The Prodigal Son: The ache of watching him fall (Part 1)In this raw, unscripted episode, Kimberly opens the door to a story that spans decades—motherhood born in crisis, a son raised in hardship and love, and the long, aching road of addiction that has stolen so much and still hasn’t had the last word.

At 21, disowned and working two jobs, she delivered her firstborn alone and learned to survive in a world that offered no soft landings. There were the years in the ghetto—the late walks home from a midnight shift, the fear, the assault that left scars you can’t see. There were the early signs of brilliance in her boy—quick to walk, potty-trained by two, reading early, artistic and athletic—then ADHD and school troubles that required creativity and grit. There were the moves, the blended family, the identity clash of a teenager who had acted as “man of the house,” the tragic “hangman’s fracture” after a drunken fall, and a mother who felt the edges of her ability to fix anything.

Then came the long war. Drinking that turned to blackouts. DWIs. Somewhere along the way, drugs. Mom recovering from domestic violence and a psychotic break. A protective order. Boundaries. And still, the love.

For over twenty years and numerous rehabs, locally and out-of-state. Five children. Seasons of sobriety when he was the attentive, tender dad—and seasons of disappearance when absence was the safest mercy. There were midnight searches through dangerous streets; a drive through the night to Maryland where he completed a one‑year program and graduated. Hope rose: a job, a home, a baby on the way—until he disappeared.

This is the cost: thousands gone - money, hours & prayers, numerous rescues ; pawned wedding rings (mine) & electronics; food, clothes & change taken; phone bills paid just to keep a lifeline open. Children watching a mother pace, pray, and refuse to give up. And still she hoped.

The present valley is painfully recent. December brought rehab. March was a reckoning. On April 23 she could only whisper, “I can’t breathe,” and resolved to stop enabling—no phone, no cash, no bed—choosing to become “his prayer intercessor”.

On June 13 he sent a healthy photo; twelve hours later he vanished. Rebound was quick and he was back in a program within a week and we celebrated his 39th birthday on July 21 and he was sober. Between July 24 & July 26 something changed and became a lament: “Why?” He's gone...again.

This episode is not a tidy testimony. It is a lament built from groans, boundaries, and a mother’s surrender. It’s for every parent who has loved a child they cannot rescue and for anyone asking where God is when the phone won’t ring and the night won’t end. You will hear a stubborn, surrendered hope.

Scripture:

Luke 15:20

Psalm 13:1–2

Romans 8:26

This is Part 1 of a two‑part series. In Part 2, we will step into the breaking point and invite the community to ask God to meet us here—together.

If you’re walking this road: you are not alone.

For more inspiration check out her Substack: Whyfaithoverfear. If you're looking for community check out her sisterhood in Christ FB group: Abide & Arise

Kimberly Dunham is a Coach who walks alongside women seeking restoration after seasons of pain, loss, or identity crisis. She ministers to women navigating complex emotional wounds—including divorce, abandonment, rejection, codependency, trauma, and spiritual disconnection.

Kimberly blends biblical truth, personal experience, and coaching principles to create a compassionate, Spirit-led partnership with her clients. She knows healing is not linear—and that emotional pain often comes layered and intertwined. Her coaching centers around clarity, obedience, and the healing power of walking in alignment with God’s truth. Book your free 30-minute discovery call today.

The Prodigal Son: The ache of watching him fall apart (Pt 1)

In this raw, unscripted episode, Kimberly opens the door to a story that spans decades - motherhood born in crisis, a son raised in hardship and love, and the long, aching road of addiction that has stolen so much and still hasn’t had the last word.

At 21, disowned and working two jobs, she delivered her firstborn alone and learned to survive in a world that offered no soft landings. There were the years in the ghetto - the late walks home from a midnight shift, the fear, the assault that left scars you can’t see.

There were the early signs of brilliance in her boy - quick to walk, potty-trained by two, reading early, artistic and athletic, then ADHD and school troubles that required creativity and grit. There were the moves, the blended family, the identity clash of a teenager who had acted as “man of the house,” the tragic “hangman’s fracture” after a drunken fall, months in a halo, and a mother who felt the edges of her ability to fix anything.

Then came the long war. Drinking that turned to blackouts. DWIs. Somewhere along the way, drugs. Kimberly fights domestic violence and a psychotic break. A protective order. Boundaries. And still, the love.

