Falling Into Place–A Story of Overcoming

For someone on the outside looking in, she had it all. Beauty, notoriety, influence, financial security. Millions of people regularly watched her news reports on the national TV show, CBS This Morning. She had won several Emmy Awards for her outstanding work, rubbed shoulders with Presidents, First Ladies, Actors and Musicians and covered human interest stories from wildfires to crimes. However, when her husband of seventeen years unexpectedly asked for a divorce, she was thrown into a deep emotional crisis, questioning her identity and value.

Growing up in poverty in Seattle’s “projects,” as the daughter of a Nez Perce woman and a German and Dutch father, she remembers her parents struggle with alcohol, neglect, hunger, and going without electricity and water. The rare times when she

and her siblings got to go back to Idaho to see their grandparents, were like an oasis for a thirsty traveler. There she experienced unconditional love, plenty to eat, comfy beds, forests to explore and rivers to swim. Another light during dark days was her Aunt Teddy, who deeply cared for her and her siblings. She would shower them with attention, take them on little discursions, and encourage them to memorize words from the Bible, such as the 23^rd Psalm. Although the words didn’t make much sense to her at the time, somehow, her current crisis brought them back. She began to meditate on them and find encouragement and strength. As she reflected on her childhood and the seemingly random experiences she had made while covering news stories, she began to see a pattern emerge that showed her that God had always been near. One night while covering the Oscars Awards show in Hollywood, she felt drawn to a church near the auditorium and experienced a profound touch by God, coming to her rescue, blessing her in a powerful way.

By now you might have figured out that I am talking about Mrs. Hattie Kauffman. She has been telling her story in a newly released book entitled “Falling into Place—a Memoir of Overcoming.” During a promotional interview she was asked: “Did you find God or did God find you?” Hattie stated:

“God didn’t have to find me… He knew where I was all the time. He knew that I was a hungry girl, trying to control her world, scrambling to get somewhere and be someone. It was only when I was so broken in spirit that I could no longer even pretend to be in control…that I looked upward. God? Are you real?”

I hope you take the time to read Hattie’s insightful, deeply moving story, but even more importantly that you to realize God is there for you too, right now, waiting for you to respond to his extended hand.