Episode Overview

Podcast: The Candace Cameron Bure Podcast
Host: Candace Cameron Bure
Guest: Ruth Chou Simons (artist & author)
Episode: The Way of Freedom with Ruth Chou Simons
Date: November 25, 2025

In this heartfelt and insightful episode, Candace welcomes Ruth Chou Simons to discuss themes of finding freedom from anxiety, the lessons found in wildflowers, the significance of forgiveness (including self-forgiveness), and navigating unresolved pain and disappointment. The conversation flows naturally between practical wisdom, spiritual reflection, and candid personal stories, offering comfort and encouragement for listeners facing their own rollercoaster seasons.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Holiday Traditions & Family (03:25–09:15)

• Reflections on Changing Family Dynamics:
  Candace and Ruth share their evolving experiences of Thanksgiving and holidays as their children become adults, including the challenges of coordinating gatherings and the joys of new relationships.

• The Importance of Tradition:
  Ruth recounts a humorous early Thanksgiving mishap when she tried an elaborate Martha Stewart recipe that deviated from tradition—leading her to now appreciate the importance of sticking with family favorites.

  • Quote (Ruth, 07:13):
    “I think I ruined Thanksgiving for everyone because not one pumpkin pie, no sweet potatoes, no mashed potatoes and gravy. I literally had this weird jelly roll of a turkey sausage. So never again.”
  • Candace responds (07:45):
    “I didn’t realize that’s where you were going with the story. But I’m like, yeah, tradition is tradition. You don’t veer off from it.”

• Sharing Favorite Dishes:
  Candace describes her green bean recipe, emphasizing the comfort and identity found in food traditions.

  • Tasty Details: Fresh green beans with sun-dried tomatoes, onions, and almonds.

2. Art, Calling, and Slowing Down (09:22–15:02)

• Ruth’s Journey as an Artist:
  Ruth describes how art was once “just a fun little thing” due to cultural expectations but eventually became a meaningful way to slow down, dwell in God’s Word, and share beauty with others.

  • Quote (Ruth, 10:15):
    “I always thought that this was just one of those little giftings you can never do anything with. So I was kind of embarrassed of it... but it was really a shock to me to realize how much it was helping me slow down and that other people were able to linger in God’s word as I presented it with some beauty around it.”

• Lessons from Creation:
  Ruth emphasizes the detail, beauty, and order in God’s creation as seen in flowers, inspiring her both in art and faith.

  • Quote (Ruth, 11:15):
    “If you stop and really look at what God’s done in a flower, you realize, like, oh, my goodness, he is a God of detail. He is... delighted in colors and patterns, in order, in patterns.”

3. Wildflowers as Life Lessons (12:26–16:23)

• Wildflowers as Teachers:
  Ruth and Candace explore why wildflowers are meaningful—resilient, diverse, growing in unexpected places, and a metaphor for spiritual surrender and freedom.

• Sunflowers and Spiritual Posture:
  Ruth offers the analogy that like sunflowers turn to the sun, we’re called to turn our hearts to God throughout the day.

  • Quote (Ruth, 15:06):
    “Would we not just like, face the sun, the Son of God, turn our attention to the Lord, day by day, hour by hour? Because if the sun moves this way, that sunflower turns and turns and turns. And so is that crazy?”
  • Candace responds (15:39):
    “You are rocking my world, though, because now every time I look at a sunflower ... I’m never gonna see it the same. So now I’m always gonna think about turning towards God the Father, towards the Son.”

• Queen Anne’s Lace & Symbolism:
  Ruth shares a favorite flower—the tiny red spot in Queen Anne’s Lace’s center symbolizing Christ’s sacrificial love.

4. The Freedom and Resilience of Wildflowers (17:44–21:42)

• The Effortless Beauty of Creation:
  Discussion on how wildflowers bloom without striving—an invitation to trust God’s timing and provision.

  • Quote (Ruth, 19:39):
    “They’re just free. They’re just there. They last as long as God has them in their vibrancy, and then sometimes when they wither, they’re beautiful as well.”

• Spiritual Parallels:
  Ruth invites listeners to pay attention to the world around them—seeing God’s care, creation’s freedom, and the futility of our attempts to manipulate or control life’s circumstances.

5. Anxiety, the Past, and Forgiveness (24:53–31:50)

• Themes in Ruth’s Book:
  Ruth’s latest work explores how wildflowers model spiritual freedom, resilience, and belovedness.

• Living With Regret & Grace:
  Both Candace and Ruth candidly discuss struggling with regrets and the difficulty of forgiving oneself—even when trusting that God’s forgiveness is complete.

