Speaker 1: 0:41

Hello and welcome back to the Fit Soul Podcast. I am so grateful that you are here. Thank you for tuning in and for any new listeners. I'm so excited that you are here and I don't believe you're here by accident. I believe it is a divine appointment. Friend, and actually my doctor on the podcast, dr Meredith Travelstead welcome, thank you, amy. I'm so glad that we finally made this work. We have been trying.

Speaker 1: 1:17

We have we have so you've been my physician since I've been living in Mississippi and I'm just really I'm so excited to share your story with my listeners because I love the mission that you have, I love your heart and I love what you're doing. So, again, thank you for being here and welcome. Thank you.

Speaker 2: 1:40

The feeling is mutual, the admiration is mutual. Thank you.

Speaker 1: 1:46

Okay, so well, just a little bit about yourself. How long have you been practicing medicine and how long did you know you wanted to be a doctor, all that.

Speaker 2: 1:54

Well, I've been practicing obstetrics and gynecology for 23 years at the Woman's Clinic in Jackson Mississippi.

Speaker 1: 2:02

If you don't have a doctor, are you even taking new patients? Not right this minute? Oh, never mind, never mind.

Speaker 2: 2:08

I have a lot of great partners that are yeah you can still come here.

Speaker 2: 2:13

Okay, yes, so it's been a pleasure. I thought when I was little my dad was an oral surgeon and I thought I wanted to do some kind of surgery. I loved watching him in high school I went to assist him and I didn't know what kind of surgery I wanted to do and then I went. When I went to medical school I thought you know, it'd be some kind of surgical subspecialty. And then when I did the OBGYN rotation, I thought, wow, this is neat. They do surgery but they get to know women and they see women year after year and build a relationship. And then delivering a baby was just the most wonderful thing in the world and I wouldn't trade anything. It's a special, special time, really special time with a family. So it was just to me it's the best job ever because you get all of the things. You get surgery and you get continuity of care, get to know your patients and their families year after year, and delivering a baby is just the most precious thing.

Speaker 1: 3:14

It's got to be the most precious thing. All of that you said about surgery and all of that I couldn't be more opposite.

Speaker 1: 3:20

So I love that God made you that way. So I love that God made you that way. But I'll never forget, meredith, when I gave birth to my daughter, my firstborn, and had this precious doctor, he was older, dr Armstrong. Yes, and Dr Armstrong we had all sorts of. I was in labor for it was like 18 hours. It was a long time and I think most people would have done a C-section, but he was old school.

Speaker 2: 3:49

And that was fine by me, because I didn't want to C-section.

Speaker 1: 3:51

She was sunny side up so it was a struggle, difficult.

Speaker 1: 3:54

It was a difficult labor and delivery, yes, and finally, by the time she came, I remember my mom and my ex-husband all of them were excited and they ran out the door, you know, to show the baby to everybody. Everybody was waiting and in that time my great-grandmother passed away in the same hospital where I was the very same day, a few hours before. It was just this kind of crazy day, Wow, and they didn't tell me until after I had given birth. But it was just Dr Armstrong and I in the room, and it was just Dr Armstrong and I in the room and it was like I've been in labor for so long and I was like, oh my gosh, I mean, it was just. You can't. A mother can't describe that feeling.

Speaker 1: 4:32

There's no words for it and I was emotional and it was just me in there and the baby. No, they had taken the baby and it's just me and him and I'm just processing it all. I said, dr Armstrong, I know you do this all the time, but and he stopped me, he goes it is a miracle every single time.

Speaker 2: 4:54

What a beautiful, beautiful thing. Wow, every time.

Speaker 1: 4:55

Wow, that's right. Absolutely, life is a miracle. People ask all the time.

Speaker 2: 4:57

do you ever get tired of this? I'm like never. I mean, it's just so, it's just so awesome yeah.

Speaker 1: 5:05

So you have a demanding career, yes, and you've got three boys. Three boys. You're a busy mom yes, ma'am, and those are your priorities. What I love about you is that you also have a mission beyond. God's given you a calling and a mission, and I would love to talk about that and, really to me, the impact you're making. I look and I'm like, wow, she's amazing.

Speaker 2: 5:38

Well, it's kind of a funny story. When the pandemic was going on and everything was shutting down, you could just feel the anxiety that all everyone had and patients had and uh, room after room, in these exam rooms, you know, seeing patients, um you, just, everyone was so anxious and worried and depressed and isolated and uh, they weren't interacting with family anymore and churches were shutting down and at that time in my life I was not on any kind of social media. I kind of tried to stay away from it.

