginia. Three generations shared two bedrooms in a four-room house on South Lombardi Street.\u00a0 Up to 13 people lived there at any given time.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t\u201cThe bathroom was an outhouse located in the remote end of the backyard.\u00a0 When the family needed water, they had to draw it from an outdoor spigot, and carry it inside.\u00a0 They bathed once a week in a tub in the middle of the kitchen floor.\u00a0 To say it was rustic would be a considerable understatement.\u201d\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tYour mom, she\u2019s a survivor!\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Kim:<\/strong><strong>\u00a0 <\/strong>She is.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong><strong>\u00a0 <\/strong>I mean, she didn\u2019t start life with a stellar beginning, and she didn\u2019t bring you into life with the best of starts either.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Kim:<\/strong><strong>\u00a0 <\/strong>She did not.\u00a0 However, she instilled in me that God had a plan for me.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong><strong>\u00a0 <\/strong>Well, her pregnancy\u2026you said she got pregnant in 1967?\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Kim:<\/strong><strong>\u00a0 <\/strong>Yes.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong><strong>\u00a0 <\/strong>So this is five years before <em>Roe vs. Wade<\/em>, but there were people having abortions in 1967.\u00a0 She\u2019s a teenager, single parent\u2026was that on her mind?\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Kim:<\/strong><strong>\u00a0 <\/strong>Well, actually, when she went home and shared with her mother that she had become pregnant, her mother, my grandmother, actually encouraged her to abort me.\u00a0 They couldn\u2019t afford to go to a doctor, so basically, she told her what she needed to do in order to abort me, and my mother attempted because she thought that these words from her mother was the only thing to do.\u00a0 She attempted several times and nothing happened.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong><strong>\u00a0 <\/strong>And your mom concluded from that?\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Kim:<\/strong><strong>\u00a0 <\/strong>She concluded that she wanted to keep the baby and when my grandmother found out that none of it worked then she said, \u201cYou know what?\u00a0 Maybe God didn\u2019t want it to work.\u201d\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong><strong>\u00a0 <\/strong>Tell me about your dad.\u00a0 Did your mom and your dad ever marry at that point?\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Kim:<\/strong><strong>\u00a0 <\/strong>Yes, actually I think it was a few months after I was born they decided to get married.\u00a0 My father joined the Army and went overseas.\u00a0 So we went to Germany and while my father was there he experienced some very difficult times with racism in the Army.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tAs a result of the devastation that he went through watching his friends be killed and things like that he ended up getting involved in drugs to quell the pain, to help him to deal with the nightmares that he had been experiencing.\u00a0 So once we moved back to the States he continued the drug usage and he was often out of work and unemployed.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong><strong>\u00a0 <\/strong>What do you remember about him as a little girl?\u00a0 I mean, here you are in Germany with your dad in the military, and then you come home.\u00a0 What are your earliest memories?\u00a0 How did you look at your dad?\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Kim:<\/strong><strong>\u00a0 <\/strong>Gosh, when you ask me that question, I immediately wanted to think of something happy.\u00a0 But I can\u2019t.\u00a0 What I remember as a youngster with my father is just him wanting me to be perfect, wanting my mother to be perfect, and us never really being able to please him.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tHe yelled a lot.\u00a0 I wish that I could forget.\u00a0 I\u2019ve tried to stuff down the emotions, the memories, but I knew after a while that God couldn\u2019t bring healing to my life until He brought those emotions to the surface and actually had me deal with them.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong><strong>\u00a0 <\/strong>Was your father physically violent with your mom?\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Kim:<\/strong><strong>\u00a0 <\/strong>He had been physically violent, yes, and that\u2019s difficult for me to talk about.\u00a0 It wasn\u2019t often, but yes, it happened.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong><strong>\u00a0 <\/strong>And did she ever think, \u201cI got to get out of here!\u00a0 I got to get safe!\u201d?\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Kim:<\/strong><strong>\u00a0 <\/strong>She did not leave because she wanted for me to have a two parent household.\u00a0 She wanted me to grow up with a father, and there were so many people in that environment and in our neighborhood who didn\u2019t even know who their daddies were.\u00a0 She wanted to have something better for me and because of her desire, as a Christian woman, she thought that the right thing to do was to stay with him, and she did. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong><strong>\u00a0 <\/strong>There was word on the street though that he had other women.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Kim:<\/strong><strong>\u00a0 <\/strong>Yes, that was definitely the case.