You were never meant to put your life on pause while you wait. The Not Just Waiting Podcast is here to help you trust God in the tension, live with purpose in every season, and pursue Jesus—even when life feels uncertain.
Hosted by writer and speaker Reanna Hoffmann, this podcast is for women who are done sitting on the sidelines of their own stories. Through biblical encouragement, honest conversations, and practical wisdom, you'll find hope for the “what ifs,” strength for the “not yets,” and reminders that you are seen, known, and deeply loved—right here and now.
62. What If You’re Not Waiting for the Plan—You’re Becoming Along the Way? with Athena Newell
What if the season you’re waiting to get through is actually the season God is using to prepare you?
In this episode of Not Just Waiting, I’m joined by Athena Newell, a wife, mom of three, family nurse practitioner, and owner of a functional medicine and movement practice in Charleston, South Carolina.
Athena shares the story of how God slowly changed her heart about leaving a job and a life she loved in Atlanta, ultimately leading her and her family to move to Charleston. What started as a difficult step of obedience eventually opened doors she couldn’t have seen from the beginning—including new opportunities in business and leadership.
But this conversation isn’t really about figuring out God’s plan. It’s about learning to trust Him when you can’t see the plan yet.
We talk about what surrender and obedience actually look like in real life, how God forms our character through difficult seasons, and why sometimes we have to walk through the hard before we understand what He was doing.
We also talk about something so many of us struggle with: carrying responsibility that was never ours to carry.
Athena shares how she learned to set boundaries around the outcomes she couldn’t control in her work and stop riding the emotional roller coaster of trying to make everything turn out right. Together, we talk about creating emotional margin, making space for God to work, and remembering that we are not the Lord.
If you’re in a season of waiting, uncertainty, transition, or becoming, I think this conversation will remind you that your life is not on pause. God may be doing more in you than you can see right now.
In this episode, we talk about:
Surrendering something you love to God
What obedience can actually look like in everyday life
Trusting God when you don’t know what comes next
How difficult seasons form our character
Learning to release outcomes we cannot control
Setting healthy boundaries without guilt
Creating emotional margin for what God wants to do next
Recognizing that you may be on the path to the plan—not at the plan yet
Find Athena Newell:
- Instagram: Athena Newell FNP (https://www.instagram.com/athenanewellfnp/)
- STAT Wellness Charleston: Functional medicine, movement, and telehealth consultations (https://www.statwellness.com/book-north-charleston/)
If this episode encouraged you, share it with a friend who is learning to trust God in the middle of her own becoming.
29 Sept 2026
61. What Does This Season Make Possible? Learning to Be Faithful in the Waiting with Addie Ott
What if the season you're waiting to get through is actually the season God is using to form you?
In this episode of Not Just Waiting, I'm joined by author, podcaster, and speaker Addie Ott for an honest conversation about faithfulness, waiting, identity, comparison, and what God is doing in the seasons that don't look the way we expected.
We talk about learning to be faithful when no one is watching, releasing our timelines and expectations, navigating rejection, and remembering that we don't always get to see the fruit of our obedience right away.
And maybe instead of only asking, “When will this season end?” we can start asking:
What does this season make possible?
If you're in a season of waiting, uncertainty, or becoming, I hope this conversation reminds you that your life is not on pause.
You are Not Just Waiting.
Connect with Addie Ott:
Website: Addisonott.com (http://addisonott.com)
Website: gentleandlowly co. (https://www.gentleandlowly.co/)
Amazon: Fellowship Over Followers (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CXD3PWW9?lv=shuf&channelId=500&plpRedirect=mhFallback)
Social Media:
IG: @addie.ott (https://www.instagram.com/addie.ott/) | @gentleandlowly.co (https://www.instagram.com/gentleandlowly.co/) | @gentleandlowly.co.pod (https://www.instagram.com/gentleandlowly.co.pod/)
FB: @addisonott | @gentleandlowlyco (https://www.facebook.com/gentleandlowlyco/?ref=NONE_xav_ig_profile_page_web)
YT: @gentleandlowlyco
Listen to Not Just Waiting wherever you listen to podcasts, and join me on Substack (https://reannahoffmann.substack.com/) for deeper reflections and encouragement for the in-between.
22 Sept 2026
60. What If God Is Forming You While You Wait? With Jessica L. Morris
What if the season you keep calling “waiting” is actually a season of becoming?
In this episode of Not Just Waiting, I’m joined by writer and spiritual director Jessica L. Morris for a deeply honest conversation about recovery, identity, disappointment, calling, and learning to trust God when life doesn’t look the way we thought it would.
Jessica shares how growing up in a family impacted by alcoholism shaped the way she understood God, how recovery changed the trajectory of her life, and how seminary helped her begin to see God—and herself—in a completely different way.
We talk about:
What God may be forming in us during seasons that feel ordinary or stuck
Releasing the identity and expectations we thought would define us
Learning to let God determine our identity instead of our past, circumstances, or other people
Why the stories of people like Abraham and Moses remind us that God’s work often takes much longer than we realize
The difference between doing our part and trying to control the outcome
What it looks like to surrender our timelines and trust God with what comes next
Finding Christ in the middle of complicated faith stories
Why waiting can be an invitation to look around and notice what God is already doing
Jessica’s story is a beautiful reminder that our beginnings don’t have to determine our endings—and that God can use even the parts of our stories we wish had been different.
If you’re in a season of waiting, uncertainty, disappointment, or becoming, I think this conversation will give you a little more hope for what God might be doing beneath the surface.
Find Jessica at JessicaLMorris.com (http://jessicalmorris.com) and explore her books and spiritual direction practice.
If this episode encouraged you, share it with a friend who is waiting, too.
Follow Not Just Waiting wherever you listen to podcasts and join me on Substack (https://reannahoffmann.substack.com/) for deeper reflections and encouragement for the in-between.
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