Where Grace Meets Truth | Honest Conversations

Jeannette Gratz | Deaf Advocacy, Faith, & Family

Where Grace Meets Truth is a podcast featuring honest conversations about faith, family, hardship, Deaf advocacy, and the ways God's grace shows up in real life. Through personal stories and reflective conversations, Jeannette shares her journey as a mother of Deaf children, interpreter, ministry leader, and believer navigating both pain and purpose with authenticity and hope.  

Episodes

  1. 2d ago

    Carrying Less, Trusting More: A Deaf Ministry Journey

    As a Deaf Ministry pastor nearing ten years of service, I reflect on the joys of ministry, the importance of creating access, and the power of raising Deaf and Deaf-blind leaders. I share the story of my daughter leading worship, the hidden work to make inclusion possible, and how one person saying 'yes' inspires others to serve. I also open up about burnout, guilt over missed Sundays, and learning to trust God, set boundaries, and share responsibility so ministry can grow and thrive.

    17 min

  2. May 26

    When Church Hurts: Wrestling With the Faith I Inherited

    In this episode of Where Grace Meets Truth, I share the story behind why I resisted ministry for so many years. Growing up as a pastor's kid in a culture shaped by legalism, shame, performance, and rigid expectations, I witnessed both the beauty of faith and the wounds church culture can leave behind.  From public humiliation after becoming pregnant at nineteen, to watching my Deaf children struggle to find true accessibility and inclusion in church spaces, these experiences deeply shaped the way I viewed leadership, faith and even God himself.  But this episode is not just about church hurt. It is about confronting the painful reality that if we never examine our own wounds, we can unknowingly repeat the very things that hurt us. It is about wrestling with fear, inherited patterns, grace, surrender, and the kind of Christianity Jesus actually modeled.  If you have ever struggled with church hurt, legalism, calling, or the tension between faith and healing, this conversation is for you.

    18 min

  3. May 19

    Criticism Is Cheap, Showing Up Is Costly

    Jeannette shares her journey fighting for her deaf twins' education — from homeschooling in a rural town to confronting inadequate school programs, unqualified interpreters, and limited language access. She explains how language and fluent communication shaped their learning and why she refused to accept minimal support. Through frustration, criticism, and rare allies, she urges parents to keep pushing for true access and opportunity, reminding listeners that showing up matters more than standing on the sidelines.

    18 min

  4. May 12

    You Need to Do Better: What a struggling parent doesn't need to hear.

    Jeannette shares a deeply personal season of life—raising four young children, including two deaf preschoolers, while her husband worked long, traveling hours. She describes the exhaustion of managing home, learning sign language, advocating for her children, and feeling unseen and judged despite doing everything she could to build a bilingual family. Amid the struggle a teacher arrived who understood, defended, and helped bridge communication gaps with compassion and practical tools. Jeannette reminds listeners that even when it feels like everything rests on your shoulders, help, community, and God's grace often arrive when they are needed most.

    16 min

  5. May 7

    Finding Language, Finding Home: Our Move, ASL, and a Mother's Faith

    Jeannette shares her family's move to South Carolina while pregnant and caring for four young children, including Deaf twins. She describes choosing ASL over cochlear implants, the challenges of finding resources in 1999–2000, and her determination to learn sign language so her children could communicate at home. She recalls the daily routines of early mornings, bus pickups, and learning from limited materials, and how gaining language helped reduce her son’s frustration and build connection within the family. The episode also covers a sudden, life-threatening abdominal infection that led to major surgery and an ICU stay. Through separation, recovery, and deep faith, Jeannette recounts how family, a devoted husband, and a caring church community provided support and glimpses of hope in a dark season.

    20 min

  6. Apr 22

    When Rumors Define You: Finding Identity in God's Truth

    Jeannette explores what to do when others form a false narrative about you—how misunderstandings happen, why they hurt, and why your identity ultimately comes from God, not public opinion. She offers practical guidance: pause before reacting, bring your hurt to God, distinguish conviction from accusation, ask for clarity, protect your heart, and choose wise, grace-filled responses.

    16 min

  7. Mar 24

    I Thought I Wasn't Enough

    After her twins are diagnosed profoundly deaf, Jeannette recounts the messy, faith-filled season of meeting her husband, discovering early intervention and a signing preschool, and learning ASL while raising three young children. Through small moments—children signing songs about Jesus, community support, and gradual progress—she finds hope and sees God at work, offering encouragement to anyone feeling overwhelmed.

    18 min

  8. Mar 17

    I Thought God Was Punishing Me

    Welcome to Where Grace Meets Truth. I'm Jeanette. In this episode I share the moment my twins were diagnosed profoundly deaf, the months of missed signs, the gut-wrenching shock and guilt I felt, and how faith and family guided us toward sign language, the deaf community, and a new understanding of God’s grace. It's a personal story about listening to truth, learning a new language, and finding hope.

    20 min
  9. Why Does This Podcast Even Exist?

    Mar 12

    Why Does This Podcast Even Exist?

    In this first episode of Where Grace Meets Truth, I share the story behind the microphone. I talk about becoming a young mom, raising four children, and how life took an unexpected turn when my twins were diagnosed as Deaf. What followed was a journey into learning sign language, discovering the Deaf community, and navigating life as a mother trying to meet the needs of all of her children at the same time. This isn’t a polished success story. It’s the real one. The messy one. It’s the story of faith wrestling with fear, parenting without a handbook, and learning that God often meets us in the middle of our hardest seasons. If you’ve ever wondered how someone ends up telling stories like this, this episode is the beginning. Pull up a chair. I’m really glad you’re here.

    12 min
  • 9 Episodes

About

Where Grace Meets Truth is a podcast featuring honest conversations about faith, family, hardship, Deaf advocacy, and the ways God's grace shows up in real life. Through personal stories and reflective conversations, Jeannette shares her journey as a mother of Deaf children, interpreter, ministry leader, and believer navigating both pain and purpose with authenticity and hope.  

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