Speaker 2: 6:18

Just for you know, boundaries as you're saying and I was a little trepidatious about it but I didn't well, back up at our church our women's minister had asked me in the past several times to do like your testimony, share your story, talk about you know some ministry or whatever you're doing. And I was like you know some ministry or whatever you're doing, and I was like I don't really do that kind of thing. You know, I didn't want to put myself out there and I've made excuses many, many times. I felt like as a physician I would be like holier than thou. I didn't want to be preachy or, you know, self-righteous, and I, you know maybe, was a little intimidated by it. So I always made excuses.

Speaker 2: 7:11

And so also at the same time, my husband and I grew up together. Basically, we dated in high school, went to the same church youth group oh wow, and it's in South Jackson, and we we grew up there and then went, moved and went to first baptist and went to college, through there, um, got married and med school and then babies and, um, I are. At some point we knew that this great, this church had started called city church, which we're very involved with now and it's in south jackson, and the kids and all knew that this church had started called City Church, which we're very involved with now, and it's in South Jackson, and the kids and all that were younger than us at our church, our home church, are now the ministers of this church and they had felt the calling to go take sack lunches to an apartment complex in basically near Metro Center Mall inner city, Highway 80, South Jackson, and took lunches For those of you who aren't from this area.

Speaker 2: 8:15

Like it is, you got to be careful. Very poor, poor part of town.

Speaker 1: 8:19

Well, poor part of town but also dangerous part of town. Yes, it just. You got to be incredibly careful of town.

Speaker 2: 8:28

It just you. You gotta be incredibly careful. So these little young 20 something year olds um started going on Saturdays taking sack lunches like a corndog.

Speaker 1: 8:33

Capri Sun and a moon pie, or whatever.

Speaker 2: 8:36

And and uh knock on doors and I don't really know how that got started. Their calling got started. But you know, you know these kids in these apartment complexes. They had school breakfast and lunch all week long but on Saturdays they often go without food. In Jackson Mississippi you think that doesn't happen, but it does.

Speaker 2: 8:58

So they would just congregate outside and they just kept going, week after week, bringing lunches, knocking on doors, and they would have outdoor bible studies and eventually some parents would come out, some, and they would meet, you know, every weekend. And then they started meeting in the school right by the apartment complex and it became really a little church service. And then they met in a city, a community center, and eventually there was a church near a hospital in south jackson uh, merits central now, um, uh, and the church had just dwindled away and was closing its doors and they just handed them the keys and said here you go.

Speaker 2: 9:43

And so they renovated this church and it's right there on Raven Road and it has grown and the model really was the kids first came and they still go every Sunday and pick them up and then now we've had a whole generation of kids growing up in the church. One of the kids' names was Ishmael and he was eight years old when they first started coming and we weren't involved until they were several years into the church, not on any consistent basis until then. But one time I asked Ish he was like 23 or 24 by this time and he's telling me the story of how it was from his perspective An African-American 8-year-old in Jackson, with these white 20-year-olds coming into their apartments and knocking on doors, and he was hilarious about it. He was like what are y'all doing? What do you want from us, are you?

Speaker 1: 10:48

trying to get money.

Speaker 2: 10:50

And he didn't understand why they were coming. And he told his whole story and his perspective and it was hilarious. I'm like Ishmael, we've got to tell this story. Somebody's got to tell this story. Tell the story, tell the story. I'm trying to pull on everybody around in the ministry team. I'm like y'all need to tell the story of City Church, you need to tell the story of City Church. And so eventually, well, I think I'm going to pause that and take a side trail.

Speaker 2: 11:21

So during COVID, our women's ministry decided they were going to send out videos women doing a personal video and just send it out because they weren't meeting. And so our women's minister sent a text to me I want you to do a video for this COVID. You know, shut in, kind of, send out videos about your. And she said it's Psalm 23. And at that point I had, um, my husband had a year uh, let's see when was that? Maybe five years before that, my husband had fallen off our roof and had traumatic brain injury, temporal bone fractures, and I had followed him to the hospital and then he was in the ambulance and I was behind him. And at that point, going through that in my life, I was really realized that I was by myself because we had no family here and I didn't know who to call because I always called him I always called Joel, and so in that moment of following behind him in the ambulance, it was Psalm 23 that came to my mind and that's what I kept repeating.

