Lauren Burns
11 min read ⭑
“Again and again, I’ve discovered that the stories we are most afraid to tell are often the ones that make another person feel less alone. That has become my obsession: helping people see that what happened to them does not have to have the final word.”
Lauren Burns is a speaker, author and physical therapist living in San Antonio, Texas, with her husband and two sons. She’s the author of “Stolen: A True Story – Kidnapped, Rescued, Redeemed,” releasing September 8, 2026, in which she shares the story of her kidnapping and eventual rescue that began a lifelong journey toward healing and forgiveness. Lauren is also the host of “The Redeemed Podcast,” where she shares powerful stories of faith, healing and redemption. She is passionate about helping others discover that their wounds do not have to define their future.
In this exclusive interview for Rapt, Lauren opens up about her journey of healing from the trauma of being kidnapped by her father. She shares how she has learned to replace the lies with truth, moving from a mindset of performance to trusting that she doesn’t have to earn the love of her Heavenly Father. She also shares how some of the most sacred moments in her life have happened in a physical therapy clinic and how healing comes when people realize they don’t have to carry heaviness alone.
QUESTION #1: ACQUAINT
Food is always about more than food; it’s also about home and people and love. So, how does a go-to meal at your favorite hometown restaurant reveal the true you behind your web bio?
When I think of home, I think of my mom’s kitchen, a cast-iron pot on the stove and the smell of my grandmother’s famous fried chicken filling the house. Growing up, my grandmother owned a BBQ restaurant, but if you asked our family what she was really famous for, we would tell you her fried chicken. Thankfully, my mom learned how to make it, and that recipe has become part of the rhythm of our family.
Birthdays, Christmas, Easter — you name the occasion, and somehow we find ourselves gathered in my mom’s kitchen. The cast-iron pot comes out, and everyone knows what is coming. I usually jump in to help, dipping each piece of chicken into the egg wash and flour while my mom watches the oil, somehow knowing exactly when the temperature is right. There is conversation, laughter, people coming in and out of the kitchen, and usually someone waiting nearby for that first hot piece of chicken.
One year, I realized how much these moments meant to me. I photographed every step of the process of my mom cooking: the ingredients, the recipes, the hands that had carried on traditions for generations. I turned those photos into a book filled with my mom’s and grandmother’s recipes. For me, home isn’t defined by one city or one house. It’s gathering around the kitchen with the people I love, preserving the stories and traditions handed down to us, and knowing that sometimes a simple family recipe can carry generations of memories.
Raspopova Marina; Unsplash
QUESTION #2: REVEAL
What “nonspiritual” activity have you found to be quite spiritual, after all? What quirky proclivity, out-of-the-way interest, or unexpected pursuit refreshes your soul?
Some of the most sacred moments in my life have happened in a physical therapy clinic. I’ve worked as a physical therapist for years, and while my job is to help people regain strength, improve mobility and lessen physical pain, I’ve learned that people often walk through the door carrying pain I cannot measure.
I once had a patient who was very closed off. I struggled to connect with her, but during one of our sessions, I felt led to share that I had lost my younger sister. She looked up at me and said, “I lost my sister a year ago. She was my best friend.” Suddenly, the room changed. She began telling me about her sister, how difficult it was to talk about her and the guilt she still carried. Over the course of our sessions, we continued working on the things she had come to physical therapy for — strength, mobility and decreasing pain — but our conversations went deeper. We talked about grief, loss and the hard things we sometimes carry silently.
That experience reminded me why I find so much joy in interacting with my patients. I get to hear about their stories, their families, military service, careers, losses, celebrations and struggles, and sometimes I share pieces of my own. Physical therapy may not seem like a spiritual activity, but I’ve learned that God meets us in ordinary places. Sometimes healing looks like stronger muscles and less pain. And sometimes it looks like realizing you aren’t alone in what you carry.
QUESTION #3: CONFESS
Every superhero has a weakness; every human, too. We're just good at faking it. But who are we kidding? We’re all broken and in this thing together. So, what’s your kryptonite and how do you confront its power?
My kryptonite has been believing that love has to be earned and wondering whether a father’s love can truly be trusted. When I was 7 years old, my father kidnapped me and took me to Jordan. In the blink of an eye, everything familiar was gone. The person who was supposed to protect me had lied to me, taken me away from my mother and shattered my understanding of what it meant to feel safe with a father.
Long after I was rescued, that wound followed me. For years, I wrestled with a question I didn’t always know how to put into words: Will I ever truly be loved by a father? That uncertainty created a tendency to strive for love and acceptance, to wonder if I was enough and to look for reassurance that I was wanted. It also complicated my relationship with God. Christians called him a loving heavenly Father, but father wasn’t automatically a comforting word to me. How could I trust a Father I couldn’t see when the father I could see had hurt me so deeply?
