This Unexpected Life

In this powerful episode of This Unexpected Life , Carrie sits down with author, speaker, coach, and special needs mom Sandy Ramsey-Trayvick to explore what it means to trust God when life doesn't unfold the way we imagined. After hearing the audible voice of God tell her she would have a son, Sandy expected God had extraordinary plans for his life. But when her healthy toddler contracted bac...

When Jenn Soehnlin's two young sons began receiving diagnoses including hearing loss, apraxia, autism, and anxiety, her world quickly filled with therapies, specialists, grief, and questions for God. What started as a season of overwhelming uncertainty led Jenn into a crisis of faith as she wrestled with why God would allow so much hardship in her family's life. Then, during a desperate...

When Sarah Mays first heard her newborn son cry, she knew something wasn't right. What followed was a long journey of medical appointments, therapies, genetic testing, autism, ADHD, and learning how to advocate fiercely for her child. In this heartfelt episode of This Unexpected Life , Sarah shares how caregiving has been woven throughout her entire life—from caring for her younger sister as...

When Brianna Johnson's son was diagnosed with Bainbridge-Ropers Syndrome, a rare genetic condition affecting only a few hundred people worldwide, her family entered a journey they never expected. Faced with uncertainty, unanswered questions, and the reality of parenting a child with complex needs, Brianna discovered that even the rarest diagnoses don't have to be walked alone. In this ep...

This month kicks off the new podcast series entitled, There Was Jesus. In this deeply honest episode of This Unexpected Life , Carrie M. Holt sits down with returning guest Becky Davidson to discuss recognizing God’s presence in the middle of suffering, trauma, grief, and caregiving exhaustion. Becky shares how years of hospital stays, caregiving stress, widowhood, and parenting her adult son with...

In this heartfelt episode of This Unexpected Life , Carrie sits down with homeschooling mom of six, Katie Seelig, to discuss raising a child with a rare neuromuscular condition, navigating medical uncertainty, and learning to trust God in the unknown. Katie shares the emotional journey of discovering her son’s scoliosis at age three, pursuing answers through specialists and genetic testing, and ev...

What does it look like to keep saying “yes” to God when life feels chaotic, exhausting, and completely unexpected? In this heartfelt conversation, Carrie Holt sits down with author, disability mom, and “coordinator of chaos,” Johnna Hensley. With six children—including a son with complex medical needs and three adopted children—Johnna shares what it really means to live a life of unexpected yeses....

What happens when the life you planned is suddenly replaced with one you never expected? In this powerful and deeply practical episode of This Unexpected Life , Carrie sits down with Dr. Joe and Cindi Ferrini, authors of The Special Needs Parent: A Guide to the Life You Never Expected , to talk about what it really looks like to raise a child with special needs over the long haul. With over 45 yea...

What do you do when you don’t have the words to pray? In this deeply honest and hope-filled conversation, Carrie sits down with author and speaker Rachel Wojo to talk about caregiving, grief, and how prayer transforms in life’s hardest seasons. After walking a 22-year journey caring for her daughter Taylor, who was diagnosed with a rare terminal disorder, Rachel shares how suffering reshaped her f...

In Part 2 of this powerful conversation on This Unexpected Life , Carrie M. Holt continues her interview with Anna Harp, a young writer living with cerebral palsy who is discovering her God-given purpose through storytelling. Anna opens up about the ongoing grief that can come with disability and the freedom of realizing that grief is not failure—it’s part of the journey. Through reflections on Ps...

In Part 1 of this powerful two-part conversation, Carrie sits down with Anna Harp, a young adult living with spastic diplegic cerebral palsy, to share her story of faith, fear, and transformation. Born at just 27 weeks and spending nearly three months in the NICU, Anna’s life began with immense challenges. As she grew, she wrestled deeply with feeling “less than,” questioning God’s goodness, and n...

What happens when the life you planned falls apart—and God builds something completely unexpected in its place? In this episode of This Unexpected Life , Carrie sits down with Barb Stanley, founder of Wonderful Works Ministry, to talk about losing everything she thought defined her success… and discovering a deeper calling rooted in surrender, identity, and purpose. Barb shares how her journey thr...

What happens when an autism diagnosis reshapes everything you expected about parenting—and faith? In this episode of This Unexpected Life , Carrie Holt talks with Bible teacher, author, and autism mom Larah Roberts about navigating autism parenting through the lens of the gospel. Larah shares the story of her son Graham’s autism diagnosis and the difficult early years of confusion, advocacy, and l...