Speaker 2: 12:44

You know, the Lord is my shepherd. I shall not want he makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul and even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me, your rod and your staff. They comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil. My cup overflows. Surely goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

Speaker 2: 13:18

And so, when my women's minister asked me to do this video, I felt like an almost audible word of God, like almost audible God saying it's time. Yeah, it was like it's time. And I said I just I can't do this. And it was like no, you have to. Like God was saying, okay, I've brought you through your husband's recovery and all that struggle and and I've, I've given you a testimony and it's time for you to speak it. And so, again, I had not done any Facebook or anything. In my office here I had a nurse from labor and delivery come over and video me.

Speaker 2: 14:08

And at that time I had this idea that I was going to quote Psalm 23 with all the COVID garb on. So I had a scrub, gown, a scrub, you know, the N95 mask, the shield over you, the hat on your head, because we thought our hair got COVID back then, I mean, it was like full on.

Speaker 2: 14:31

So when we started, when you started videoing me, that's where I started. And then I took every article off. Like with each verse, I took an article of clothing off and by the end it was just you know, no, no, no, scrub clothes and just my scrubs. And I said, you know, no matter what we have to put on during this time of the pandemic, whatever garb we have to cover up with, um, you know, our, our rock, our salvation is Jesus Christ.

Speaker 2: 15:01

And that was David that quoted that scripture and he's. He was saying that because he knew. And Jesus said later he said my Lord, I said to my Lord you know that I will see you in heaven. You know I would. You will take the right hand of the Father one day. So he, he knew the pre and he knew ahead of time there were being an anointed one, messiah. So anyway, I said it much better than I'm trying to say it right now, but that little video was shared by our women's ministry on Facebook and, mind you, I had no any idea how Facebook worked, algorithms and all that stuff. I had no social media, I was not on anything and still seeing patients every day and someone would say I saw your video, I saw your video.

Speaker 1: 15:57

I saw your video 65,000. Oh yeah, that's pretty viral.

Speaker 2: 16:02

I mean just a little tax in Mississippi church, you know, um, and I still filed that away, still had no idea, didn't do anything with that at all. So back to Ishmael. This was, well, you know, six months or so later and in my patients, they would say, one lady in particular, I remember a sweet little old lady seeing me six months after that video was done. She said I just want you to know, when I was in despair, locked in, not getting out, not seeing anybody, I watched that video over and over and over again. I'm like really, I mean I was just shocked, I was just so surprised Again, just filed that away, didn't think anything about it.

Speaker 2: 16:52

And so Ishmael, one night, a Christmas party at the church, there was a program going on and we had presents in the car. We went out to get presents and his mother was there. Now, he was raised, raised really, by his grandmother. His mother wasn't there very often so I didn't know her as well, but I had known Ish. He was older than my boys, so kind of they looked up to him when we would go to church.

Speaker 2: 17:18

I knew him a couple of years in and, um, and we went out to get presents from the car and his mom was walking kind of near us and she stopped me in the parking lot and she said she just looked at me and she said did you used to work at University, mississippi Medical Center? And I said yes, ma'am. She said did you deliver babies? And I said, well, yes, ma'am, I trained there a long time ago but, yeah, I deliver babies there. But it was a long, long time ago, like 20 years ago. And she said you delivered my son Ishmael oh my goodness, oh my goodness so at that point I was like what?

Speaker 2: 18:01

because this was like you know a guy who we went out to dinner with. He'd come to our house. He loved all my boys, they looked up to him, strong christian guy who had been raised in that church, and uh, it was just so amazing. I ran into the church and I grabbed him and shook him like ish, I delivered you. I mean, you just don't know kids, you know you deliver it in residency. Yeah, it, just you know it in residency.

Speaker 2: 18:25

Yeah, it just you know, it was just whenever you're on call in training, you don't know them, and so it was just amazing to me. I was just in tears and I even called my nerves. I'm like I just met somebody. I delivered in residency and I've known him. Anyway, it was just great and I I was like ish, now, now we have to tell the story, we have to tell the story. And so I just knew, I mean, it was just like the it's time.

Speaker 2: 18:56

That was my first video and I said this was a divine appointment. That's how the name came. This was a divine appointment. This was God putting a stamp on this ministry that I was involved with and me meeting him. And if you ever just kind of wavered, should I really be here, should I be at our home church, or you know, we were kind of doing both and we still kind of do both places. But, um, it put a stamp on that ministry for me and I wanted to share that story.

