Loved Beyond Performance: RobertAnthony Cruz & Christine D’Clario
*This episode contains content that may be triggering for some listeners.*
This week, we welcome RobertAnthony Cruz (@coachrac), known to many as Coach RAC. RobertAnthony is a professional baseball player with the Savannah Bananas (@TheSavannahBananas) , a former minor league athlete, and a mentor to thousands of young people through sports camps and social media. But beyond the flips on the field and the packed stadiums, Coach RAC has wrestled with anxiety, fear of failure, and the pressure to prove himself. Today, he shares how learning to root his identity in God’s unchanging love, rather than outcomes or approval, has transformed the way he competes, leads, and lives.
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Later in the episode, we’ll hear from Christine D’Clario (@christinedclariomusic), who takes us behind the music and the platform into the hidden places of her story. From a childhood shaped by unspoken trauma with years of learning how to hide pain in the name of faith, Christine shares how postpartum depression became the breaking point that forced her to confront what she had carried for far too long.
00:00 - Introduction & Content Warning
00:40 - Welcome to the Jesus Calling Podcast: RobertAnthony Cruz & Christine D’Clario
02:03 - Coach RAC: Growing Up in Riverside, Gymnastics Dreams, and Baseball
03:25 - Overcoming Impostor Syndrome and the Fear of Failure on the Field
03:51 - "I Fear You Alone": Visualizing Failure and Rooting Identity in God's Love
05:25 - The Phenomenon of the Savannah Bananas and Banana Ball
07:03 - Team Bible Studies and Competing from a Place of Gratitude, Not Approval
08:35 - Shifting Focus from Self-Performance to Serving Teammates
09:32 - Cultivating Daily Prayer Rituals and Resting in God's Sufficiency
11:45 - Meet Christine D’Clario: Growing Up Amidst Rich Culture and Deep Early Pain
14:32 - Childhood Trauma, the Loss of Her Father at Age Six, and Moving to Puerto Rico
15:35 - The Danger of "Pseudo-Spirituality": Hiding Pain Behind Christian Platitudes
18:37 -
