{"id":4499,"date":"2023-08-18T15:23:22","date_gmt":"2023-08-18T15:23:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/strongermarriages\/?p=4499"},"modified":"2023-08-18T15:23:22","modified_gmt":"2023-08-18T15:23:22","slug":"harry-connick-jr-shares-why-his-faith-and-family-are-most-important","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/strongermarriages\/2023\/08\/harry-connick-jr-shares-why-his-faith-and-family-are-most-important.html","title":{"rendered":"Harry Connick Jr. Shares Why His Faith and Family Are ‘Most Important’"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Actor, singer, musician and TV host Harry Connick Jr. recently joined the \u201cJesus Calling\u201d podcast to talk about the power of prayer and his faith journey. He said, \u201cMy faith and my family, those are the most important things to me<\/a>. If I\u2019m happy in my marriage, if I\u2019m happy in my family life and in my spiritual life, no matter what comes my way, everything sort of falls into place.\u201d<\/p>\n

Connick Jr. lost his mother when he was 13 years old, calling it one of the hardest things he\u2019s dealt with. The actor said, \u201cI\u2019ve had some tough times in my life. The toughest was when my mom died when I was 13. That was a real test, knowing that was kind of part of God\u2019s plan.\u201d<\/p>\n

He added, \u201cI really had to hold on to my faith and believe that,\u00a0\u2018This is what\u2019s supposed to happen. I\u2019m going to try to accept this as gracefully as I can.\u2019\u00a0<\/em>Now, those were high ideals. I wasn\u2019t able to do that at thirteen years old.\u201d Then about seven years ago, Connick Jr.\u2019s wife was diagnosed with breast cancer.<\/p>\n

He shared, \u201cThat was another incredible test of my faith. I feel like my faith has passed that test every time, and when that happens, it deepens just a little bit more. Like I was saying to my dad last night, my dad will be ninety-five this month. It\u2019s something that grows, and although he\u2019s been a man of faith his entire life, I think his faith is even deeper now, and I\u2019m seeing how that works.\u201d<\/p>\n