My name is Katherine Coolman, but everyone calls me Kathy. My dad was a coal miner and my mother a teacher. They were two of the best people I’ve ever known. I went to George Washington High School, which is now famous for being part of the epicenter of the opioid crisis in our country. When I was 16, almost 17, I got pregnant with my son Robert — and this is where it gets complicated!
Katherine Coolman Evangelist
My name is Katherine Coolman, but everyone calls me Kathy.
My name is Katherine Coolman, but everyone calls me Kathy.
I’m the daughter of a coal miner and a teacher. They were two of the best people I’ve ever known. The one thing they loved more than anything was helping those in need—people who didn’t always have the resources to take care of themselves, like my grandfather did when he found himself homeless after losing his job during the Great Depression. That’s why I work here at The Salvation Army: because it gives me an opportunity to carry on their legacy by providing food and shelter for those who need it most!
My dad was a coal miner and my mother a teacher. They were two of the best people I’ve ever known.
My dad was a coal miner and my mother a teacher. They were two of the best people I’ve ever known. My mother taught me to read before I went to school, and she always told me that if you don’t learn anything new every day, you are not living your life well. After she died, I found her diary filled with all kinds of wisdom about how to live life well. She wrote things like “I want to teach my children how to love their neighbors as themselves” and “If we had more money, would we be happier? No!”
And now here I am in Silicon Valley—my mom would be so proud! She always said that the only way out of this place is through education; otherwise there’s no hope for anybody here but becoming rich (and what’s wrong with being rich?).
I went to George Washington High School, which is now famous for being part of the epicenter of the opioid crisis in our country.
I grew up in West Virginia, a state that has seen an influx of opioid users in recent years. George Washington High School was the subject of a case study published by the National Institutes of Health about how social media platforms are used to sell drugs.
The opioid crisis is not just an issue for West Virginia; it’s a national problem that impacts almost every community in America. In fact, according to the latest data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), there were over 70,000 drug overdose deaths in 2018 alone—a 19% increase over 2017’s total!
My mom was a Christian, and although she died before I met and married my husband, it was her example that helped bring me to faith.
My mom was a Christian, and although she died before I met and married my husband, it was her example that helped bring me to faith. She taught me to pray and read the Bible regularly. She also taught me about God’s love for all people, even those who were different from us.
My mother taught me that everyone is created in God’s image and that we have a responsibility to love one another as Christ loved us (1 John 4:19). By this standard, I know that my mother knew Jesus—because how could she claim to know him if she didn’t love others?
Although Bob and I were married by a Justice of the Peace, we always felt that the Lord had brought us together and that he had ordained our marriage.
And since you have been a Christian, I assume that you believe in the concept of marriage being ordained by God.
We were married by a Justice of the Peace in our small church in a small town. But we always felt that the Lord had brought us together and that he had ordained our marriage.
Never did we imagine that he would die just four months later at age 48 in a mining accident.
Bob was a great man. Never did we imagine that he would die just four months later at age 48 in a mining accident.
Katherine and Bob had been married for less than five months when he died.
What kept me sane during those days right after Robert’s death was knowing that Jesus had gone before him into heaven — and he wasn’t alone there when he died!
What kept me sane during those days right after Robert’s death was knowing that Jesus went before him into heaven — and he wasn’t alone there when he died!
I knew that Jesus was not alone because I know what it means to be loved by God. And I know that this love is the kind of love that never stops being real, no matter what happens in your life or around you. It doesn’t matter how many times we fail—we will always be forgiven if we ask for forgiveness, because God is a good Father who loves us all so much!
It doesn’t make sense if you try to do it on your own, but when you realize how much God loves his people — how much he loves you — it makes sense because he is love!
It doesn’t make sense if you try to do it on your own, but when you realize how much God loves his people — how much he loves you — it makes sense because he is love! God’s love is the ultimate solution to everything.
God’s love is the ultimate answer to everything.
God’s love is the ultimate answer.
God’s love can make everything make sense eventually
God’s love can make everything make sense eventually.
We are all trying to figure out the meaning of life and we never will if God doesn’t show us that it is him and his plans for us that are the true meaning of life.
Closing
I’ve always been a strong believer in the power of love. And I know that God’s love can help you make sense of anything!