What happens when a lifetime of searching for love meets the love of God?
In this episode of Here I Am Stories, Kim Zember sits down with Ricky Chelette from Living Hope
Ministries for an honest conversation about childhood sexual abuse, the longing for a father’s
affirmation, same-sex attraction, and finding hope in Jesus Christ.
Ricky shares the desperate prayer that marked a turning point in his life, his unexpected journey
into pastoral ministry, and the love he experienced through 30 years of marriage to his wife, Linda.
He also opens up about walking with her through cancer, facing grief, and trusting that God would
never leave him.
Together, Kim and Ricky explore forgiveness, identity, friendship, and what it means to let God into
the most painful parts of our stories.
Learn more about Ricky’s work and Living Hope Ministries:
https://www.livehope.org
CHAPTERS
00:00 Interview highlights
01:09 Meet Ricky Chelette
02:33 Childhood and family life
04:30 Grooming and childhood sexual abuse
09:49 Making sense of same-sex attraction
11:39 Longing for his father’s approval
16:02 Searching for answers through prayer
19:05 Despair and suicide attempts
21:59 The Christian family who planted seeds of hope
24:04 “God, I don’t know if you’re real”
25:19 Finding the Father he never had
27:21 Baptism and praying for his family
28:00 From dreams of law to a call to ministry
32:17 Faith, attraction and healthy friendships
33:59 A painful rejection in ministry
38:39 Meeting Linda and falling in love
44:51 Marriage and a different kind of fatherhood
45:36 Linda’s cancer diagnosis
47:19 “We need to live until you die”
50:28 Saying goodbye and trusting God through grief
52:08 The journey to Living Hope Ministries
58:43 Sharing their home and lives with others
1:01:21 Confronting his abuser and telling his family
1:06:13 Forgiveness and identity in Christ
1:10:03 What Living Hope Ministries offers
1:13:38 Equipping churches to support people
1:15:14 Finding redemption in suffering
1:17:09 An invitation to let God into the broken places
1:18:05 Trusting God in a new season

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