There is little doubt that Kristal Klear possesses the credentials to coach and advise people through traumatic events in their lives. She was ordained as a pastor by the ever-popular Kimberly Jones—aka Real Talk Kim—and is certified by Learning Journeys, the International Center of Coaching, which has produced a great number of leaders both in the spiritual and secular world.
But throughout her entire life, Klear has spent a great deal of her own time in the proverbial school of hard knocks. Her own life experiences and the difficult lessons she has learned from them qualify her to coach others to not only endure these pockets of trauma but to come out clean on the other side, washed by the precious blood of Jesus.
A pastor’s kid, Klear suffered sexual and emotional abuse at a very young age, enduring it multiple times at the hands of family members, teachers and family members of friends. That led to many trust issues throughout her childhood, teen and young adult years.
She has withstood other forms of physical abuse along the way, depression and suicidal thoughts, PTSD and domestic violence. She’s been through a painful divorce, and she recently faced the deaths of her father and her aunt in the same week.
Through it all, and with the help of many loving, caring women along the way, Klear has found the deep-rooted healing power of Jesus that miraculously rescued her from a potential struggle with drugs, prison, domestic violence and perhaps premature death.
Considering the impact she’s making on others now, Satan missed a golden opportunity to take Klear out of the picture early. But now it’s “crystal-clear” that God had other plans for her.
Early Pain
She says she’s always known Jesus, but her situation was far from ideal. “Jesus has always been with me, and it’s not like I didn’t have parents who didn’t introduce me to Him,” she says. “Unfortunately, they were pastors, and a lot of this happened on their watch. I didn’t have parents who let me run the streets or didn’t watch after me. They were very, very strict. That’s why I think it’s so strange that sometimes this stuff happens in our lives. It was hard for me because I felt like I had to be perfect. Like with my parents, sometimes you have religion and not relationship.”
Klear’s issues began at the tender age of 4. “At that age, my grandmother’s stepdaughter put hands on me in a way no one ever should with a girl that young,” she says. “A lot of my issues and the sexual violations I went through were with women as well as men.
“When I was about 11 years old, I had a teacher who molested me, and I had to go to court,” she says. “I knew exactly what was happening, and I wanted to get that case out in the open. People came forward from 20 years prior and said he did the same thing to them.
“And then I found myself in my teenage years beaten and bruised and raped on the bathroom floor by the cousin of a girlfriend,” she says. “It was sad because my friend didn’t do anything to help me. It made me feel extremely uncomfortable, and it obviously made it hard for me to trust people.
“From that point on, I started dealing with a lot of PTSD, depression and mental health issues,” Klear explains. “It was then I felt myself becoming suicidal. I’ve always had to fight really, really hard to just allow Jesus in the cracks of those spaces. I understand that Jesus is our therapy, and I understand He can and will deliver us from deep-seated issues like I had. But He also has practical tools for some of us, and people are put in our lives to help us partner with Him to make sure that we’re taking care of our minds and that we rewire our thought process.”
One of the people who has helped Klear do just that is Real Talk Kim, who now serves as Klear’s spiritual adviser.
A True Mentor
Klear has known Real Talk Kim for several years, and Jones has coached and encouraged her through some very tough times in her life.
“The cool thing is that she’s been a part of my journey every step of the way,” Klear says of Jones. “She’s been with me through some heartache, some hurt, some hang-ups. Fortunately, she helped me through my divorce.
“Pastor Kim licensed and ordained me for ministry,” Klear adds. “I’ve had the privilege of serving under her before as a volunteer and serving alongside of her as well. Now she’s like the mama eagle, and she’s given me my wings and just let me fly and soar into all the things that not only the Lord has for me, but the things that she’s imparted into me too.”
A traveling evangelist and bestselling author who has gained mass popularity through social media,
Jones’ determination to defeat the devil at any cost is only one of the qualities that drew Klear to her when they met several years ago. “Pastor Kim, or ‘Mom’ as I call her, does not quit no matter what comes her way,” Klear says. “I’m a lot like her in that: No matter what the enemy throws at her, she figures out how to get to the other side of it. She just doesn’t stop.