  • Quote (Candace, 27:49):
    “There are a few things that haunt me still today... and I think about God’s forgiveness. I think I’ve asked for forgiveness way too many times in the sense that God forgives me. God’s not holding judgment against me... once I’ve confessed.”

• Scripture’s Encouragement:
  Ruth points to the Apostle Paul’s example—“forgetting what is behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead” (Philippians 3:13-14)—as an antidote to anxiety and shame.

  • Quote (Ruth, 29:08):
    “He could live in that shame... but it’s Paul that said in Philippians 3, forgetting what is behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead. ... I really turn to that a lot when I think about how to not get caught up in fretting about the past.”

6. Pain, Forgiveness, and the Long Wait for Resolution (31:50–39:45)

• When Forgiveness is Hard:
  The conversation turns to forgiving others for wounds that were out of our control, and enduring long seasons before closure or reconciliation.

  • Quote (Ruth, 31:58):
    “We have to start with how Jesus forgave us... When I receive that forgiveness... then I can look at how I’ve been wronged... I can forgive that person whether they asked for it or not.”

• Waiting for Resolution:
  Ruth shares about a painful ministry loss and how it took years for reconciliation or understanding to happen; relying on God and grieving well were essential.

  • Quote (Ruth, 35:10):
    “Sometimes it doesn’t work that way... you live in that tension for a while where I didn’t have anything but the Lord.”
  • Candace’s Reflection (38:21):
    “It grows us... not just within our patience and within humility, but really our dependency on God as well.”

7. Listener Question – Why Does God Allow Suffering? (39:45–42:27)

• Facing Tragedy and Unanswerable Questions:
  A listener (“Swags”) asks why God allows her 12-year-old son to suffer with cancer. Ruth responds with empathy, acknowledging the agony of the question and affirming that God can bring purpose from pain—even if we don’t see it yet.

  • Quote (Ruth, 40:11):
    “It’s so painful. ... We can’t even begin to talk about this problem of pain without starting with the brokenness of this world and that sin has affected everything. ... But Christ came to overcome death ... Be on the lookout for God putting his kindness on display in ways you don’t expect.”

• The Hope of Christmas:
  Candace wraps up by pointing to the Christmas season’s central message: God’s hope in the midst of life’s rollercoaster.

  • Quote (Candace, 42:27):
    “That’s what Christmas is all about. ... this gift of a Savior and we place our hope and our trust in Him.”

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

Sunflower Analogy – Turning to God

• Ruth (15:06):
  “Would we not just like, face the sun, the Son of God, turn our attention to the Lord, day by day, hour by hour? Because if the sun moves this way, that sunflower turns and turns and turns.”
• Candace (15:39):
  “Now I’m always going to think about turning towards God the Father, towards the Son, the Son, the Son, Jesus all day long.”

Living With Regret

• Candace (27:49):
  “There are a few things that haunt me still today... but I’ve asked God to help me move past them because... I don’t actually forgive myself for that.”

Enduring Painful Seasons

• Ruth (35:10):
  “You live in that tension for a while where I didn’t have anything but the Lord. ... I couldn’t make everything better. I could only say, Lord, I don’t know why this story is part of our lives ... but in time ... I think we can grieve well, we can deal with disappointment well by turning to him, even when we don’t have the answers in that season.”

On Surrender and The Beauty Found in Creation

• Ruth (19:39):
  “They last as long as God has them in their vibrancy, and then sometimes when they wither, they’re beautiful as well.”

Timestamps for Important Segments

• 03:25–09:15: Holiday family traditions, cooking, and maintaining connections
• 09:22–15:02: Ruth’s childhood, art as a calling, and spiritual lessons from nature
• 15:02–16:23: The sunflower spiritual analogy
• 17:44–21:42: Freedom and surrender modeled by wildflowers
• 24:53–31:50: Dealing with regret, anxiety, forgiveness (of self and others)
• 31:50–39:45: Waiting for closure, navigating painful unresolved seasons
• 39:45–42:27: Listener Q&A: Why does God allow suffering? Faith, hope, and the purpose found in pain

Structured Takeaways

- Embrace tradition but be open to growth and humor in “failures.”
- Pause to notice beauty in creation—reminders of God’s attention to detail and care amid busy lives.
- Freedom and resilience can be learned from wildflowers; surrender control and bloom where planted.
- Forgiveness and self-compassion are vital for overcoming anxiety and moving forward.
- Grieving and waiting are hard, but God works in His timing—sometimes resolution is slow or unseen.
- Even in suffering, look for God’s unexpected kindness, and trust that pain is not the end for those in Christ.

Overall Tone:
Warm, honest, and deeply encouraging, with both Candace and Ruth modeling curiosity, vulnerability, and hope rooted in faith.