Speaker 2: 19:29

Because I asked Ishmael, I said how and why did those kids coming and bringing lunches and how did you take on their love of Jesus Christ, what was it about that for you? And he said well, they just loved on me, they just showed me so much love and I didn't know how, um, how that worked. And then he said they just kept coming, and so that is just burned in my head. They just kept coming. It was like the commitment, like we're going to be here and we're going to still be here and we're going to keep coming back, and it's not a drop in and drop out, it's like they just kept coming and so it was just. It's just remarkable.

Speaker 2: 20:23

The great back story to it is Ishmael's grandmother and another grandmother at the complex were praying together before those young people ever came. They prayed that God would send someone to bring Jesus Christ to their grandsons Wow. Bring Jesus Christ to their grandsons Wow. And so it was like they were praying and God burned this team and put them all together, and to me it's a beautiful combination of all that, that is, that is Mamas and grandmamas don't stop praying, keep on praying, keep on praying.

Speaker 1: 21:03

That's right I wonder if other ministries had come occasionally. Yeah, I wonder I ministries had come occasionally.

Speaker 2: 22:21

I wonder, I don't know or I mean, it was such a random thing why that apartment complex? Why did they just pick it out of the blue? Why did they feel burdened to go there? It wasn't near their church. Yeah, so I love that. It's amazing. That is an amazing story.

Speaker 1: 22:38

I'm so glad you shared that, so you've got this video that's going viral. That's no big deal. You're making connections and divine appointments over Ishmael and that whole ministry. And now it's validated, it's still 2020. And are you now like okay, it's time to use my voice it's time.

Speaker 2: 23:00

Well, I guess I, I guess we were learning YouTube, but I put that video for Ishmael on YouTube and I shared it and at first just on YouTube I still wasn't on social media then and and that video I can't even remember how many views it was shared. A lot, I guess people were on their phones and computers a lot during the pandemic.

Speaker 2: 23:29

But anyway, he um, I always say to him you're my famous friends because he, he will tell me all the time somebody saw something you did about me because I'm like, well, you're part of my story.

Speaker 2: 23:42

Now I'm sorry because I've shared the story so much, but his video was shared a lot and then I just started, I did eventually do social media and put it on there and it was shared a lot. At that point there were some other things coming across my lot and I at that point, uh, there were some other things coming across my path and I guess, in the nature of my job, I was still seeing so many people down and anxious and pandemic, just isolated people from each other, and I wanted people to realize that God is still in the business of changing lives. And I was seeing some just remarkable people coming in and out of my rooms or that God would just bring across my path Like man. People need to hear the story. They need to hear the story, they need to hear what God's doing here, and so that's really how it happened that I started doing a podcast. It was really just posting some videos at first and then I love this. It grew.

Speaker 1: 24:41

That is awesome that is amateur.

Speaker 2: 24:43

Compared to you, I'm amateur, but it's really just a just a joy. It's something where you're doing something for fun, yeah, and it's a joy. It's not monetary, it's nothing else, it's just a joy. And every time I think I'm, I say to my husband all the time is this Joel, is this crazy, is this cheesy? Should I do this? Does this valuable? Does anybody care about this? Am I wasting my time? Does this sound preachy? These are all the questions, like the insecurities like you were talking about, um, and every time I question it and I put it before the Lord, he confirms it with someone saying something Absolutely. He confirms it every time and I'm like, okay, I hear you, and I think Every time. And I'm like, okay, I hear you, and I think, well, so many times in Scripture too. I was reading in 2 Corinthians 4, I think it is, and it says I believed. Therefore, I spoke.

Speaker 1: 25:44

And I was like, yeah, I still need to do that, you know. Sorry to interrupt you. One of the things I was going to say was is that I'm convinced that the enemy is after our voices, and I think, all believers, but particularly women's voices, and I hear this consistently across the board. In fact, recently, a young woman I watched her go through high school and now she's a professional. I was like, when did time go by so quickly?

Speaker 1: 26:14

Anyway, her mother attended a Bible study that I led and she was telling me the story of. She felt like she wanted to start a Bible study, but who would want to listen to somebody like her? And her mom was telling her she goes well, I did a Bible study, but who would want to listen to somebody like her? And her mom was telling her she goes well, I did a Bible study and it was great and you know, and it was just encouraging her to do that, and so she stepped out and she did do it and it's going so great. But just a young lady. And it was just really interesting to me that she thought who wants to hear my voice?

