Cathy, can you tell us a little about yourself?
I am a speaker and an author, and I’m passionate about encouraging people to live courageous, resilient lives, especially when they face curveballs or disappointments. I’m also committed to raising others into leadership and public speaking. I have been so fortunate to tour with Care for the Family for about a decade now, as part of their speaking team, and I have great relationships with festivals like Spring Harvest and New Wine and am on the board of the Kyria Network. I live on the South Coast with my husband, Mark, who is the Senior Minister of Waypoint Church, and we have two wonderful daughters who are both at university.
Cathy Madavan
What is God giving you a heart and passion for?
If I was a piece of rock, and you snapped me in half, it would say ‘perseverance’ right through the middle of me. Although I’m known for my sense of humour and my loud laugh, I’ve had to learn to overcome quite a few hurdles in life – and for Mark and I, learning to live with the loss of his sight has been a real endurance test. But I honestly believe we can grow in resilience and faith when we realise God is not a slot machine in the sky who gives us what we want when we want it, but a constant guide and companion through everything. We learn so much about ourselves and Him when we face our fears and walk through them with our Heavenly Father.
How did your first book Digging for Diamonds come about?
When my girls were tiny, I was speaking more locally, and one of the talks I gave was on a large diamond paperweight I had on my shelf. I just kept thinking of different ‘facets’ that spoke to me. When it came to clarifying the content for the book, in a time of prayer, I suddenly saw these roots with diamonds at the bottom and that immediately reminded me of that paperweight. I have been amazed at how much that metaphor has resonated with people. It’s memorable and meaningful and there are so many scriptures that speak about God’s treasure. It really has been one of the greatest and most unexpected blessings of my adult life to see how God has used Digging for Diamonds. I’m delighted it is now also out as an audio book, with an accompanying devotional book coming soon!
What else have you written?
I have always enjoyed writing devotional daily readings, including my book Living on Purpose, which goes through the book of James. Most recently I have written Irrepressible – 12 principles for a courageous, resilient and fulfilling life. I’m pretty excited about this one. Partly because of the subject matter but also because it’s not so overtly Christian in content, so my prayer is that people will buy it for friends and family to extend God’s values and principles into all kinds of unexpected places. It’s a very practical book. I am about to complete the Digging for Diamonds devotional book, and then I will be working on a devotional going through Philippians.
What can we pray about for you?
I would appreciate prayer as I continue to write and speak. Pray that I keep in step with the Holy Spirit and keep building strong relationships with others and with the Lord. I can’t do it in my own strength, and I don’t want to. Pray that the books I write will build lives, release hope and practically equip people to live courageously, wherever God has called them. Thank you so much for your support. It means a lot.
Together Magazine
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