Sarah Taylor is a popular radio personality, wife, and mom. She’s faced some tough challenges in her life, and her daughter’s recent unexpected diagnosis with celiac disease has created a whole new lifestyle for her family. Sarah joins Julie Lyles Carr to talk about what she’s learned in her new gluten free life.
Interview Links:
- Find Sarah Taylor Online
- Follow Sarah on Instagram @sarahtaylorradio
- Love her Well by Kari Kampakis
- Don’t forget to check out Sarah’s podcast “Passion Meets Purpose“
allmomdoes Podcast #136: Kari Kampakis – Parenting Teens & Tweens Well
Transcription:
Julie Lyles Carr: You’re listening to the AllMomDoes podcast where you’ll find encouragement, information and inspiration for the life you’re living, the kids you’re raising, the romance you’re loving, and the faith you’re growing. I’m your host, Julie Lyles Carr. Let’s jump into this week’s episode.
You are in for a treat today, my friends. I have, Sarah Taylor with me. Sarah is a mom, a wife. She’s also a voice that’s going to be very familiar to a lot of you because she is on the radio waves up in the Seattle area on SPIRIT 105.3. Sarah. Thanks so much for joining me today.
Sarah Taylor: Oh, I’ve been looking forward to it for a while.
Julie Lyles Carr: Now. I know a lot of our listeners are going to already know you, but there are some who are not going to know you. So fill us in on all the details of your life, who you’re married to, the kids where you hail from. And you know what? I also want to know your favorite ice cream flavor. Let’s just throw that in there too.
Sarah Taylor: I love it. We’ve got like three in our freezer right now. So I’ll just tell you what’s in our freezer. All right. Just the strawberry left of the Neapolitan ice cream. Does that happen to everybody?
Julie Lyles Carr: Yeah. That’s kind of a theme that I do see where you carve out the vanilla and the chocolate.
Sarah Taylor: Yeah. Right. So that’s going on? Oh, we got the mint chocolate chip and we have the, um, my husband’s favorite. Like kind of the Reese’s peanut butter cup situation. Um, all gluten-free choices. We’ll probably get to that later. And, um, yeah, I basically just, you know, it’s kind of that free for all. How many kids do you have? Julie? Eight.
Julie Lyles Carr: Eight.
Sarah Taylor: Okay. So I’m sure you’re used to it. Like, if you want to get in there, you gotta beat out all the teenagers before.
Julie Lyles Carr: Ice cream in this household lasts approximately 14 minutes upon it entering the door, and you’ve got to get really savvy about the way that you hide ice cream and you’re limited. You know, it’s a known quantity.
It’s going to have to be in a freezer somewhere. The best I’ve been able to figure out so far is really what I should be doing is just taking it down to the neighbor’s house. That’s really putting it in a different container and then labeling it, chicken gizzards, something like that. That’s probably would be the best, but yeah, you’re right.
Ice cream does have a very fast evaporation rate in this household. I’m sure you’re still mint chocolate chip I’m with you girl. That makes me feel really good. Good. Tell me about your kiddos.
Sarah Taylor: Okay, so I’ve got Alivia and she is 14. Entering high school done. Done. Be careful. Or I might flip this entire interview back on you for all the tips cause I’m reading, I’m reading a book right now called Love Her Well. I don’t remember that. Oh, do you know? I don’t know the author, but it’s…
Julie Lyles Carr: We interviewed the author on the show. We’ll ask Rebecca to get to that episode into the show notes for us, but yeah. I’ve interviewed the author. I wish I could think of her name at the moment.
Sarah Taylor: I know me too. It’s a fabulous book. And, um, and so, yeah, I’m, I’m prepping to be the mom of a teenager. Um, my son, Ethan is nine and our daughter, Nora, by the time this episode airs is probably going to have just turned five. Um, but right now she’s four and we call her the baby.
Julie Lyles Carr: I call my 14 year old twins, the babies. So you are in good company.
Sarah Taylor: And then my husband is Joel. And, uh, we met when I was 17 and then we lost track of each other for about seven years and, uh, like reconnected. And so, um, yeah, we’ve been married for 15 years and I was born and raised in the Pacific Northwest. So this has always been home.