Healing has meant learning to separate who my earthly father was from who God is. I’ve had to recognize the old lies when they surface and replace them with truth: I don’t have to perform for God’s love. I don’t have to earn my place with him. My father wound may always be part of my story, but it no longer gets to define my identity. I am learning that the love I spent years striving to find was never something I had to earn in the first place.
QUESTION #4: FIRE UP
Tell us about your toil. How are you investing your professional time right now? What’s your current obsession? And why should it be ours?
Right now, much of my professional energy is centered around something I never imagined I would do: telling the story I spent most of my life trying to move beyond. When I was 7, my father kidnapped me and took me to Jordan. Three months later, I was rescued and brought home. For years, I thought the miracle was simply that I survived and made it back. But as an adult, I began to understand that rescue and healing are not the same thing.
That realization became part of the reason I wrote “Stolen: A True Story — Kidnapped, Rescued, Redeemed.” The book tells the story of the kidnapping and extraordinary rescue, but the part I care most about is what happened afterward: the father wounds, questions about identity, struggle to forgive and the slow work of healing.
That same passion led me to create “The Redeemed Podcast,” where I have the privilege of hearing other people share stories of grief, trauma, addiction, loss, miracles and redemption. Again and again, I’ve discovered that the stories we are most afraid to tell are often the ones that make another person feel less alone. That has become my obsession: helping people see that what happened to them does not have to have the final word.
I once wanted to put my story behind me. Now I understand that sharing it can be part of its redemption. My hope for “Stolen” is that readers finish my story thinking less about what happened to me and more about what healing might still be possible in their own lives.
QUESTION #5: BOOST
Whether we’re cashiers or CEOs, contractors or customer service reps, we all need God’s love flowing into us and back out into the world. How does the Holy Spirit invigorate your work? And how do you know it's God when it happens?
“Stolen” is the first book I have ever written. I didn’t begin because I knew how to write a book. I began because I felt God saying, “Lauren, now is the time to share what I did in your life.” Not only the miraculous rescue after my father kidnapped me, but the healing that came afterward. I had no idea how to write a book, but I knew how to pray. As I began praying and researching, people told me I needed a platform if I wanted to publish. I didn’t have one. Honestly, I barely knew what a platform was. But through my research, I connected with someone who encouraged me to start a podcast. That one prayerful step of obedience became “The Redeemed Podcast.”
Then something happened I never could have planned. The podcast eventually led me to reconnect with members of the team who had rescued me as a child. Decades after my rescue, I sat across from these men and women and interviewed them, hearing parts of my own story I had never known. What began as an obstacle — “You need a platform” — became a gift that brought pieces of my past full circle.
That’s often how I recognize the Holy Spirit in my work. It isn’t always a dramatic moment or a perfectly mapped-out plan. Sometimes it’s simply knowing the next step and having the courage to take it. I’ve learned that when God asks us to step into something that feels impossible, he doesn’t always show us the whole path. He gives us enough light for the next step, and sometimes what waits on the other side is more beautiful than anything we could have planned ourselves.
QUESTION #6: inspire
Scripture and tradition beckon us into the rich and varied habits that open our hearts to the presence of God. So, let us in. Which spiritual practice is working best for you in this season?
For years, I wanted to read the entire Bible. I started several times with great intentions, but somewhere after Exodus, I would lose momentum and quit. Then came this year. Of all the years to finally stay committed, this seems like the most unlikely one. I’m working full time as a physical therapist, caring for my family, preparing to launch my first book, traveling to speak, recording a podcast and doing countless interviews. Yet this is the year I’ve needed God’s Word more than ever. Through “The Bible Recap” with Tara-Leigh Cobble, I’m now more than halfway through the Bible. Each day, I’m learning more about God’s character, seeing Jesus throughout the pages and growing in my understanding of who he is. What once felt intimidating has become something I hunger for.
Before speaking events, I become even more intentional. I set aside time to fast, pray, worship and read Scripture. Sometimes that means literally sitting in my closet with my Bible and notebook, removing distractions and simply asking, “God, what do you want to show me?” I’ve learned that I cannot continually pour out without first allowing God to pour into me.
The year I thought I had the least time for Scripture has become the year I’ve needed it most. Opening my Bible each day recenters me and reminds me that before the book, podcast, interviews, work or speaking opportunities, my first priority is to know Jesus, hear his voice and keep my eyes fixed on him.
QUESTION #7: FOCUS
Looking backward, considering the full sweep of your unique faith journey and all you encountered along the way, what top three resources stand out to you? What changed reality and changed your heart?
Three resources immediately come to mind because each met me in a different part of my healing journey.