\u00a0 That was a reason why they got divorced when I was about nine years old.\u00a0 They got remarried after some time because he said he had given up the other women and that he was ready to settle down and be a family man again.\u00a0 But after that newness wore off it became the same old heartache again and he got back into his involvement with other women and he even had another family that I didn\u2019t find out about until I was about 28 or 29.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong><strong>\u00a0 <\/strong>Wow.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong><strong>\u00a0 <\/strong>Your dad actually came to a point where he despaired so much that he tried to take his own life?\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Kim:<\/strong><strong>\u00a0 <\/strong>Yes, he did.\u00a0 He felt that he couldn\u2019t handle it anymore.\u00a0 At that time we all slept in the same bed in a one bedroom apartment and I remember sitting on my mother\u2019s bed and I heard this commotion in the bathroom next door and I remember hearing my mother screaming, \u201cNo! No!\u00a0 Don\u2019t!\u00a0 You can\u2019t!\u201d\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tHe wasn\u2019t screaming but I just heard wrestling and I remember stepping into the doorway and seeing the both of them wrestling in the bathroom, and my father was trying to drink something. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tI don\u2019t know what it was, but I assumed it was poison because she was trying to keep him from drinking it.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tI remember knowing without a doubt that he was trying to kill himself.\u00a0 But the only emotion I felt at the time was sadness for my mother because I knew the pain that she was going through constantly.\u00a0\u00a0 And I hate to even say this out loud, even though I wrote it in the book, but my thought was I hope that he does so that way we don\u2019t have to be scared anymore when he comes home and maybe things will be better for us. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong><strong>\u00a0 <\/strong>You wound up eventually going to UCLA on a gymnastic scholarship.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Kim:<\/strong><strong>\u00a0 <\/strong>Yes.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong><strong>\u00a0 <\/strong>Did you not see your dad for decades?\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Kim:<\/strong><strong>\u00a0 <\/strong>Well, I\u2019ve always seen him at least every four or five years.\u00a0 When I was at UCLA he would come to my gymnastics meets as far as nationals.\u00a0 He would come every year and even when he was there it was bittersweet because we still had the abusive language or tone.\u00a0 We still couldn\u2019t quite get it right for him.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tSo in between my competition days I would spend time with my mother and my father.\u00a0 I would be miserable and sad because of the things that he would say to my mother, and I felt unworthy.\u00a0 I believe that he didn\u2019t mean to do those things, but that he was just dealing with so many issues of his own life that had gone unresolved, and he was taking it out on us, really.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong><strong>\u00a0 <\/strong>When Bob mentioned that you went to UCLA on scholarship I looked at your face and you immediately just brightened.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t(laughing)\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tWas that an escape of sorts?\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Kim:<\/strong><strong>\u00a0 <\/strong>It really was.\u00a0 I guess when I look back now on the fact that I was able to get out of Richmond, Virginia and go all the way across the country to UCLA it was definitely a means of escape.\u00a0 It is where I found the Lord.\u00a0 Not that He was hiding but it was where I was introduced to a personal relationship with God and so UCLA has very fond memories.\u00a0 I have very fond memories. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong><strong>\u00a0 <\/strong>You and your husband, Corwin, met at UCLA.\u00a0 You eventually were married, and Corwin, it was not long after the two of you were married that you said to your young wife, \u201cYour father is having an impact on our marriage.\u201d\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Corwin:<\/strong><strong>\u00a0 <\/strong>Yes.\u00a0 I had just got done playing football, and\u2014well football got done with me, I should say.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t(laughing)\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong><strong>\u00a0 <\/strong>We\u2019re speaking out of the NFL?\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Corwin:<\/strong><strong>\u00a0 <\/strong>I\u2019m sorry.\u00a0 Yes, the NFL.\u00a0 It had been about six or seven months trying to figure out what I was going to do with my life.\u00a0 It was during that period that our marriage began to experience some new challenges and new difficulties and I began to recognize it.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tKim was starting to resent me a little bit, starting to not trust me as much, became more worried about me because I was out of work and didn\u2019t have direction.\u00a0 I realized that she was placing me at the same place as her father, because her father was quite often out of work and didn\u2019t really have a lot of direction in life.\u00a0 So that was one of the reasons I made that comment to her, and her response was\u2026\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Kim:<\/strong><strong>\u00a0 <\/strong>Yes, I thought, \u201cWhat do you mean my father and my relationship with my father is having an effect on our marriage?