Julie Lyles Carr: Um, okay. Now I’m going to have to go back to the story about you and Joel, because I’m always fascinated with how people meet and you get those stories, Sarah, where somebody, they encounter someone and they just know that that’s it. And from that moment forward, it moves on. And then you have these stories of people who had a chance meeting at one point.
And then for almost a decade. Did you know that you had some tingly feelings for him the first time you met? Or was it just sort of a hi, nice to know ya now. Okay. You did. And then how did you re-encounter each other seven years later?
Sarah Taylor: Sure. Okay. So, um, I was in school in a grade with his brother. And so I met him at like a school football game. And so, you know, the older brother of one of my classmates was there and all the girls were like, oh, look at that, that’s Neil’s brother. He’s so cute. And, uh, and we, Joel asked me on a date. I think we went on like one or two dates and I did, I had all the tingly feelings. I really enjoyed him, but you know what? I was 17 and I had a lot of those feelings for a lot of different boys. It was kinda like, you know, you just move the, the, the pots around on the stove. All right. So that was kind of my dating life those years. And, um, and so, yeah, but I always remembered him. I remember him as the guy that had a plan because the other teenage boys were like, Hey, do you want to hang out? And Joel being homeschooled by his mom, like he, he was like, I would like to take you to a Sonics game. He came, he picked me up. He met me at the door, you know what I mean? Just that difference. And it really stood out because nobody else did that. So I always, always remembered him as a really nice guy that had a plan. And so then we lost track of each other and it’s a sad story, how we met. Um, I had heard because we went to a small school, so I remembered his family, had his brother, his sister had all gone to school with me, so I remembered their last name. And when I heard through the grapevine that his mom was sick and had cancer, it was the first time in my life in my twenties, that peer of mine, had a parent that had cancer. I, you know, it used to be grandparents that we would hear, but now this was a mother and, and so I was just thinking, wow, that is very young. Uh, she was just in her early fifties. And, um, and then I remember hearing through the grapevine that she had passed away. Something inside of me, compelled me to go to that Memorial, to honor their family. And then just as quickly something goes, you, you’re not going to go to that. Like, you didn’t know her or them well enough. What if they see you there and think like, what are you doing here? Such a sacred moment for our family? And you’re a stranger. So I almost didn’t do it, but, uh, his mom, Kathy made beautiful quilts. It was her hobby, and my mom also did the same and oftentimes they would quilt in the same circles. And so I said to my mom, would you go with me to the Memorial? And I felt like that was my permission to go. So we went. Kathy’s quilts were all on display. I was there just to honor her life and I saw Joel at the very end of it, and I shook his hand and I said, I’m so sorry. And I think you must have said something like, Sarah, what are you doing? Doing here? And I quickly, I came with my mom. My mom and your mom quilted, you know? And then he got in touch with me about a month later and he asked me out again, And he had a plan again, and we’ve sort of been inseparable ever since.
Julie Lyles Carr: That’s really amazing. And you know, I appreciate you sharing. Sometimes we share our stories of origin and we try to make it sound like it all came out of all these happy coincidences and all these serendipities that everything just flew together and yet it’s so beautiful to me that you did listen to that prompting because again, I think sometimes we can feel like, am I being a pariah? Am I just trying to push my way into a situation? Whether that’s a romance or that’s something for our kids that we’re pursuing or whatever, but that’s really interesting being willing to follow that little, still small voice and, and to what it has led to. But what a pivotal moment in which to meet someone and to begin to establish relationship.
Sarah Taylor: Yeah, it’s not, it’s not lost. I just want to say this. It’s not lost on me when I look at Kathy’s grandchildren, when I look at Olivia, Ethan and Nora, and I look at Olivia’s thick hair, and I’m like, that’s Kathy’s hair, you know? Um, I, it’s not lost on me that they are here because I re met her son when she entered eternity.