“Good Good Father” by Chris Tomlin. For years, I could not sing this song. The word father carried too much pain. My earthly father kidnapped me when I was seven, and for much of my life, I struggled to understand how I could trust God as my heavenly Father when my experience with a father had caused such deep wounds. Today, I can sing that same song with my hands lifted and tears streaming down my face. I know the love of my heavenly Father in a way I once struggled to believe was possible.
Lysa TerKeurst’s “Forgiving What You Can’t Forget.” Forgiveness has been a significant part of my story, and Lysa writes about it with such honesty and wisdom. Her words reinforced something I’ve learned personally: forgiveness is incredibly difficult, and we need the Holy Spirit’s help to do what often feels impossible.
Christine Caine’s “Equip & Empower Podcast.” Christine speaks to my heart week after week. Her knowledge of Scripture, combined with her willingness to speak honestly from her own childhood wounds, continually challenges me. She reminds me that our past does not disqualify us from being used by God.
Each of these has taught me something different: God is a Father I can trust, forgiveness is possible with his help and our wounds do not have to be wasted.
Certain things can be godsends, helping us survive, even thrive, in our fast-paced world. Does technology ever help you this way? Has an app ever boosted your spiritual growth? If so, how?
Technology can easily become a distraction for me, but it has also become one of the tools that keeps me connected to God throughout my day.
I use the YouVersion Bible App daily. This year, I selected The Bible Recap reading plan through the app and have been following it as I work toward reading the entire Bible. I love having Scripture with me wherever I go. Over the years, I’ve also completed many YouVersion reading plans and studies during different seasons of my life. Sometimes a few minutes reading Scripture on my phone is exactly what I need to redirect my thoughts and refocus my heart.
I also love podcasts because they allow me to fill ordinary moments with things that encourage my faith. Whether I’m mowing the yard, working out or driving to work, I can listen to a sermon, testimony, biblical teaching or conversation that points me back to God. There is something beautiful about realizing that time that might otherwise feel mundane can become an opportunity to grow.
Technology certainly has the ability to consume our attention, so I try to be intentional about what I allow into mine. If I’m going to have my phone with me throughout the day anyway, I want some of what comes through it to strengthen my faith, challenge my thinking and remind me of truth. Sometimes spiritual growth happens with a Bible open in a quiet room. Other times, it happens through earbuds while I’m mowing the lawn.
QUESTION #8: dream
God’s continually stirring new things in each of us. So, give us the scoop! What’s beginning to stir in you but not yet fully awakened? What can we expect from you in the future?
For the past three years, I have poured my heart into the pages of “Stolen,” but in many ways, this book has been 39 years in the making. Before I could write this story, I had to walk through the healing that came after it. Now, as I prepare to release “Stolen” into the world, I feel like I’m standing at the beginning of something new. The book is raw, vulnerable and honest. I share parts of my life that would have been easier to keep private — the kidnapping and rescue, but also the father wounds, forgiveness and healing that followed. Putting those parts of myself into the hands of strangers is scary.
But I keep coming back to my why.
If one person who feels hopeless discovers that healing is possible, it is worth it. If someone carrying a father wound begins to understand the love of their heavenly Father, it is worth it. If one person takes a step closer to Jesus, it is worth it.
I’m beginning to dream about what could come next. Maybe I’ll write a devotional using the Scriptures God gave me while writing “Stolen.” Maybe this story will one day become a new movie or documentary. I don’t know yet, and I’m learning to be okay with that. For much of my life, safety meant holding tightly to what I could control. This season is teaching me to open my hands and say, “Jesus, this story is yours. Have your way with it.” All I know to do is pray, take the next step and trust that God already holds whatever comes next.
Lauren’s remarkable story of trauma and healing is a beacon to others who feel alone in heaviness. Her willingness to give God control of her story has led to healing in other people that she never expected. She says, “If one person who feels hopeless discovers that healing is possible, it is worth it.” No one is exempt from pain and hardship in this life, but God is the Healer and Restorer and writes beautiful stories of redemption in our lives. Spend some time thinking about the stories of redemption he has written in your life and ask him if there is someone around you who needs to hear them. If you are in a place of heaviness, ask him to send people who can share their stories with you.
Lauren Burns is the author of Stolen: True Story Kidnapped, Rescued, Redeemed, releasing September 8, 2026, and host of The Redeemed Podcast, where she shares powerful stories of faith, healing and redemption. Kidnapped by her father at age 7 and taken to Jordan, Lauren’s extraordinary rescue became only the beginning of a lifelong journey toward healing and forgiveness. Today, she is a speaker and physical therapist who is passionate about helping others discover that their wounds do not have to define their future. Lauren lives in Texas, with her husband and two sons.