I interviewed Carolyn Kendrick at her second home in Bluff, Utah.

Carolyn has become a dear friend and I consider her family. She’s genuinely kind and makes a point to live her life caring about others.

People greatly respect and love her because of that. While we were in Bluff, a continual stream of drop-in visitors showed up at the door. They were eager to spend a few moments with her and always welcomed and offered a cup of coffee.

Music, dancing, singing, and whistling are a daily occurrence as she cooks meals and bakes delightful things in her kitchen. She’s a joy to be around.

Life has thrown some serious challenges at Carolyn over the years. She’s persevered through all of them. Carolyn holds on to hope through her faith in God, encouraging people around her by how she lives her life.

Carolyn Kendrick speaks hope every day.

Bluff, Utah – October 6, 2018

Sherie:: So first of all, please tell me your name.

Carolyn:: Carolyn Kendrick

Sherie:: And how old are you, Carolyn?

Carolyn:: Seventy-eight.

Sherie:: And where are you from?

Carolyn:: Durango, Colorado.

Sherie:: And where are you now?

Carolyn:: I’m in Bluff, Utah today.

Sherie:: So tell me a little bit about yourself.

Carolyn:: Like what? (Laughing) You know me.

Sherie:: Nobody else does.

Carolyn:: Yeah, but you can write that in.

Sherie:: No, I can’t.

Carolyn:: Oh, um, I was married to Jerry Kendrick for sixty years. We were from northern New Mexico, both of us from a little village. Wagon Mound. We had two children, Harl and Deena.

Carolyn:: I was an art teacher most of my life. The latter part of my teaching career I taught at Durango High School, art and mostly ceramics, making pottery. I like to paint. I believe in Jesus, God, Holy Spirit.

Carolyn:: My disabled son, brain-injured son, takes up much of my life and prayers. I have one granddaughter. My daughter is the light of my life, she is an artist, the Director of Education at the Art Center in Durango.

Sherie:: And anything else about your lifestyle?

Carolyn:: Mmm, I grew up with Jerry, I was sixteen, I grew up being a cowgirl and helping on the ranch. So a western type of lifestyle.

Sherie:: Did you have, was ranching part of your life?

Carolyn:: Uh-huh. Jerry was a rancher and we had a ranch. I still have a portion of it. But I don’t do ranching anymore.

Sherie:: Okay. So, what do you hope for?

Carolyn:: My hope now lies in the happiness of my children and my granddaughter, I hope for them a wonderful life. For myself, I hope for, and have, a quiet, peaceful existence because I believe in God and His power to bring that into my life. So even though things get hectic, I have that peace.

Sherie:: So, would you say that it’s God that gives you hope?

Carolyn:: Yes, and the hope of an afterlife, I believe in the afterlife. My hope lies in Jesus because He, uh, I believe he came to Earth and lived as a man and knew what it was like to be a man and He took our sins, all of them, on Himself and died for that.

Sherie:: And what gives you joy?

Carolyn:: Oh, just everything. I love life, I love beautiful sunrises and sunsets. My dogs give me joy and my friends. My life is filled with joy every day. I love church, I love goin’ to church. I belong to a little church I’ve belonged to for close to fifty years. It’s like family.

Sherie:: Do you do something to encourage hope in others?

Carolyn:: I hope by living my life a certain way that, and helping others, that I give them hope. I don’t preach to people. I just live it.

Sherie:: So if there was something specific that you’d like to do to encourage hope in others, it’s just how you live your life?

Carolyn:: Uh-huh, I live my life and I’m always willing to give and to help anybody.

Sherie:: Okay. What would you like to say to someone who’s struggling and has lost hope?

Carolyn:: Uh, mostly what I do is just love them and tell them, you know, there is a way. Uh, I try to show them that somebody really cares. A lot of times it’s not the time to say something about Jesus because that’s not, I mean if they’re in real despair they just need someone to care and to hold them, or, and I don’t know I just am me.

Sherie:: And, what do you hope for the nation?

Carolyn:: My hope for the nation is that they’ll turn back to God and quit fighting, being so divisive, being… I don’t, the only hope for the nation is God. And so much immorality and evil in the whole world that I don’t know how God stands us. (Laughs) God is our only hope, God and Jesus.

Sherie: Okay, well thank you.

Carolyn:: You’re welcome.

Sherie:: That was a wonderful interview!

Carolyn:: You think?! (Laughing)