Julie Lyles Carr: I mean what a beautiful picture of how life continues in the best way. I mean, that’s really an exceptional story. Thank you for sharing that. Now, how did you end up in the radio space? Now? You may have heard me tell my story of how I ended up in the radio space, which was I was in a college class, I was finishing up just some extra hours I had to get in completion of a couple of my degrees. And there was a guy in this organizational psychology class or refer organizations. We had to give a presentation. I got up. I said, whatever I said, and when I sat back down, he said, I really love your voice. My thoughts. Oh, please. That is the saddest pick-up line ever. The reality was he was the general manager of a radio station. He never did take me on a date, but he did get me a job. And that was kind of how I entered into it. I had other friends who were in radio and television and they went on to do other things and somehow I ended up in the radio and television space and that was not my degree path. So I want to hear about yours, how you ended up behind the mic and in front of so many listeners.
Sarah Taylor: I love yours too. Uh, mine was accidental as well. Well, we call it accidental, but let’s say coincidental, divinely appointed. It just goes to show how God has better blueprints for us than we could ever come up for ourselves.
So I was in college and I was supposed to declare a major and I did not know what to declare. I had a lot of interests, but, um, I just knew internally that, uh, that… well, I said to God, it was an angry prayer. You ever had one of those? I was driving. The irony is I was listening to the radio station as I was driving and praying, crying and saying, why does some people get a calling from you and some don’t because I’m asking for what mine is. And then I said, um, I know that I know that, you know, better than I do Jesus, what I should do with my life. And I know that your timing is different than ours, but listen, I gotta get off my parents’ insurance. I got to declare a major, I got to do something here. So this is your, this is your wide oppor open opportunity, Lord to speak. Speak! And then I would hear nothing except for the radio in the background, still irony, but I was so distraught with it. Um, I ended up getting a general studies degree. Listen to this awesome name that sounds so, so cool. I got an interdisciplinary arts and sciences degree with an emphasis in society, ethics and human behavior. Wow. I mean, my grandpa, it does, but as a general studies degree, my grandpa called it underwater basket weaving. And so anyways, okay. So I was, my dad gave me a pity job at the time I was working as a receptionist and doing Excel spreadsheets, which is the lowest of my skill set. And so it was really a bad fit for me. And, um, so crying in the car praying and the radio station would turn those broken prayer cries of my heart. It would comfort me the music would, and the DJs I felt like were my friends. I would listen to it every day on, on my way to the job I didn’t like. And I would call into the morning show a lot, just to participate. Like, it just felt like an invitation. They’d be talking about a morning topic. I’d be like, I have something to say about that. And I noticed that they would often put me as a caller on when I’d call and I’m like, huh, guess I have a tiny knack for this. It was just fun. Right. Anyway, um, someone called me from the station and said, you won tickets. And I’m like, I don’t remember entering a contest, but at evidently anyone that called that day got randomly put into a drawing. So I got tickets to the Newsboys at the Puyallup Fair. Didn’t even know who the Newsboys were and, um, almost didn’t go. And can we title this episode almost didn’t go?
Julie Lyles Carr: No, I think that’s really the takeaway here.
Sarah Taylor: I have a friend that was like, no, I’ll do that with you. And I was like, all right. So we went to pick up our tickets, they come with backstage passes, cool stuff. I don’t know the difference between a crew member and a newsboy… So I go backstage and I see this guy, his name is Mike Tadesco. And, um, he’s shaking hands. He clearly works for the station, has the badge and he’s shaking hands of all the people that have won tickets. Smiling full of joy, very exuberant and I said another prayer in my heart. Jesus, I don’t know what you have for me in my career, but can I love what I do the way that man loves what he does. And he makes his way around me shakes my hand. And I don’t know where it came from, but I blurted out without thinking, do you need an intern? And he said, well, I’ve got one right now but you know, send me your resume and if, if a spot becomes a bit, I’m always looking for more. So, you know, we’ll connect. I did, I followed up with it and a couple of weeks later, he called me and said, Hey, that previous intern fell through would you like to come and interview? And so I got in my car and my hands on the steering wheel and I remember it felt that drive felt holy. It was like the mothership was calling me home. And, uh, I was listening to the radio thinking I’m going to where this music comes from. This music that has helped me feel connected to God when it felt like he’s silent in my prayers, but I still have the music to carry me through. Songs I relate to. DJs I relate to. I’m going to where that originate. This is holy. I parked in the parking lot and I’m like, Jesus, please let me get this internship until I figure out what I’m supposed to do with my life, because I want to be here. That was 19 years ago and I still get to carry the same badge with my picture. Hey, by the way, humbling moment. If you ever want to carry around a picture of 20 year old you around 40 year old neckneck, that’s something to look at every day.
