Discovering True Joy

“Even if I'm having a hard time, I can still praise Him because He’s there and He’s getting me through it and He loves me and He saved me.”

Mar 26, 2025

Below is a snippet of a conversation with Chris Linke, a 74-year-old woman of God who explains how she spent decades of her life going to church without truly knowing Jesus. Chris shares how she came to know Jesus personally, and how she has learned to rejoice in Him, trust in His divine timing, and rely on Him through various trials. She also highlights life-changing experiences from her missions work in Kenya, where she and her husband have sponsored children to receive an education at a school they’ve helped fund. If you prefer listening, you can listen to or watch the full conversation on Apple, Spotify or YouTube.

How long have you been walking with the Lord?

Well, I wasn't saved until I was in my late 40s. I always went to church my whole life, except in college. But I never knew the Lord. I was doing church. Good girl, going to church, but never knew the Lord.

And so when I was in my late 40s, we were in a fairly small church compared to where we were in New Orleans. And we had a friend there that, I don't know how else to put it, who caused some issues, which kind of divided the church. And you know how God works things in ways that is just like, wow, really? And from that, I was so troubled by it that I went to a prayer group there and one of the ladies there said, ‘You should come to our ladies Bible study.’

So at that point, my job was changing a little bit and I had the day off to go. So I started going to the Bible study and it was there that I realized I didn't know who Jesus was. I knew that He died on the cross, but I didn't know what all was about. I didn't really know Him. I didn't have a relationship with Him.

At that point I went to an event for women and they had an altar call and I raised my hand and gave my heart to Jesus that night and asked Him to come into my heart as my Lord and Savior.

I knew all along that Jesus died on the cross, but I didn’t fully appreciate the fact that He did it for me. And I take it very personally now.

But I was telling somebody one time I said, it was kind of like Mark 8:22-25, where Jesus heals the blind man. Jesus spit on his eyes and then touched him and then asked him how he could see and he said, ‘Well I see people but they look like trees.’ And then Jesus touched him again and he could see clearly.

So it was almost kind of like in the beginning, I gave my heart to Jesus but I didn't really know what that meant truly. I didn't fully realize that that meant I was a sinner. So He just kept opening my eyes more and more to it. So that was the day that I accepted him as my Lord and Savior, and the sanctification process has been continuing.

And, you know, we recently moved to a senior living facility. And we had the chance of filling out a little thing on the computer so people could look up and see things about us. And the first sentence I put was “I’m a sinner saved by grace.” And He’s just continuing to show me every day. The Spirit is convicting me of my sins. And He’s just continuing to show me how much he forgave me and loves me, and did it because He wants me to be with Him.

What’s the most important lesson the Lord has taught you over the years?

I think just to really trust Him, trusting Him for my peace. Jesus is the Prince of Peace. And this world is not going to give you peace. Not at all.

And He's shown me more where true joy is. The joy isn't, I got a cute little outfit, or I'm going on vacation next week, or I got a check in the mail. That's not true joy. That's like, whoa, that makes me happy. But it's not true joy. And true joy really is lasting.

I sing in the choir and it's a very large church and people come up to me all the time and say, ‘I love to watch you sing.’ I make a joyful noise, let me clarify that. I don't sing, I make a joyful noise. But people come me all the time and tell me, ‘I love to watch you sing because you have so much joy.’ And that's the joy of Lord.

And because I've been in Kenya, and sung with the ladies and the kids in Kenya. I tell them, ‘In the United States people sing with their arms down by their side.’ They go, ‘Really?’ But [in Kenya] you can't sing with them without raising your hands in the air.

Tell me more about your experience in Kenya.

Well, I think my first trip was 2017 and it was a group going from church and I helped some ladies with a women's conference. I mean, we were on an island in the middle of Lake Victoria. And probably 30 to 40 years ago, this island was dark. I mean, spiritually dark. And this man, who was from that island, who was translating the Bible, has just transformed that island through the grace of God.

But HIV kind of wiped out the whole middle generation. So you've got little kids and you've got grandmothers. These little kids walk around without shoes, without any place to eat, without any place to sleep. They just, they're homeless, they're hopeless. And you know, a lot of the ladies that have been to the conference, just the stuff that they tell us, they could have very little hope, but when they know the Lord, they have everything they need.

And so they go from a hopeless state to a hopeful state. And my daughter who went this summer made a comment, she said, ‘We have so much and do so little with it. And they have so little and do so much with it.’

And to watch them sing, to watch them pray, we would break for tea or whatever. And the ladies would go out, it was along Lake Victoria, and they would go out, they'd be on their hands and knees, just crying out to the Lord. And you can't see that and not be just changed forever. I wah wah when I get a paper cut on my finger, and these people are wondering where their next meal is going to come from. But they're on their hands and knees, they're crying out to the Lord, but they're worshipping Him, they know that that's where it's going to come from. It's life-changing.

And these kids at the school, they come to the school not knowing the Lord and then they’re educated, clothed and fed, and a lot of them have no parents. Some of them have one parent. But if their father's passed away, they learn that they have a heavenly father who loves them even more than their daddy did. And then they go off and go to college. Then some have become doctors, and some have become attorneys, and architects, and pilots. And they're sharing their faith with other people. So it's just growing, just like a snowball rolling down a hill.

What’s been one of your most impactful experiences in Kenya?

The very first time I went, we had a women's conference and I knew that these women didn't have Bibles. So I raised money, just with my friends here in Charlotte. So we arranged, sent the money over, they bought Bibles, they had Bibles for all the ladies.

So the first day, we gave them pens, we gave them all sorts of things. We also take sunglasses and big star hats. They love them. Oh my goodness, they love them. So we passed out the Bibles and we said, ‘Open up the very first page and write your name inside the book.’ I still cry every time I tell this. So this lady, she opens up the book and she holds it to her chest. And she said, ‘You mean I get to keep this forever and ever?’

I've got two Bibles on my phone and four Bibles in my cabinet, then another Bible on a book stand, and I have a Bible I take to church. They don't have the Word, they're not exposed to it. And if they're exposed to it, they might not have the money to buy one. So the fact that she was so appreciative of the fact that she had this Bible and was clutching it to her chest and crying, that I think was the most meaningful experience I've had.

Wise words worth echoing:

-“Even if I'm having a hard time, I can still praise Him because He’s there and He’s getting me through it and He loves me and He saved me. So no matter what, even in the bad times, hallelujah anyway.”

-“He's always holding our hand. A lot of times we let go. But He’s holding our hand, and we gotta grasp onto His and just hold on for dear life.”

-“He will put a path before you. But sometimes you just have to whack away a few weeds to get to it. But He will put a path before you. Sometimes it’s a bam and sometimes it’s a tiny little whisper.”

-“Even when He does shut a door, He is going to open a window. Might be little, but He is going to open it.”

-“So many days I'll be doing something on my own. And I don't stop and I don't focus on Him and give it to Him. But when my mind is stayed on Him, that's when I feel the perfect peace.”

-“He grabs us by the hand and He picks us up, puts us on His shoulders or carries us in His arms, because He’s our Abba, He’s our daddy.”

Listen to or watch the full conversation on Apple, Spotify or YouTube.

Thank you for being here,

Katharine

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