When Pain Becomes the Path to Seeking God First
The story of Anita Keagy is a powerful reminder that God often uses our most painful experiences to draw us closer to Himself. In this episode of Honest Christian Conversations, Anita shares her journey from a teenage pregnancy to a life-changing ministry centered on one simple but transformative pursuit: seeking God first.
At just 17 years old, Anita found herself unexpectedly pregnant in 1974—only months after writing a self-righteous paper against abortion, which had just been legalized the year before. Raised in a strong Christian pastoral family, she was suddenly forced to confront fear, shame, and uncertainty head-on. What followed was not condemnation, but grace. Anita’s parents responded with unconditional love while still guiding her to take responsibility for her choices—a living picture of how our Heavenly Father meets us in our brokenness.
This conversation walks through Anita’s difficult decision to place her baby for adoption and the spiritual surrender that accompanied it. During moments of doubt and emotional turmoil, God anchored her with a simple but profound truth she heard on the radio: “Never doubt in the dark what God has taught you in the light.” That moment became a lifelong lesson in trusting God’s guidance even when feelings and circumstances feel overwhelming.
Years later, Anita experienced the unexpected gift of reconnecting with her daughter, Twyla. That reunion ultimately led to a powerful revelation while reading Acts 17—one that transformed how Anita viewed Scripture. She realized that just as she had written letters for a daughter who might never read them, God has written His own letters—the Bible—for children who may never open them. That insight birthed her ministry, The Joy of Seeking God First, which has helped countless people learn to approach Scripture not as a task, but as a relationship—asking daily, “Jesus, what do You want me to know about You?”
🎧 Listen to the episode to hear how surrender, grace, and intentional seeking can turn life’s deepest wounds into a lifelong pursuit of knowing God.
💬 After listening, join the conversation in the community.
Share your reflections on surrender, seeking God, and how Scripture has become personal—or how you’re longing for it to.
Wife. Mother of five. Podcaster. Fiction Novelist
Ana is the host of the Honest Christian Conversations podcast and a prodigal saved by God’s unending grace.
She grew up in a legalistic Christian home where asking questions often felt wrong. In her early twenties, overwhelmed by confusion and hurt, she walked away from her faith. Yet even then, God’s love never stopped pursuing her. At thirty years old—and after a painful second divorce—He brought her back to himself, and she has never looked back.
As Ana returned to Christ, she began rebuilding her faith from the ground up and asked the questions she once feared to ask. Along that journey, she discovered inconsistencies, misplaced teachings, and even lies woven into the Christianity she grew up with. Instead of destroying her faith, this only deepened it. Out of that discovery, she founded Honest Christian Conversations. Ana's heart is to help others navigate the same tension she once lived with: wanting to know the real Jesus while sorting through the noise of deceptive teachings, spiritual manipulation, and “wolves in sheep’s clothing.”
Everything she creates flows from gratitude for the God who rescued her, restored her, and continues to shape her into who He intended her to be.
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