Julie Lyles Carr: That’ll keep you grounded. That’ll give you real grounded.
Sarah Taylor: I mean, we should at least be updating these at the rate of the DMV. Don’t you think?
Julie Lyles Carr: I love that though, because there are so many times that particularly, I think if you traffic in the world where you’re an ambivert or an introvert, I don’t know how you identify, but I know for me, there are a lot of things that I will second guess myself on. Like, I don’t think I want to go to that. I don’t think I want to do the thing. I don’t think I want to ask the question. I don’t think I want to raise my hand. I don’t think I want to put myself out there, and yet, so many of those moments for a lot of us, that’s exactly what we need to do. Now, there’s some of us and we have to do all this through discernment and through prayer, we shouldn’t go, uh, we shouldn’t raise our hand and we probably should zip our lip. And to have the discernment to know the difference is really important, but how powerful that just a willingness to… Well, I’ll go. All right. I’ll just introduce myself to someone who can actually set the course. And it’s interesting you bring that up, Sarah, because I think we’ve made this whole process of trying to discern calling and purpose and all of those things very complex in some ways, or we expect that we will have a burning bush moment and, you know, I think God can provide. But sometimes it’s just in the little things. How do you encourage people who are saying to you, oh, I would love to get into what you’re doing, or I have a dream on my heart that seems impossible. I feel like I should go do this thing or write that thing or speak that thing. And they’re looking for really clear lanes about how to make that happen… how do you encourage people to know, Hey, hang in there, but it may not always be exactly that clean in terms of how that’s revealed.
Sarah Taylor: I mean, I just kind of offered that. Are you praying that blueprint, prayer? Are you praying? Like what were, what did I say? I said to the Lord, um, you know, why do some people receive a calling some don’t? I’m asking for what mine is. So I asked for it. I said, I would love to love what I do the way that man loves what he does. And so those were both two things that, you know, I felt like the Lord guided my steps. He didn’t, a lot of times I love when I feel like he downloads to me something instantly, in both of those things, he didn’t say you’re going to be on the radio, you’re going to be there for 20 years. Sometimes he speaks like that, but this time it was more just kind of like, I felt like the desires of my heart were honorable, right. So like to pray, can I love what I do the way that man loves what he does. That means, take me anywhere, do anything, but give me the desires of my heart.
Not, not give me what I think I want, but would you implant in me what you have for me, and then may I desire it and find satisfaction and purpose in what you have?
Julie Lyles Carr: I love that because I think so often we start out with the job title or what we think we want and really, I think at the end of the day, a lot of times, Sarah, what we’re really craving is what we think that thing will bring us. Yeah. So we think if we get this certain position, it will make us feel validated or known or valued. If we are able to accomplish X, Y, Z, then that’s going to give us that sense that, okay, I finally arrived. I’m finally part of the team or whatever that is. So to invert that and say whatever it is to show me such a powerful way to take a look at that.
Sarah Taylor: Well, and another thing is to have a microphone in front of you, you know, this is a, um, it’s a holy responsibility. Absolutely. And I knew that going in and when he, even when I started doing like the overnight shift, I remember praying, Jesus, like if I’m ever going to lead your people astray, take the microphone away from me long before that would ever happen. So only allow me this privilege if my heart is in the right place, and if my words are in the right place, otherwise let somebody else do it that’s more qualified. And so I think that, and Brent Hanson, who is just one of my favorite DJs, um, he’s great. He said, don’t pray for a platform. Pray for something to say.
Julie Lyles Carr: Mm, that is powerful. I, this, I hadn’t heard him say that before. That is amazing. I love that statement, you know, and I think one thing that we always need to be discerning and people need to hear is whether, you know, just because someone’s behind a microphone or in a pulpit or on a stage, or has the record deal, doesn’t mean that his listeners people should check their own heart and discernment at the door. We always have to be careful about who we’re listening to and why I do. Think there should be a certain level of transparency and vulnerability on the part of those who are on the platform. And just because they are doesn’t mean that everything they have to say is something that we necessarily need to just take in. I know that for a lot of us in the ministry space, To me, the greatest part about having something to say is hopefully equipping other people to understand that God has something to say to them too. And it’s not, it’s not because it’s coming through me. It’s because all of us need to become equipped and self feeders to a certain point. And the responsibility that comes with having a mic is simply to continue that mission of helping people to encounter God for themselves.
