An Open Letter from a Jewish Believer — Carol McLeod Ministries

We never know how God might use a simple act of kindness, a genuine friendship, or a faithful prayer to change someone's life forever. In today's guest blog, author, speaker, and pastor Cara Shine shares her remarkable journey from growing up in a Jewish home with painful misconceptions about Jesus to discovering His love through the compassion and prayers of faithful Christians. Her story is a powerful reminder that the way we love others matters—and that God often uses ordinary people to accomplish extraordinary things.

I shouldn’t be here. And by “here” I mean in this Christian publication. Getting published is hard enough. But you and I? Well, the odds of us meeting like this were infinitesimally small. That’s because I was born and raised Jewish. 

My ancestors can trace our lineage back to the Cohen and Levite tribe, descendants of Moses, the priests that served in the Temples. I grew up in the synagogue surrounded by loving people, beautiful ceremonies, and deep traditions including eating apples and honey on Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, and then fasting ten days later for Yom Kippur, the day of Atonement. I loved being Jewish, and I loved God, but it wasn’t always easy.

Growing up as one of the only Jewish families in a small town in Southwestern Ohio was, in fact, quite hard. We were the only Jews in our otherwise Christian neighborhood and most of our neighbors had never met a Jew before. I imagine, to them, we must have seemed like foreigners. We used matzo crackers instead of Wonderbread for our peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and ate exotic foods like bagels. And while I’m certain that there were many loving Christians in our midst, the Christians that were the loudest were, unfortunately, also the cruelest. 

With no one to protect my brother and me on the  school bus, kids were free to say or do whatever they wanted. This included the day an older boy walked past me, patted me on the head and proudly announced to the entire bus, “Checked her for horns! All clear!” And the day another child asked, “Do you like warm weather, ‘cause it’s going to be really hot where you’re going!” And the especially personal attack of a blonde-headed girl, “My dad says your family must be ignorant since you don’t believe in Jesus Christ.” 

I would sink as low as I could into my seat on the bus, wondering why no one was speaking up to defend us, since I was certain that not everyone on that bus agreed with them. But no one ever spoke up.

The confusing part was that when we made our weekly 45-minute drive to our synagogue for Sunday school, we were never taught anything hateful about Jesus. In fact, we were taught that he was a Rabbi and teacher who preached the Golden Rule, “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” I couldn’t reconcile that Jesus with the hateful and damning version of Him that the kids on the bus, and I assumed their parents, seemed to know. 

And so, I spent 30 years wanting nothing to do with Jesus. And worse yet, I thought Jesus wanted nothing to do with me.

So how did I end up here, in a Significant Women blog- now a Lay Pastor and Christian author? What could have possibly happened that could change the entire trajectory of a life? 

It was one powerful prayer - the prayer of one of my fellow teachers spoken in the empty hallway of our elementary school where I was teaching during the Beltway Sniper attacks of 2002.

For those who don’t remember, in October of 2002, two snipers terrorized  the Washington, D.C. Metro area. Outside recess was canceled, football games were postponed and police instructed all of us to stay low and run in zig-zag lines if we had to be outside. For three weeks the snipers randomly targeted men, women and children, and by the time they were finally caught, they had killed 10, wounded three and terrorized millions, including me.

I was a young wife, fifth grade teacher, and mother to a sweet baby girl when the sniper attacks began. The world felt hopeless to me, and I started suffering from debilitating panic attacks.

But as we know, God loves to turn broken things into something beautiful and use moments just like these to make Himself known, doesn’t He? And God had gone before me, years before me in fact, and filled the elementary school where I just happened to be working, with a staff who loved Jesus. 

Unlike the voices from my youth, they were kind, accepting, and respectful of my Judaism. They asked gentle questions about my traditions so they could learn and grow in their own understanding without agenda and without judgement.

And when my world began to spiral out of control, these Christians were the ones who saw my need and stepped into my pain, offering to talk, comfort and even pray for my family.

And so, when one of these kind souls asked if I wanted to pray WITH her, early before school in an empty school hallway, I said, “Yes.” 

And as we stood, heads bowed, hands clasped, and eyes closed, I felt the hallway disappear from around us as I met the Jesus who washes feet and welcomes everyone into his kingdom.

 And that one prayer changed my life. 

Whatever the snipers’ motives were, whatever it was that they hoped to accomplish, I’m certain of one thing. Neither of them could have predicted that God would turn their evil into good. 

“You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.” Genesis 50:20

I want to pause here for a moment for you to reflect on the people that God has placed in your path, because there is nothing random about these connections. Is there someone in your life that you’re praying will meet Jesus? Is it a family member, a close friend, a neighbor, or a co-worker? Have you prayed for years, and it feels as if nothing has changed? Are you worried that their salvation isn’t a part of God’s plan or worse yet, that God doesn’t hear your cries?

Don’t stop praying! Your faithfulness and commitment to seeking God’s will on behalf of others matters. Your kindness and prayers could be the thing that opens their eyes to see Jesus, or in my case, sets off what I like to call the “holy ripple effect” that changed not just my life, but also the lives of my family, and the children, teens, and women I’ve had the honor of  growing alongside at the church my family and I joined after being baptized in 2003.

Hear me, Good Christians…Because of God’s grace and through the power of the Holy Spirit, we are His hands and His feet. If we aren’t actively living our lives in a way that welcomes everyone into the body, how will they meet Jesus, the real Jesus, who gave us the greatest commandment, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.” Matthew 22:37-39. And who is your neighbor? Everyone.

I've forgiven the children on that bus. Because just like me, they are only human. We are all flawed and in need of a Savior. 

Every time we step outside our homes, when we go to work, shop in the grocery store, or send our children onto a school bus, we are the body. The way we live our lives matter in ways we could never imagine, which should inspire you to walk humbly with God. Because you never know when God might weave someone into your life for whom one prayer might just change everything.

On today’s episode, Carol McLeod sits down with Cara Shine to discuss the transforming power of prayer, humility, and God’s relentless pursuit of the human heart. Cara’s story moves from deep fear and misunderstanding to healing, purpose, and renewed faith through unexpected encounters with Jesus. This conversation will encourage anyone who has wrestled with doubt, church hurt, or the feeling of being unseen. Listen in and discover how God can use even the quietest moments to bring hope and lasting transformation.