In this deeply moving conversation, Jessie sits down with longtime friends Jessica and Andrew Arnold to talk about their journey raising and discipling their daughter Sarah, who is autistic, vibrant, socially curious, and wonderfully unique. The Arnolds open up about Sarah’s early diagnosis, the beauty and complexity of her faith, and the ways they’ve learned to release expectations, trust God, and embrace who she is rather than who they once imagined she might become.
With honesty and tenderness, they share what it looks like to navigate neurodivergence, emotional highs and lows, identity questions, and spiritual formation in real time. They talk about Sarah’s love for cosplay, her evangelist’s heart, her deep honesty, her struggles with jealousy and belonging, and the remarkable way she makes space for others on the margins. The conversation also highlights how faith communities can support neurodivergent individuals—not by fixing them, but by attuning, welcoming, and creating belonging.
This episode is an invitation to reimagine discipleship with gentleness, patience, and grace. It reminds us that God’s image is reflected beautifully in every person, and that those who experience the world differently often teach us the most about vulnerability, love, and the heart of Jesus.
ORDER Jessie’s newest book, Ordinary Discipleship: How God Wires Us for the Adventure of Transformation → https://a.co/d/51j86DG
For more great stuff, check out: Ordinary Discipleship by Whoology: https://whoology.co
Follow us on social media:
https://instagram.com/ordinarydiscipleship
https://facebook.com/ordinarydiscipleship
Follow Jessie on social media:
Instagram: https://instagram.com/yourbrainbyjess
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jessica.s.cruickshank/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/yourbrainbyjess
ORDER Jessie’s newest book, Ordinary Discipleship: How God Wires Us for the Adventure of Transformation → https://a.co/d/51j86DG
For more great stuff, check out: Ordinary Discipleship by Whoology: https://whoology.co
Follow us on social media:
https://instagram.com/ordinarydiscipleship
https://facebook.com/ordinarydiscipleship
Follow Jessie on social media:
Instagram: https://instagram.com/yourbrainbyjess
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jessica.s.cruickshank/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/yourbrainbyjess
Jessie Cruickshank is a disciple-maker, wilderness guide, and ordained minister. She has trained thousands of people how to survive when their life depended on it and earned a Master’s degree in experiential education at Harvard to learn how the brain works to help people train more effectively.
The key to discipleship is not more information, but learning how to create intentional environments where people can learn and grow. By working with the brain and treating individuals as whole persons, you too can discover how God wired our brains for transformation. You already have all the tools you need, it is time to activate them in you and your church.