Sarah Taylor: Well, and also what you’re saying is, um, that goes beyond just like people that professionally speak for a living, this goes for literally anyone in your circle. Like if you’re listening to this right now, be very careful who you give a microphone to in your own life. Even in your own circle of friends, household, parents. You know, sometimes what our parents say about us can have a lasting impact, but maybe they said something that wasn’t accurate about who you are, and that’s still echoing at microphone level in your life. Not, not necessarily. You get to choose who’s words have extra impact, um, for you?
Julie Lyles Carr: Absolutely. You know, one of my children has a significant hearing loss and when she was younger, we used a device called an FM system. And it was interesting to me because having had this background in radio and then God gives me this kid, who’s struggling to hear my voice. And so what do we do? We literally ended up putting me back on the microphone, Sarah, specifically for this kid and this device would make my voice 25 dB’s higher in her ears, over everything else she was getting from her hearing aids. It would amplify my voice. It was fascinating to watch her become more attuned. The reason we did that is because her brain needed to know how to sort sound because of the nature of her hearing loss she would just hear what she could discern and hear, kind of all came in is just auditory confusion. And so it was important that she have a voice of the person who was her primary caregiver, really speaking to her directly so she would learn to recognize that. But boy, it was a profound metaphor to me. I realized there had been people in my own life that I had handed the FM system to, if you will. And I was letting their voice resonate in a way that was far louder than I really should have given it. So I love that you are reminding people hey, I want people to come and listen to you on the radio. I want them to hear your wisdom and your heart, but at the same time, I also want them to be discerning. And I love that you sign off on that as well. Now you’ve been on an interesting journey as a family and you and I had a chance to talk a few months ago, just mom to mom, just parenting because your little one began to have some real challenges and you guys didn’t know where it was coming from. You didn’t know what it was. And you got into search mode and you found out some interesting things about the way that your Nora is wired. So. Tell listeners about that journey.
Sarah Taylor: Sure. Well, first of all, I want to thank you because what you just mentioned was kind of like, I love that you, with a mature busy schedule and raising eight children planning some weddings, this was pre pandemic, I still texted you and was like, do you have time? And it’s like, you made time to meet me in a place where I was very afraid, you know? Cause Nora was having a lot of health issues and, and I was afraid of what the future would look like. I was doing all the what ifs, and you really helped me feel like I could handle it because, you know, you’ve experienced some of your own. We don’t have the exact same situation, but we still have enough of a parallel that, um, yeah, you, you offered me a lot of encouragement off the microphone, uh, during a time where I really needed it. So thank you.
Julie Lyles Carr: I was honored. Thank you for reaching out.
Sarah Taylor: And, and secondly, yes, Nora was diagnosed with celiac disease, which for someone unfamiliar, um, it’s an auto-immune disease triggered by even a crumb of gluten. I was unfamiliar before she received the diagnosis. And, you know, when they were doing, she was failing to thrive, diagnosed with failure to thrive. Hadn’t gained weight in a year. She was only two, uh, began getting ill, very pale, just, I mean, it was clear that something was wrong. And so when they first did the full panel workup, a cancer diagnosis possibility was on the table. So I remember that night I didn’t sleep. I, my whole body was an agony. And waiting for those results, nothing worse. So when it came back that her TTG numbers for celiac were high, I felt sad. I could have danced. I was like, I was like, and so then my husband and I, we went into the pantry. We just started tossing everything with gluten into the trash. And I went into full-on research mode, which is what I do and what we do as moms, right, when our children’s health is on the line? We will stop at nothing to restore them to full health. And so our whole household went gluten free. Even her older siblings, it was beautiful. It was, it was kind of, um, it was prayed over us. My, my friend, Kathy, got a word for us and she said like, I see your family on an adventure. And it’s interesting how that’s come to pass because Olivia and Ethan are on board. They helped me read labels at the store. Everyone kind of went into protection mode over our baby, right. And because even with it, it sounds kind of simple, like to some of those things. Okay. Just quit gluten. Well, do you know that gluten is in certain toothpaste? Do you know that it’s in soy sauce? Do you know that Play-Doh.