\u00a0 I don\u2019t even <em>have<\/em> a relationship with him!\u201d\u00a0 Corwin just looked at me and said, \u201cYes, you\u2019re right.\u201d\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tThat was when I began to think seriously about the relationship, and I will say it happened that I was listening to <em>FamilyLife Today, <\/em>believe it or not, when you all were talking about how to honor your parents, even if your parents have not done the honorable thing.\u00a0 I took the challenge that you both put out and I wrote a letter to my father.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t\u00a0I wrote down 10 positive things that he had done in my life.\u00a0 And honestly, it took me a while to figure those 10 things out but I came up with 10 things and I mailed it to him.\u00a0 I let him know that I loved him and thank you for these things that you\u2019ve done in my life.\u00a0 I asked him a little bit about what had happened in our past, and I said, \u201cI need you in my life and I want you in my life.\u201d\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tFrom that letter he wrote a letter back to me. And I remember not opening it immediately because I had never gotten a letter from him before.\u00a0 When I saw his initials in the return address I just sat there and looked at it for probably a day before I opened it.\u00a0 When I opened it up he had written that he didn\u2019t quite understand why he did the things he did but that he loved me and I was blown away.\u00a0 I still have that letter on my desk today.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong><strong>\u00a0 <\/strong>How many times have you read that letter?\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Kim:<\/strong><strong>\u00a0 <\/strong>Gosh, I don\u2019t know, countless times!\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong><strong>\u00a0 <\/strong>And we should say that wasn\u2019t the immediate fix for your relationship with your dad?\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Kim:<\/strong><strong>\u00a0 <\/strong>No, it wasn\u2019t.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong><strong>\u00a0 <\/strong>Things didn\u2019t turn perfect from then on, but you\u2019ve seen God at work in the midst of the last 18 years in your relationship with him?\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Kim:<\/strong><strong>\u00a0 <\/strong>Yes, I have.\u00a0 It was 2008 when I was finishing up the book.\u00a0 I was having a quiet time and I really sensed that God was telling me that I needed to reconcile with my father.\u00a0 I thought, \u201cLord, I don\u2019t know how to do this!\u201d\u00a0 So I said, \u201cIf you want this reconciliation to happen, please do it for me, because I don\u2019t know what else I can do.\u201d\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tSo I spent probably six or seven months just praying and asking God to help me, and during that process, I went from wanting to talk to my father and have him own up and explain why he did everything he did, to just wanting to talk to him and say, \u201cI love you and I need you.\u201d\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tGod did a work in me in those several months and I was able to get together with him at the end of the year during Thanksgiving weekend.\u00a0 We talked in a restaurant and I shared with him how some of things that he had done when I was little and as I\u2019ve been growing up had affected me as a child and has also had an effect in my adult years.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tI also shared with him that now I get an opportunity to go around and I speak in prisons and at women\u2019s events and churches and I share what God has done in my life to bring me from that little girl from Kerry Street who had big dreams but no hope to a woman who now has purpose in life.\u00a0 And I said, \u201cDaddy, I don\u2019t share my story to embarrass you, but I share it because God has done a wonderful work, and when people hear it, they relate to it, and they are touched and they are encouraged by it.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tI asked him how he felt about me sharing this story, and especially in book form, and I was honestly ready to have him just read me up and down and be angry.\u00a0 He just looked at me and he apologized for everything he had done.\u00a0 He said, \u201cI still don\u2019t know why I did those things, but I am so sorry.\u201d\u00a0 He told me that he is happy that I\u2019m sharing my story, our story, because it\u2019s helping people.\u00a0 Then he said, \u201cI love you and I\u2019m proud of you.\u201d\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tI let him know that, \u201cYou know what, Daddy?\u00a0 If I had to do it all over again, and God gave me the opportunity to choose who my father could be, I would choose you all over again because I am who I am because of you and because of God\u2019s grace.\u201d\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong><strong>\u00a0 <\/strong>Whatever your parents have done wrong, however they disappointed you, forgive them.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Kim:<\/strong><strong>\u00a0 <\/strong>Yes.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong><strong>\u00a0 <\/strong>I\u2019m not trying to be trite, but why stay imprisoned?\u00a0 Be set free.\u00a0 Find a way to forgive them and do what Kim did, which is honor them.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Kim:<\/strong><strong>\u00a0 <\/strong>Yes.