Over the years: more than twenty rehabs, from local centers to out-of-state programs. Five children. Seasons of sobriety when he was the attentive, tender dad and seasons of disappearance when absence was the safest mercy. There were midnight searches through dangerous streets; a drive straight to Maryland where he completed a one‑year program and graduated. Hope rose: a job, a home, a baby on the way—until he disappeared again.

This is the cost: thousands of dollars gone; pawned wedding rings (hers) and electronics; food, clothes, and change taken; phone bills paid just to keep a lifeline open. Children watching a mother pace and pray and refuse to give up. And still she hoped.

The present valley is painfully recent. December brought rehab. March was a reckoning. On April 23 she could only whisper, “I can’t breathe,” and resolved to stop enabling—no phone, no cash, no bed—choosing to become “his prayer intercessor.”

On June 13 he sent a healthy photo; twelve hours later he vanished, returning a week later. Things were going well.

July 21 he celebrated his 39th birthday and was set to start a new job on the 28th, July 26 became a lament: “Why?”

This episode is not a tidy testimony. It is a lament with a pulse, an altar built from groans, boundaries, and a mother’s surrender. It’s for every parent who has loved a child they cannot rescue and for anyone asking where God is when the phone won’t ring and the night won’t end. You will hear the exhaustion, the anger, the honesty, and a stubborn, surrendered hope.

Scripture:

Luke 15:20 (the Father who sees from far off)

Psalm 13:1–2 (How long?)

Romans 8:26 (the Spirit’s groans)

The prayer at the end is for weary parents who need to release what they cannot carry and entrust whom they cannot save.

This is Part 1 of a two‑part series. In Part 2, Kimberly will step into the breaking point and invite the community to ask God to meet us here—together.

If you’re walking this road: you are not alone.

If this episode moved you, share it. If you know someone walking this journey, help them carry this burden. Pray for and with them interceding for them and their child. Subscribe to the podcast and check out more reflections on Kimberly's blog Whyfaithoverfear.

If you're looking for a community walking out their faith together check out her FB community Abide & Arise.

Kimberly is a coach who works with women seeking restoration after pain, loss, or identity crisis. She ministers to women navigating complex emotional wounds—including divorce, abandonment, rejection, trauma, and spiritual disconnection blending biblical truth, personal experience, and coaching principles to create a compassionate, Spirit-led partnership with her clients. Book a free 30-minute discovery call.

What happens when God invites you to be still… and you actually say yes?

In this deeply personal episode, I share how a week I dreaded, an unstructured, quiet spring break, turned into a sacred encounter with God. What I feared would be loneliness became communion. What I resisted became rest. And what I discovered was a word that would define my next season: Abide.

But what does it really mean to abide?

More than just being still, I unpack the biblical depth of abiding - dwelling, remaining, being present, being held and kept by the Lord. I share how God used silence, surrender, and scripture to meet me in unexpected ways and remind me of the power of staying connected to the Vine.

This episode is for anyone who:

• Struggles with silence or stillness

• Finds themselves striving for love or validation

• Has faced rejection, abuse, or burnout

• Desires deeper communion with God

• Wants to learn how to trust and rest in Him more fully
  

Rooted in Psalm 46:10, John 15:4-5, Galatians 2:20, and 1 John 4:16, this message will challenge you to stop running, to release control, and to remain in the love that never lets go.

Scripture meditation:

“Be still, and know that I am God.” – Psalm 46:10

Read more heartfelt conversations on my Substack: Why Faith Over Fear

Join the community: Abide & Arise: A Sisterhood in Christ (Facebook)

Do you ever feel tempted to turn your love off to protect your heart when people pull away or life gets hard?

In this heartfelt episode, I share why God’s love never has an off switch and why ours shouldn’t either. I open up about a personal friendship that tested my ability to keep loving when I felt abandoned, and how God gently reminded me of His constant, unwavering love.

“But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” — Romans 5:8

Tune in for encouragement, raw honesty, and a gentle challenge to love even when it’s hard.

If this episode spoke to you, I’d love for you to share it with a friend who might need the reminder that they are loved—deeply and without conditions. And if you like what you’ve heard let me know. Leave a comment and subscribe to the podcast.

