141. Finding God in Loss, Loneliness, and Relationship Conflict | An Orthodox Perspective with Kara Mosher141. Finding God in Loss, Loneliness, and Relationship Conflict | An Orthodox Perspective with Kara Mosher
Raised & Redeemed
Michaela and Kara talk candidly about losing friends, grief, sex, and Orthodoxy, sharing how Kara’s fiancé’s death and miraculous baptism reshaped her understanding of God, community and prayer. The conversation focuses on finding God in loneliness and conflict while learning not to idolise relationships.
1:27:23•14 Oct 2026
Faith, Friendship Breakups and Miracles: Kara Mosher’s Orthodox Journey
Episode Overview
- Friendships and relationships built on partying or sin often fall away after conversion, making space for Christ-centred community.
- Treating friends or partners as idols leads to repeated hurt; only God can truly be the unconditional source of belonging.
- Sex outside marriage deeply affects the soul and emotions, so a man who refuses celibacy before marriage is unlikely to protect your spiritual well-being.
- Periods of intense loneliness can become a time to learn prayer, feel God’s comfort and stop relying on people to fill the void.
- Praying for those who hurt you, including former friends and partners, can turn painful memories into opportunities for healing and spiritual growth.
“If we're not talking, I'm praying for you, and I'm praying that God would help us in our friendship.”
How do people cope with the challenges of staying sober, grieving loss, and rebuilding relationships at the same time? This Raised & Redeemed episode brings together host Michaela Nikolaenko and guest Kara Mosher for a long, honest chat about faith, friendship and the messy reality of life after conversion.
You’ll hear Kara reflect on a history of party culture, occult involvement and charismatic Christianity, and how becoming Orthodox changed both her friendships and her romantic relationship with her fiancé Jodi, who struggled with addiction. She shares the story of his house fire, his time in ICU, and the emergency baptism she performed as he lay brain-dead: a tear fell from his eye as she baptised him, and soon after a hospital worker named Michael appeared, echoing Michaela’s patron saint.
This story threads through the whole conversation, shaping how Kara views grief, salvation and God’s mercy. Much of the chat centres on friendship breakups after coming to Christ.
Michaela talks about making idols out of friends and partners, feeling abandoned, and then realising “no friendship’s going to complete you.” Both women describe losing friends after their conversion, the loneliness that followed, and how that emptiness pushed them into deeper prayer and trust in God rather than chasing closure or clinging to old dynamics.
They also get practical: sex outside marriage, birth control, and what it means if “a man doesn’t want to be celibate.” Kara’s blunt take: if he’s husband material, he’ll care about protecting your soul, not just your body.
The pair discuss the comfort of Orthodox community, how to handle tension even with Orthodox friends, and why praying for those who hurt you can turn enemies into a “ticket to paradise.” If you’re wrestling with lost friendships, loneliness, or conflict after finding faith, this conversation might help you ask: where is God in all of this, and what new space is he trying to make in your life?
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