Julie Lyles Carr: It’s in Twizzlers? Can we talk about that a minute? That just really still gets me. Not even Twizzlers are safe.
Sarah Taylor: And, um, and then, you know, of course, because some people are gluten-free by choice, there’s this blurry line where it becomes kind of like, oh, well, can’t, she just have a little, you know, and all that stuff. And to be celiac again is an auto-immune condition. You know, as she grows, she’ll have to advocate for herself, but right now it feels like I have celiac because, um, she’s only four. And although she’s, thank God for the company or the non-profit organization, uh, that has come up with the gluten-free label on packaging, man. Am I ever thankful for that? Because that’s easy to teach a small child look for that. Right. And, um, so I’m very thankful. In fact, now support them financially as a nonprofit. It’s interesting how that stuff becomes so important to you. And I listen to podcasts all the time on like the future of five to 10 years they have a hope that, that there will be a pill that someone can take before eat at a restaurant so that if there’s cross-contamination you still order the gluten gluten-free meal, but if there’s, cross-contamination such as, you know, a crew ton went on that salad and somebody plucked it off, um, it won’t do that intestinal damage.
So I’m so hopeful that there is a very smart person that is headed to MIT that has made it their life’s goal to not only find a cure, but, but just, you know, something like that in the future, um, because our family would benefit greatly from the, um, stress that is caused. I still haven’t gone to a restaurant to trust like that they would, um, properly make something correct for her. That’s the next thing I need to, um, branch out on. But listen, I was a server at Red Robin when I was 18 and I remember that I wasn’t always as vigilant as I should have been. And so I have a hard time placing her health in the hands of others, but that’s something that I’m working on. But I will say the pandemic was actually really good for her health because she was home for a year and our house is completely gluten-free. So when she was first diagnosed, her TTG numbers were, uh, over 2,500. 2,500. Okay. A normal person is supposed to be under 14. Wow. So when we figured it all out and shout out to Dr. Lee at Seattle children’s hospital and the program, he runs there, man, do they help. Man, are they wonderful as a resource? You know, we got our numbers down 64, then down to 36 or whatever. And just most recently we got our numbers back and she’s seven.
Julie Lyles Carr: Oh, that’s incredible. And it shows you just, how much is out there that is encountered by people with celiac, even when you’re being very vigilant and, you know, just to walk into the world, there has just gluten everywhere. And Sarah, it’s interesting because with the rise of these different immune issues for children, dietary wise, with things like peanut allergies, and on and on I’ve encountered people, and I haven’t had one who’s had the, is the fullest extent of the diagnosis you’ve had. I do have a child. Who’s now an adult who has multiple food allergies and it has been a battle for a long time, but I’ve always been fascinated with people who blow it off, or act like it’s not that big a deal or not that difficult to deal with. Have you found good sympathy within your community? And if you had people who’ve surprised you who maybe have been like, oh, absolutely. Whatever, you know.
Sarah Taylor: Absolutely. Thank you for saying that because it’s interesting. It has been the ultimate gift of hospitality when the one or two people in our circle have gone above and beyond. My friend Callie comes to mind. Her family doesn’t have any food allergies, but when her daughter Emerson who’s the same age as Nora had a birthday party, Callie reached out to me and said, what candy is safe for Nora in the pinata? What foods can I provide? The entire party will be gluten-free because she wanted a guest at her daughter’s party to be able to fully experience everything that a four year old experiences. Right, right. I cried. Yeah. It’s like the fact that you, you are a busy mom of two girls are taking into account what my daughter might need was the ultimate gift of hospitality. When somebody makes their house a safe place for my daughter to be, and takes the mental burden of my vigilance and gives me a two hour break. It is restorative. It speaks Jesus to me. And also my mom, my mom made her whole kitchen gluten-free. She bought a special, uh, Cupboard area just for Nora’s food so that when my husband and I took a trip to New York with our daughter to see some Broadway shows and just to make a memorable experience for her, our, our oldest, um, my mom took my kids for five days and she wanted to alleviate my concerns. And I cried. I cried when people show love in that way.