If you’d like more reflections like this, join me over on my Substack at Why Faith Over Fear where you’ll find encouragement, honesty, and real talk about faith and life.

Daily encouragement can also be found in my Facebook Group - Abide & Arise, a community of sisters in Christ encouraging each other through prayers, testimonies and sisterhood one day at a time.

FAITH OVER FEAR | Episode 11: The Battle Is Now: Surviving the Fire of Spiritual Warfare

This episode is not polished—it’s unfiltered. Fresh off the pages of my life, I lead you through the intense spiritual battle I’ve walked over the past three weeks - especially the last 72 hours.

On June 1, I wrote my Substack post, “No More Gray: The Enemy Is Real and the Battle Is Now,” It was scheduled for posting on July 7 and so today it posted.

In this post I wrote about the moment you choose Jesus, you become a marked person. But I had no idea what was coming for me… until I found myself under relentless spiritual attack from friends, family, and community.

This past July 4th while encountering a crushing, physically, mentally and spiritually draining episode, I cried out in desperation: “God, take me home, or I will.” I felt like I was in Gethsemane: sweating, weeping, broken. I’ve pleaded the blood of Jesus over my home, bed, body, and mind… yet the attacks didn’t stop. The cloak of darkness still presses, trying to suffocate my peace and my purpose.

In this episode, you'll hear:

• • What spiritual warfare really looks like (and it’s never just “little things”)
  • Why the enemy uses people closest to you—those he knows how to hurt you through
  • The deadly danger of isolation and how fighting alone plays right into his hands
  • How to wage war—and how to win— using community, prayer, Scripture, and spiritual tools
    

• This is no fluff. This is the war zone. And friend, God is bigger than it all. You may feel targeted, but you are not alone. The battle may feel insurmountable—but the war has already been won through Christ. His victory is our victory.

  
  

  The Prayer of Salvation. Call Jesus into your life.

  Heavenly Father, I know that I am a sinner and need your forgiveness. I believe that Jesus Christ is your Son, that He died on the cross for my sins, and that He rose again. I turn away from my sins and invite Jesus to come into my heart and be my Lord and Savior. Thank you for your gift of salvation and eternal life. In Jesus' name, Amen.

  And if you prayed that prayer, you have been set free. Cleansed and forgiven for your sins. You have started a relationship with Jesus Christ.

  Some next steps for you would be to:

  • Find a church: Connect with a local Christian community for support and guidance.
  • Study the Bible: Begin learning more about Jesus through scripture.
  • Pray regularly: Communicate with God through prayer.
  • Live a life that reflects your faith: One day at a time…

  
  

  Resources & Next Steps

  • Read the original Substack post “No More Gray” to grasp the prophetic weight behind this season - and to connect with a community of fighters.
    

  • Join Abide & Arise, our prayerful, supportive sisterhood, where we uphold one another in real-time warfare.
    

  • If you're new to walking with Jesus, you’ll want those prayer tools and Scripture lists I promised - start with Faith Over Fear on Substack and then come over to Abide & Arise.
    

  You are not fighting alone. Together, we stand.

  
  If this message resonated with you, leave a comment, subscribe to the podcast, or share it with a friend.

A Life of Striving, A Heart in Transition, A Faith That Heals

What do you do when your whole life has been about striving - to be loved, to be seen, to be accepted, and suddenly, God asks you to stop? To cease striving and just… be?

In this deeply personal episode, I open up about the journey from a lifetime of emotional starvation to the slow, painful process of spiritual healing and surrender. I grew up feeling invisible, unwanted, and blamed. I learned early that striving was the only way to survive - striving to please, to perform, to become whatever I thought others needed in order to love me. When that didn’t work, I stopped trying and leaned into the identity they gave me: the black sheep. The problem. The one who never measured up.

Striving became my default setting - my means of survival. I chased attention, validation, and affection in places that broke me more than they built me. I was starving for love and consuming anything that looked like it might fill the void. People, relationships, roles, achievements - it was never enough. I was never enough.

And then trauma hit. The kind that changes you at your core. I lived through things no one should have to experience - abuse, abandonment, violation - and still, I kept going. Still striving. Still searching. Still aching.

Until I couldn’t anymore.

