Why I Started Center Stage: A Story of Faith, Family and Surrender

Why I Started Center Stage

Peeling back the curtain with Katie Kain

Hi everyone, my name is Katie Kain. I am the owner of Center Stage. Lately, I’ve been feeling challenged to pull back the curtain and share a little more of my own heart and story with you. Whether your child is brand new to our studio or has been growing with us for years, I want you to truly know me, and, by extension, the heart behind the incredible teachers who pour into your kids every single week.

I am so excited to share some truths with you that I have learned from walking through some really difficult things. I know you all can relate! This is me peeling back the curtain on my personal walk with God and journey with OCD, Tourette Syndrome, adoption, and running this business called Center Stage. I hope you feel known and not alone while jumping into this series!

Where It All Began: A Story of Faith, Family and Surrender

For those of you who don’t know me, part of my story is living with severe Tourette Syndrome and OCD, which I was diagnosed with at 8 years old (more on that later!).  From a young age, the arts were a way for me to find release from the severe symptoms I experienced growing up. 

However, some of the theatre and dance studios I was a part of were so harsh as I got older that the joy of the arts was stolen. They seemed to care more about a perfect performance than the children performing. If you messed up, you were yelled at in front of all your friends. As someone with severe anxiety, that kind of culture was very difficult for me. I started Center Stage as a way to create safe, Christ-like spaces for children to express their creativity and love who God created them to be. 

A Season of Surrender

Last year, due to my health, I had to take a step back from working as director of Center Stage. My doctor found that I was highly inflamed, which was causing a multitude of symptoms. Years of chronic stress and living with OCD and Tourette Syndrome for so long had really broken my body. 

Taking a season off at Center Stage was one of the hardest decisions I ever made. Learning to let go and surrender became my life theme this past year. 

Lessons from My Grandad

Walking through everything I did this last year made me reflect a lot on my grandad. He was the kindest man I have ever known, completely surrendered to Jesus. Especially as a selfish teenager, he would always remind me that life wasn’t all about me; it was about Jesus. He taught me about the kindness of Jesus, and that is what I have found to be true. He is the kindest person I know, meeting me in the darkest, messiest moments where, in all honesty, I give up. 

My grandad was a beautiful picture of endurance, surrender, and patience.  His favorite book of the Bible was James, and he told me to read it often. It is only now that I see the magic of the book.. Trials produce something far richer than anything we can produce without hardship. 

Grandad had many health problems, including multiple heart attacks and a heart transplant, yet he was miraculously spared on more than one occasion. One of the last times he was in the hospital, it once again looked bleak. The doctors told him this was it. But then, the numbers started to shift. He looked at me with the biggest smile on his face and said, “Well, he did it again.”

He Did It Again

I remembered that moment so clearly one night last year when I was on night four of no sleep, scared it would never get better. How long, O Lord? But as per usual, Jesus came through. He did it again. He saved me again.

The biggest thing I have learned in this confusing, difficult last year is that it has never been about me not giving up, or me having enough faith. I can safely say that I have given up. I have thrown in the towel. I released my grip on Jesus. BUT God doesn’t give up, and He  doesn’t release His grip. He is ever pursuing, every saving, and ever showing me His wonders, not my own. When there is suffering, you better believe glory is coming!