Julie Lyles Carr: Yeah. It is a beautiful way that I think we bear one another’s burdens and we care for one another. Even if you don’t understand some of these things, you don’t understand the challenges that another parent of yours within your community is going through, to be willing to accommodate and say, Hey, I may not have all the answers and I may not completely understand this, but I’m willing to walk alongside you as an ally to help you in this journey of what you’re walking through is really huge. You know, we had times that with two of ours who are differently abled, that they were excluded from some things, because it was people didn’t want the inconvenience. We also had times that they were shown tremendous support. And then we had times that we had to walk a fine line, Sarah, because sometimes people in their best efforts show up with pity. And pity’s not really the thing that honors in these situations. Inclusivity and a willingness to adapt is, and it’s something I think we still are struggling with in a lot of our faith circles in children’s church expressions and all kinds of things to know how to hit that mark well. There is a lane where it really lives and people feel honored and seen and appreciated for exactly who they are, but we have work to do. Yeah, we got work to do. There are two sides. There, there are ditches, either side of that response that are pretty deepened strewn with some shards. And I do think that unless you’ve walked it, you can’t know. And to give grace is really important in those situations and to be willing to learn about what’s happening, what can be accommodative. And I think it’s always a great lesson, I have a real passion for this, that our kids neuro-typical or dietary typical or whatever, they only benefit when they learn the compassion and accommodation for people who are a little different than they are. That’s good for everybody. And so when I hear these arguments sometimes about, well, we just want kids to have a normal experience,and so I’m like, well, I, however you define normal, good luck, but that is not the world at large. And so when we can learn that place of compassion in places like our faith communities in the preschool classroom, that’s a really important thing. I love what your friend had for you in terms of a word that word adventure, because sometimes when you have a kid who’s diagnosed with a challenge, or have a child who is experiencing dietary challenges or allergies, or they’ve got a learning issue that’s really difficult. Or they have some behavioral issues that are, are different than other children, we oftentimes look at the challenge of that, or we look at let’s face it, sometimes the disappointment cycle, the grief cycle, as a parent to watch your kid have to go through something really hard. For your child to be different than what you thought they were going to be, and yet that word adventure… I got to tell you, Sarah, and I’m I’m now at the place where one of mine who had significant challenges is an adult she’s married. Like we’ve, we’ve done it. We’re through. The other one who had a stroke at birth, we are still in process. We still have those days that are tough. We still have those experiences that I go, I never thought about that. Like, oh yeah, we’re going to have to figure out a workaround for that. But in all of that, I can tell you now, from this perspective, it is an adventure. It has taken us places. It has allowed us to meet people. It is allowed us to have encounters that I could have never imagined. How has keeping that adventure perspective been helpful because you guys are still really in the weeds with a lot of this. I mean, this diagnosis just came 18-24 months ago. Something like that. Is that right? Yep. So, you know, you’re not really necessarily into the full, okay, I got the choreography, I got the dance down. How is that one word adventure helped frame this?
Sarah Taylor: Um, I think that one’s something like I would call it aspirational. Like I’m still trying to fully embrace that. Um, because when I hear adventure, it’s funny, I was telling my husband I’m like, I used to be adventurous, like when I was younger, but man, with every year of parenthood I have become less and less so. Yeah. And it’s kind of like that vigilance I talked about. That’s actually, that’s probably my biggest crutch. In fact, I would call it more than a crutch. Um, a lot of times it really gets in my way. I don’t look at things as adventurous to me. Adventure snap is equivalent with danger. Um, let’s avoid it. Let’s be safe. Let’s wrap you all in a bubble. How about we wear helmets all the time? Shall we wear helmets all the time guys? Great idea. You know, and they call me safety mom. So there’s a lot of good things about that, but yeah, so lately my prayer has been, uh, Jesus help me. Help me see adventure as a good thing, instill it in my children, not be so vigilant that we miss out on opportunities. Um, and so I have to at that. That’s another reason I probably look exhausted half the time is because inside Sarah is going, Nope, don’t want to pass too hard, not safe, all that. And then I am asking the Lord by his grace to overcome that so that I can view it that way. So that one’s very much still in process. And then I have to do the data time thing because I do get nervous when I like, when you mentioned how sometimes your kids have felt left out. Man. I am just, I am, I know the days are going to come where all the kids are having the pizza party, the cupcakes, and she feels odd man out. And I’m like, can’t go there because that’s not currently happening. Currently what’s happening is she is well taken care of. She has friends that get it. Because what if she doesn’t feel left out? What if someone else makes that accommodation? You know what I mean? Like what if she’s tough as nails and that’s her personality and that doesn’t bother her. Like, so, um, yeah, the one day at a time, and then asking the Lord to help me continue to see it as an adventure. I think the reason that word was given to me would be because I needed it.