Speaker 1: 26:48

I mean, and I think that's what we all think, but I believe that's the enemy, because if we stop, then that message can't go forth from the ripple, from the light, from the influence that we have Right. And so I just think it's so powerful that you are doing nothing like balancing all the, the big, big ball. Your practice is your first. I love that you're saying that this is a hobby. Should you be doing it?

Speaker 2: 27:19

The answer is yes, don't you?

Speaker 1: 27:20

stop.

Speaker 2: 27:21

I'm going to march up to your office and say you better start that podcast again. I'm going to call Amy. Should I be doing this, Amy, should I be doing?

Speaker 1: 27:27

this? The answer is yes. Yes, the answer is yes, but that it can go out, in that you can. You know God's word does not return, void, amen, and that this is a modern day way that his word goes out. That's right Through the YouTube, through the podcast, through the Google, through Facebook, the Instagram, all the other things?

Speaker 2: 27:50

Yes, absolutely, yeah, yeah, yeah.

Speaker 1: 27:51

So I just love that you're shining your light and it's a beautiful thing. So the name of your podcast is called Divine Appointments.

Speaker 2: 28:01

I love it, I love it, I love it, and somebody also said I said, yeah, you know I have appointments every day, appointments patients coming and they're like, oh yeah, that know, I have appointments every day, appointments patients coming, and they're like, oh yeah, that too I have medical appointments. I didn't make that connection. I know it's like, yeah, that is it's like a play on words.

Speaker 2: 28:19

I'm a physician, but there are divine appointments. Have you ever felt that way, like you meet someone? Oh yeah, and it was divine that you met them, and it was divine that you met them and it encourages you, or you encourage them, and it's supposed to be. It's like we need to recognize it more than it's from the Lord Divine.

Speaker 1: 28:37

I used to pray. I don't do this this is reminding me to do it, but I used to pray. Lord, who's my divine appointment today? Where are my appointments?

Speaker 2: 28:45

Where are they?

Speaker 1: 28:46

And it was bizarre how they were very clear. In fact, let me tell you this one divine appointment. This was a really cool divine appointment, because we all have divine appointments. I was better at remembering to pray that every day.

Speaker 2: 29:02

Do you ever do that Like start doing this and it's like this great habit, and then somehow or another, what?

Speaker 1: 29:07

happened to that one. Okay, I'm going to pick it back up. So I was on my walk I do a walk every morning and I pray, and I was praying for um. I was pray. It was very clear to me, to my who my divine appointment was and to reach out to her. So I did, and I just sent her a quick text hey, I'm thinking about you today, I'm praying for you. You're amazing. She actually she's. Yet she is, she's just amazing. So you're amazing, I'm just so blown. Today I'm praying for you. You're amazing. She actually she is, she's just amazing. I said you're amazing.

Speaker 1: 29:32

I'm just so blown away by all that you do. You're an amazing mom. And she reached back immediately said hey, can you, can you call me? I'm like, yeah, and this, I know she's super busy. I'm like, yeah, can I do it at like three o'clock today? I was slammed all day long. Can I do it at three o'clock today? I wanted to make space, yeah. So I called her and anyway, she just broke down. She was in the middle of cancer, hadn't told anybody and was in the hospital by herself.

Speaker 1: 30:02

It was her birthday and she couldn't be with anyone at this place of where she was in her cancer because her immune system was so low and she just needed some encouragement. It was like, wow, okay, so divine appointments are. They are just powerful. That's awesome, okay. So how can my audience connect with you and find you where? Tell us where you are.

Speaker 2: 30:28

All the places uh, yes, I am on social media now. Uh, so my name on facebook, meredith travelstead and youtube, instagram, um, and then uh, divide appointments is the name on the audio, like platforms like apple and Spotify and those.

Speaker 1: 30:50

All the things. I'll definitely link everything up in the show notes. I just want to say thank you for pursuing the things that God's put on your heart, for being courageous to use your voice. You are a woman of valor and a woman of impact. Your light is bright. I'm just so proud of you. I am, I'm just so proud I mean, I don't want to sound like I'm proud of you, I am, I'm just so blown away. I'm so grateful for all that you're doing and it inspires me and you inspire me, thank you, thank you so much.

Speaker 1: 31:22

All right, you guys. Well, thank you for being here and go follow Meredith in all of the places. Go listen to her podcast and if you found value in this podcast, do us a favor and share it. What did I say? Sharing is caring.

Speaker 2: 31:38

Sharing is caring.

Speaker 1: 31:39

So tag us on it. And anyway, thanks for being here, everybody, bye.