An INNER View with Journalist, Podcaster and Emmy Winning TV News Reporter, Sara Forhetz
BIO
Sara Forhetz is a speaker, journalist, and podcaster. She also hosts a daily morning radio show on Christian radio station 88.3 The Wind. She spent 17 years as an Emmy Award-winning television news reporter and anchor… sharing mostly bad news. Now, Sara shares the Good News across the country and around the world. Her travels often take her to Africa and the Middle East, where she speaks about her faith in Jesus. Sara is a wife and a homeschool mother of three kids, ages 12, 14, and 16. She loves swimming, biking, and running, and competes often in triathlons. She and her husband, Ethan Forhetz, have been named one of the most influential couples in Southwest Missouri and have been recognized by multiple publications. She urges everyone to be bold in their faith.
INNER VIEW
Kathleen Cooke: You have accomplished much in your career. You have a great family and, to many, appear to have an ideal life. What have you learned along your life journey that is the key?
Sara Forhetz: The Lord has been teaching me about HIS ALL-SUFFICIENCY. I didn’t realize I had started to do some things in my own strength, well, because I can. One of my hobbies is doing triathlons with my kids. That is a race where you swim, then bike, then run. I am a proficient swimmer and am gearing up for a race in San Francisco that starts at Alcatraz prison. I was recently practicing swimming in open water, something that typically would not be a problem for me. But as I was 750 meters offshore, the wind kicked up suddenly, and I quite literally felt like I was going to drown. Out of nowhere, God sent me a literal lifeboat. A man scooped me up and took me to shore. As I sat on the beach that day praising God for sending help, He began to teach me that I was swimming in my own sufficiency. Why? Because I can. At that moment, I knew the Lord was saying I was NOTHING without him. And I will not reach the metaphorical finish line well if I am going to operate in my own strength.
Kathleen: Wow! San Francisco’s harbor is known for its winds that come out of nowhere without warning and from all directions. My brother learned to sail there and was told that if you can sail SF harbor, you can sail anywhere in the world because of the changing winds. Training for a triathlon is like working in the creative arts in many ways. You must push hard on multiple levels; a successful career takes grit and ambition. What have you learned about when to press forward and when to step back?
Sara: I think the Lord puts desires in our hearts, and we can feel free to pursue them! If our ambition gets in the way, we stay low and humble and trust that He will course-correct. I’ve found that with God, it’s more about the journey than the destination. So, we resign to give ourselves to being refined along the journey. Scripture says, “Do not despise the day of small beginnings, for the Lord rejoices to see the work begin…” You start in the way of your heart’s desire, and trust that even if it starts small, IF He is in it, He is rejoicing that the journey has begun. And He will complete it and complete YOU in the process! The refining will come as He guides you along the way. I pray, Lord, thank you for your equipping as you call me.
Kathleen: With the ups and downs and constant unknown struggles of an artistic career, how have you dealt with the fear of failure?
Sara: If it doesn’t scare you, God might not be in it! The Lord sometimes calls us to do what we can do. But oftentimes, He calls us to do something we cannot do on our own! That is scary. But it’s what allows us to put all the “pressure” on Him. The Lord is our instructor; we are always His pupils. He is the one who makes it possible. We embrace our humility that says, I am scared, but if I am called, I trust You, Lord, to complete it through me.
Kathleen: God instructs us to GO — be an influence. Why is that more important than ever?
Sara: You are the only one who is where you are. You can reach the people in your cubicle at work that I cannot — that your pastor or friend cannot. God has placed you there for “such a time as this.” He says to us over and over again — GO! He only sends us to where He is already working. And, if we are faithful to work in the field where He planted us, He will set us over more. “He who is faithful in a very little thing is also faithful in much; and he who is dishonest in a very little thing is also dishonest in much” (Luke 16:10). If you desire to grow your influence for Kingdom purposes, it will start with your faithfulness right where you are.
Connect with Sara!
Instagram:@saraforhetz
Facebook:@Sara Forhetz
Website: saraforhetz.com
