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Some women survive storms.
But Kelli Beckman has weathered entire skies.

For much of her life, Kelli coped by imagining herself tethered to a hot-air balloon, floating safely above the clouds. When joy called—marriage, children, a career—she’d lower her lines and touch the ground. When life hurt, she drifted back up.

But over time, her balloon developed a leak. Divorce, the death of a parent, the loss of a job, and the passing of her best friend all struck at once. And then, at just thirty-six, she heard the words no mother of four—one still a baby—ever expects: cancer. She floated through treatments, surgeries, and fear, praying for the clouds to part. They didn’t. Still, she survived.

Years later, she faced her fiercest storm: stage 4 cancer. Her doctors told her to get her affairs in order. Had she accepted that as her ending, she would have missed the life God still intended for her. She lived to see another Christmas—one she wasn’t expected to reach—and realized she hadn’t gone above the storm. She had gone through it.

One of her greatest lessons came from a friend offering to help. Kelli, fiercely independent, resisted. Her friend gently said, “When God places it on someone’s heart to help you—let them. If you don’t, you’re blocking their blessing.” That truth changed her.

More hardships followed, including the heartbreak of her husband leaving. There were more recurrences, more setbacks—but also more miracles. She watched two sons marry. She heard little voices call her “Grandma.” She saw her youngest begin college. All moments she would have missed… if she had listened to the doctors.

Kelli’s journey reminds us that faith doesn’t always lift us out of the storm—sometimes it strengthens our legs to walk through it.

And no matter how many times life tried to pull her down…

Still, she rises.

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Still I Rise features stories from You Night's STORY CRAFTING COMMUNITY. To read additional stories, visit our Facebook page:

https://www.facebook.com/YouNightStories. Would you like to participate in a 6-week Story Crafting small group experience so that you can share your story? Write to us at teamyounight@gmail.com

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Welcome to the Still I Rise Podcast, where we share the stories of women who walk through the unthinkable and rise stronger on the other side.

Today, we’re honored to welcome Michele Rokes—a mother, a school nurse, and a woman whose life changed in an instant. At thirty-six, a routine appointment led to a breast cancer diagnosis. Days later, she discovered she was pregnant. And then, in a heartbreaking turn, she miscarried. The cancer remained.

What followed was a journey she never asked for—surgery, grief, and years of rebuilding. Life slowly brightened again… until, five years later, cancer returned, this time more aggressive than before. Chemotherapy took her hair, her strength, and at times her sense of self. But it never took her hope.

Supported by her family and anchored by the mantra from a beloved children’s book—“We can’t go over it. We can’t go under it. We’ve got to go through it”—Michele kept moving, step by step, through fear, pain, and profound love.

Today, she shares how that journey didn’t just lead her to survival—it transformed her.

This is Michele Rokes. And this is Still I Rise.

Support the show

Still I Rise features stories from You Night's STORY CRAFTING COMMUNITY. To read additional stories, visit our Facebook page:

https://www.facebook.com/YouNightStories. Would you like to participate in a 6-week Story Crafting small group experience so that you can share your story? Write to us at teamyounight@gmail.com

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Welcome back to Still I Rise — the podcast that reminds us healing isn’t just about surviving what happened to us, but about rediscovering who we are after.

Today, we meet Kathy Burns, a woman whose story—The Fight of My Life—captures the quiet strength that follows the storm. Like so many survivors, Kathy believed the hardest part was behind her once chemo ended and surgery was over. Surrounded by love from family and friends, she thought she had everything she needed to move forward.

But something was still missing — a space where she could truly exhale. A space where grief could be released, not hidden. Through You Night, Kathy found that space — a sisterhood of women who understood the kind of tired that comes after the fight. Women who didn’t pity her, but got her. Women who held her hand as she began to heal the parts of her heart she hadn’t even realized were still aching.

This is Kathy’s story — a story of faith, courage, and the sacred power of finding your people. Because sometimes, the fight of your life leads you straight into the arms of those who remind you: you never have to rise alone.

Support the show

Still I Rise features stories from You Night's STORY CRAFTING COMMUNITY. To read additional stories, visit our Facebook page:

https://www.facebook.com/YouNightStories. Would you like to participate in a 6-week Story Crafting small group experience so that you can share your story? Write to us at teamyounight@gmail.com