What is it really like to grow up as the sibling of a child with disabilities? How does that experience shape the way you parent your own family? In this episode of This Unexpected Life , Carrie Holt talks with Sandra Peoples, a disability ministry consultant, author, professor, and mom of a son with level-three autism. Sandra shares her unique perspective of living on both sides of the story: gro...

Enter to win the giveaway for a free copy of Camille's new devotional: Moments of Joy: 1. Subscribe to Carrie's newsletter here OR  2. Share this episode and tag Carrie on her social media:  Carrie’s Facebook or Instagram What do you do when you pray for healing—and it doesn’t come the way you hoped? In this powerful and deeply honest conversation, Carrie sits down with author and advoca...

In Part 2 of Carrie’s conversation with Jen Potter, the focus turns to grief, sibling dynamics, and learning to trust God in the middle of ongoing medical trauma. Jen shares what it has looked like to raise five children while navigating cancer, 37 surgeries, and unexpected neurological setbacks. She speaks candidly about parenting “glass children,” protecting siblings from carrying too much respo...

What do you do when the suffering doesn’t end—and there’s no clear resolution in sight? In Part One of this heartfelt conversation, Carrie sits down with her friend Jen Potter to talk honestly about unresolved grief, long-term caregiving, and learning to live with open hands before God. Jen shares her journey of parenting a son with Spina Bifida and Autism, walking through cancer twice, and facing...

What happens when caregiving lasts far longer than you ever imagined—and no one is applauding? In this deeply honest episode, Carrie sits down with Beth Benson, a mother whose life has been shaped by infertility, trauma, adoption, autism, and decades of full-time caregiving for a son with a rare chromosome disorder. Together, they talk about the unseen cost of special needs parenting, the grief th...

In this episode of This Unexpected Life , Carrie Holt talks with Jenna Erlandson,, a mother of six, about her journey through infertility, postpartum depression, and receiving an autism diagnosis for her son. Jenna shares how seasons of waiting, uncertainty, and loss of control shaped her faith and taught her to trust God’s faithfulness. This honest conversation explores special needs parenting, l...

What happens when special needs parenting moves beyond exhaustion and into survival? In this deeply honest and faith-filled conversation, Carrie M. Holt sits down with Celeste Shally, author of While We Wait: Clinging to Christ in the Trenches of Special Needs Parenting , to talk about the rarely discussed reality of long-term violence in special needs parenting—and the relentless suffering that c...

When Jeanetta Bryant’s daughter was diagnosed with autism, her world changed overnight. What began as heartbreak soon became a journey of faith, perseverance, and unexpected purpose. In this episode, Jeanetta shares how God met her in the middle of the unknown—guiding her through grief, growth, and the birth of her nonprofit, Abilities Workshop . Through her story, you’ll hear powerful reminders t...

In this Advent reflection, Carrie M. Holt closes out the year with a powerful reminder for the special-needs mom who finds herself afraid. Drawing from the Christmas story—Zechariah’s uncertainty, Mary’s shock, and Joseph’s quiet fear—Carrie shares how God met each person right where they were, in their real-life moments of confusion and overwhelm. Through honest stories from her own month of unex...

In this Advent reflection, Carrie M. Holt invites weary, overwhelmed, and tender-hearted special needs moms into the ultimate unexpected story—Christmas. Through a first-person narrative inspired by Mary’s journey in Luke and Matthew, Carrie draws parallels between Mary’s unexpected calling and the everyday realities of disability parenting: medical crises that interrupt holidays, the longing for...

In this profoundly moving conversation, Carrie M. Holt talks with author and advocate Jess Ronne about her powerful and unexpected story—one marked by disability, grief, resilience, surrender, and the refining work of God. Jess shares her journey from learning of her son Lucas’s profound disabilities, to walking with her late husband through terminal brain cancer, to unexpectedly meeting her secon...

In this episode, Carrie Holt closes her grief-cycle series by exploring acceptance, a stage often misunderstood in the journey of raising a child with disabilities or receiving an unexpected diagnosis. Carrie explains what acceptance is not —it’s not “moving on,” it’s not pretending everything is fine, or always a permanent emotional destination. Instead, she unpacks acceptance as surrender, rest,...