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong><strong>\u00a0 <\/strong>Powerful.\u00a0 <em>Really,<\/em> really, powerful.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong><strong>\u00a0 <\/strong>And, you know, she reflected back on those broadcasts from years ago.\u00a0 You wrote a book which is called <em>The Best Gift You Could Ever Give Your Parents<\/em> that talks about working through all that you had to work through, Kim, working through the emotions and the challenges of the past to come to a place where you <em>can<\/em> honor your parents.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tNow, you can go online at FamilyLifeToday.com for more information about Dennis\u2019 book, <em>The Best Gift You Could Ever Give Your Parents<\/em>.\u00a0 There\u2019s also information about Kim\u2019s book, which is called <em>Unfavorable Odds.<\/em><em>\u00a0 <\/em>It\u2019s a great story.\u00a0 A powerful story of God\u2019s redeeming work in a young girl\u2019s life.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tAnd again, you can get information online at FamilyLifeToday.com, or call, toll-free, 1-800-FL-TODAY, for more information about either of these books.\u00a0 1-800 F as in \u201cfamily\u201d L as in \u201clife\u201d and then the word TODAY.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tI know for some families there are expenses that crop up in the summer time that are unusual expenses that can throw the family budget out of whack.\u00a0 They may be non seasonal expenses, but I know there are some things that are unique to summer, whether it\u2019s swimming lessons or if the kids go to camp, things like that that just put a little extra strain on the family budget.\u00a0 Well, we\u2019d like to provide some help.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tWe came across a book called <em>99 Ways to Stretch Your Home Budget.<\/em>\u00a0 Just good, practical ideas on how you might be able to trim things a little bit so there\u2019s a little extra money available for the family.\u00a0 We\u2019d love to send this copy of a book to you as a kind of get-acquainted book.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tIf you\u2019re new to FamilyLife, maybe you\u2019ve not been to our website, FamilyLifeToday.com, maybe you\u2019re not a regular listener to <em>FamilyLife Today.<\/em><em>\u00a0 <\/em>We\u2019d love to introduce ourselves and send you a copy of this book as a helpful resource and to let you know more about all that FamilyLife has to offer.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tSo, if you\u2019d like a copy, all you have to do is call 1-800-FL-TODAY, say, \u201cI heard you talking about that book about stretching your budget on the radio, and I\u2019d like to get a copy,\u201d and we\u2019ll be happy to send it out to you.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tAgain, our toll free number is 1-800-358-6329, 1-800 F as in \u201cfamily\u201d L as in \u201clife\u201d and then the word TODAY.\u00a0 Give us a call if you\u2019re interested in the copy of the book, and again, if you\u2019re a new listener to <em>FamilyLife Today, <\/em>if you\u2019ve never been on our website, FamilyLifeToday.com, stop by and find out more about the ministry.\u00a0 We\u2019d love to get to know you.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tI hope you can be back with us tomorrow.\u00a0 We\u2019re going to continue to hear more from Kim and Corwin Anthony.\u00a0 In fact, tomorrow, we\u2019re going to talk about how a young girl from the projects in Virginia winds up at UCLA as a gymnastics all-American.\u00a0 I hope you can be here for that.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tI want to thank our engineer today Keith Lynch and our entire broadcast production team on behalf of our host Dennis Rainey, I\u2019m Bob Lepine.\u00a0 We will see you back next time for another edition of <em>FamilyLife Today<\/em>.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<em>FamilyLife Today<\/em> is a production of FamilyLife of Little Rock, Arkansas. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tHelp for today.\u00a0 Hope for tomorrow.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tWe are so happy to provide these transcripts for you. However, there is a cost to transcribe, create, and produce them for our website. If you've benefited from the broadcast transcripts, would you consider <a href=\"http:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/donate\">donating today<\/a> to help defray the costs?\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tCopyright \u00a9 FamilyLife. All rights reserved.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>www.FamilyLife.com<\/strong>\n\t\t\t<\/p>","theme_header_position":"","post_header_is_sticky":"","is_header_overlay":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/podcast\/302066","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/podcast"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/podcast"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/91"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=302066"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/294104"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=302066"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=302066"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=302066"},{"taxonomy":"podcast_series","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/podcast_series?post=302066"},{"taxonomy":"cwp_profile","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/cwp_profile?post=302066"},{"taxonomy":"series","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/series?post=302066"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}