Julie Lyles Carr: Absolutely. I love that. And I love that you have put it up there on the spiritual refrigerator with a magnet, if you will. That here’s where we’re headed and we don’t get it perfect every day. We don’t always frame things that way, but that’s where we’re headed. I think that is just exceptional. Sarah. I could just sit and talk with you. We’ve got to have you back on again. I can just chat with you for such a long time. I want listeners to go, even if you’re not in the Pacific Northwest region and you don’t feel like you have access on your car radio to SPIRIT 1053, you do have access through it to it online. So you can catch Sarah there. And where’s a place on the social media is where listeners can go and learn more about your story. Learn more about your journey with Nora and all the things?
Sarah Taylor: Sure. If they want to see me post one time, every six months, they are welcome to follow my, my Instagram, which is… oh, my word. Uh, seriously, hold on. Um, I will say this, can we cross promote podcasts? Cause I’ve really been enjoying doing that. Okay. I kind of followed in your footsteps. I don’t know what episode you’re on. I know you’re in the hundreds, Julie.
Julie Lyles Carr: Yeah, we are closing in on 200 episodes. I can’t remember which this one is.
Sarah Taylor: Alright I think I’m still in single digits.
I might be at 10 by the time this airs. Um, but my podcast is called, uh, Passion Meets Purpose and it’s all about kind of what we talked about earlier. Like, I mean, the name is self-explanatory. It’s what are you good at? What talents did God put in you at a young age? And then how do you use those things to give back to the world? Um, and so, yeah, we’ve talked with Scott Hamilton, the backflipping Olympic figure skater who has breezed through three brain tumors. He talks a lot about how his mom, in fact, I’d love to, have you ha you’ve had him on your podcast Julie?
Julie Lyles Carr: I’ve had him on he’s a fantastic…
Sarah Taylor: Did he talk about his mom? He basically did all this to make his mom proud. He loved his mom.
Julie Lyles Carr: Yeah. Yeah. It’s I mean, he’s amazing. I guess. Absolutely. Those are good to go. Check that out on your podcast.
Sarah Taylor: It’s Passion Meets Purpose. What is my Instagram handle? Uh, Sarah Taylor radio… @sarahtaylorradio. Nobody’s going to want to go find me on there Julie, cause it’s just like, uh, does she use a dial up modem to like…
Julie Lyles Carr: I’m gonna go on right now yeah, cause I want to see, I want to see what the ones are every six months. I mean, I got to see who this hero is. Well, the latest is Nora with her hands on her hip…
Sarah Taylor: getting those celiac numbers back at Seattle children’s, which is amazing. And that that was post worthy.
Julie Lyles Carr: That just ties a bow on our conversation. That’s fantastic. So it’s Sarah Taylor radio. You can go find her there on Instagram. I know Rebecca will put more links and ways that you can find the podcast and all of these things. Sarah, thanks so much for all you do for your heart and I’m just excited to see more about the adventure that you’re on.
Sarah Taylor: Honored, Julie. It’s always been my pleasure to not only listen to your podcast and to know you behind the scenes, but to also have the opportunity to share this story. I hope that it at least one sentence or something pings the person who’s listening. My prayer over you is that you will hear from the Lord over whatever you have in prayer with him today.
Julie Lyles Carr: Check out the show notes for all the links, info and other goodness from this week’s episode with a big thank you to our content coordinator, Rebecca. I’ve got a request, please go like and leave a review wherever you get your podcasts. It really does make a difference in helping other people find the show, and I’ll see you next week here at the AllMomDoes podcast.
