Patricia Heaton Reminds Us ‘God Is In Charge’
By Movieguide® Contributor
Patricia Heaton is sharing the importance of trusting in God’s plan and accepting that “God’s in control.”
“God, in His mercy, withheld any success from me because I wanted it too much,” she said of her early career while appearing on “The Storytellers with Andrew Erwin” podcast. “[I] really wanted to be famous — acting was the center of my life, as opposed to God being the center of my life, for a long time, and it would have been ruinous for me if I had been successful any earlier than I was.”
The EVERYBODY LOVES RAYMOND actress continued, “I think it only happened in the timing it did because I was able to center God in my life, and when that happened, I think He knew it was safe for me to start being successful and have all the things that come with that.”
Heaton also spoke about how faith has guided her throughout her life. She mentioned that, despite her family’s money worries, she always remembered her father making sure to donate to different charities.
“I always knew that, if I was in a difficult place, the best thing you could do is just look for someone else who needed something, and focus on that, and let God take care of the problems in your life and don’t worry about it,” she explained.
Heaton pointed to the importance of trusting in God’s plan, as well, saying, “You need to show up every day and do your best work, but God is in charge, and there’s no use trying to force something that He doesn’t have for you, because it’s not going to work out.”
“That has been such a blessing for me…because the Lord was guiding my steps and carving out my path,” the actress said. “You just have this eternal perspective that God’s in control, and if it’s not meant to be, then He’s protecting me.”
Heaton frequently talks about her faith, telling The Christian Post, “It’s kind of our job here as Christians to certainly extend the love of Christ, the love that He extended to us, to extend it to others through our actions.”
She extends that love through her humanitarian work with World Vision — something she initially thought she would have to choose over her acting career.
“God, in his goodness, hadn’t asked me to choose between those two doors,” Heaton wrote in an essay for World Vision. “He’d opened the missionary door after all. He allowed me to have my acting career, which I love, but also to use it to help people.”
Movieguide® previously reported on Heaton’s work with World Vision:
Patricia Heaton recently teamed up with WorldVision for a humanitarian trip to provide aid for communities in Kenya.
The actress took a nine-hour commercial flight, a two-hour flight on a smaller plane, and a three-hour car ride to get to her destination.
Heaton said she got “quite an exuberant welcome” from the people in the communities of Kalapata and Nakorio.
“It was sort of unexpected,” she shared. “It was pretty moving. We were pulled into a beautiful church with every pastor from the area where there was dancing, speeches. It was quite an exuberant welcome. We had a great time.”
Heaton and WorldVision have been working together for six years now. She traveled to Rwanda in 2019 to help the organization distribute clean water.
“I think when we’re in the Hollywood community we can get sort of isolated and insulated,” she explained. “And when you fly over this beautiful country its’ dry and it’s very big and it’s hot. It’s not an easy place to support a family, and it’s really a reminder we need to keep reminding ourselves of how much we have and how less fortunate other people are. To be part of the solution and bringing hope to people, there’s nothing more wonderful. And I think that’s what we saw when people were coming and singing and dancing, because, in us, they see hope, and it’s a privilege and an honor to be able to represent that to people.”
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Now more than ever we’re bombarded by darkness in media, movies, and TV. Movieguide® has fought back for almost 40 years, working within Hollywood to propel uplifting and positive content. We’re proud to say we’ve collaborated with some of the top industry players to influence and redeem entertainment for Jesus. Still, the most influential person in Hollywood is you. The viewer.
What you listen to, watch, and read has power. Movieguide® wants to give you the resources to empower the good and the beautiful. But we can’t do it alone. We need your support.
You can make a difference with as little as $7. It takes only a moment. If you can, consider supporting our ministry with a monthly gift. Thank you.
Movieguide® is a 501c3 and all donations are tax deductible.