Becoming a mother shifted something in me. My children became my mission, my purpose, my healing balm. I poured my love into them the way I had always wanted someone to pour into me. And yet even in that, I was still striving - striving to be the perfect mom, the best wife, the most dependable employee, the star student.

The addiction to being enough was still alive and well.

And here’s the hard truth: even after walking with God for over 20 years, I still find myself striving for His love. I know He loves me. I know I don’t have to earn it. But after a lifetime of trying to prove my worth, letting that truth sink deep - past the wounds, the trauma, the memories - that takes time. That takes surrender. That takes a willingness to feel the very things I’ve spent decades numbing.

Healing is not a moment. It’s a process. It’s a transition. It’s a slow letting go of what was in order to embrace what is being made new.

And right now, I’m in the tension, the in-between. The space between the old patterns and the new promises. Between striving and surrender. Between surviving and being still. Between doing and simply being.

And maybe you are too.

This episode is for every one who’s ever felt like they had to fight to be seen. For the one who’s tired of performing. For the one who’s addicted to proving. For the one who knows the truth of God’s love but still feels like they have to earn it.

You don’t.

God is doing a new thing in you. Even if it’s messy. Even if it’s slow. Even if it still hurts sometimes.

You are not who you were. You are becoming. And that is holy ground.

Scripture: “Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up - do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.” Isaiah 43:18–19

If this episode speaks to you, please share it with someone else who needs to know they don’t have to strive to be loved. God already calls them enough.

Check out my writings on Substack at Whyfaithoverfear

Seen, Known, and Still Searching: Wrestling with Loneliness and God’s Presence

Description:
Have you ever felt unseen - even when surrounded by people? Have you reached for God in prayer, only to wonder if He's still near?

In this deeply personal episode, I reflect on my own season of emotional and spiritual loneliness and the soul-deep longing for belonging, connection, and meaning.

Through vulnerability and scripture, I wrestle with the ache of feeling invisible, the struggle to wait on God, and the paradox of being faithful in a season that feels silent.

You'll hear honest questions like:

• What do I do when I feel unseen?

• How do I keep believing when God feels far away?

• Is this waiting season wasted?

You’re not alone in these questions - and this episode is your reminder that even in the silence, you are seen.

Scriptures referenced in this episode:

Psalm 68:6

“God sets the lonely in families, he leads out the prisoners with singing; but the rebellious live in a sun-scorched land.”

Lamentations 3:25–26

“The Lord is good to those whose hope is in him, to the one who seeks him; it is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord.”

Psalm 42:1–2

“As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, my God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When can I go and meet with God?”

Thank you for spending this time with me today. If this episode spoke to you, would you consider sharing it with someone else who might need a reminder that they are not alone?

Leave a comment, a review, subscribe, or just reach out and let me know how God is working in your life. I love hearing from you. You can also find me on Substack at Why Faith Over Fear.

Episode 8: Shift Your Perspective

What if the thing that’s wearing you down isn’t the weight you’re carrying… but the way you’re seeing it?

In today’s episode, I invite you into a quiet, honest moment that began on an evening walk and turned into a divine whisper: “Shift your perspective.” Not your role. Not your circumstances. Not the people around you. Just your perspective.

Through the lens of caregiving, unmet expectations, and emotional exhaustion, I unpack how tunnel vision can lead us into bitterness, isolation, and assumptions. But what if the silence we hear isn’t rejection—but God’s invitation to see differently?

This episode explores:

• The emotional toll of unspoken expectations

• The power of reframing pain through God’s truth

• The danger of isolation and assumption

• What it means to see like Jesus and serve with compassion—even when we feel unseen
  

Scriptures referenced:

Romans 12:2 (NIV): “Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.”

Philippians 2:3–4 (NIV): “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.”

2 Corinthians 4:18 (NIV): “So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.”

I share how one whisper from God began shifting everything - not my situation, but my mindset, and how that same shift may be exactly what you need today. I also share a powerful moment I had with my daughter that confirmed the message wasn’t just for me, but for someone else too.

If you've been sitting in silence, stewing in unmet needs, or waiting for someone to notice your pain - this one is for you. God might not be trying to remove your burden, but to reveal something sacred within it.

Tune in now and ask yourself: What if this hard place is actually holy ground?

Leave a review, share this episode, and reach out if this message resonated with you.

Let’s keep walking this faith journey together - shifting fear into faith, one perspective at a time.