“She’s determined to win, and she’s determined to make Jesus famous,” Klear says. “She’s determined to be Jesus with skin on, and she’s determined to forgive quick, love hard and create memories. She’s determined to take someone who doesn’t feel like anything and make them feel special. That is exactly the way I want to be for Jesus. It’s an infectious attitude, so you just can’t help but be drawn to her in a big way.
Rock, Paper, Scissors
Jones is also a partner in Klear’s nonprofit Rock, Paper, Scissors Foundation, which Klear initiated in 2021 to help give a voice to those who have been silenced from all forms of abuse, low self-esteem and human trafficking.
“Our purpose is to heal,” is the RPS vision. So why did Klear come up with the unique name? She explains it in a single sentence:
“Rock is for no matter what you throw at me, paper is for no matter how you try to crumple me and scissors is for no matter how you cut me, I am an overcomer,” Klear says. “With Jesus’ help, we fight any form of sexual, emotional or physical abuse and human trafficking, and of course, the fear and insecurity come along with that, with awareness and prevention.
“With Rock, Paper, Scissors, we are in seven states right now and active in four, hoping to become active soon in all of those states. We have our Lily program, which goes into the schools. The cool thing about our Lily program is that it gives us an opportunity for girls—anywhere from elementary to middle school to high school girls—to help them develop their self-esteem, their self-worth, their self-value.
“I love these experiences because I get to speak at something called ‘We Day,’ where, for the last three years or so, I spoke to about 4,000 seventh graders,” she says. “Each time I did that, anywhere between three and six people came out with a very compelling story.
“In one instance, we found ourselves backstage with a Child Protective Services counselor to help one young lady in a dire situation,” she says. “We were able to help pull her out of her house to put her in foster care and get her away from her stepfather, who was actively sleeping with this 12-year-old girl. So I feel like we’re anointed for that. This is not an avenue that we picked because it was popular. But it was something that we were graced for. So I feel like we’re change- makers, game-changers and cycle-breakers.”
At its annual Break Silence Conference, RPS helps adult women by creating a safe environment backed by community resources. The experience is a tremendous example of the Holy Spirit’s healing power,” Klear says.
“It’s a really good time of worship, impartation and love,” she says. “We bridge the gap, and we unify the community. You don’t have to be a believer to be there. We take women from all walks of life. We put a pastor and a prostitute at the same table. We address someone who’s strung out on drugs. There are no big guys and little youth, as my father used to say. Everyone is equal.
“Those are some of the things that we do; we create awareness prevention,” she says. “We have our annual domestic violence campaign that we do to create awareness and to get people to realize their worth and their value in Jesus’ eyes.”
Shattered Glass, Powerful Podcast
Helping people to realize how God values them is only one of the reasons God led Klear to write her book, Shattered Glass. In the book, she transparently pours out her heart about her painful past, which God has used mightily to help others who have suffered similar tragic circumstances.
The book is “a candid look at the healing power of Jesus Christ” and covers “restoration,” the result of giving God permission to heal every area of your life. For Klear—and for readers—it is a journey to wholeness and forgiveness.
“As I detail in the book, I had to learn to stop trying to get back at people who hurt me. That wasn’t my job,” Klear says. “My job was to walk in forgiveness and love and peace and let God be my vindicator. For me, it was causing me more harm than good to try to figure out how to be the vindicator of people who have hurt me.
“I think when women go through a divorce or emotional abuse or domestic violence, they’re looking for someone to get justice from. Sometimes we’ll take it back to the people who have hurt you. But when we take stuff out of God’s hands, we don’t give Him an opportunity to work with it, and it takes a lot longer to get the healing in your heart that you’re looking for.”
On her Charisma Podcast Network show, Kristal Klear Podcast, Klear deals with many of the same subjects, including grace, self-worth, stepping out of your past, victories in Christ and overcoming domestic violence.
She’s been through it all, so she knows what she’s talking about.
“I love to help people navigate with inner healing,” Klear says. “I also can help people get closure for a lot of situations, including what their next business move is. I can coach them after a divorce. I can also coach pastors through their issues. It’s so cool that God has allowed me the opportunity to do this, but I had to be put through a lot of pain and heartache to get this point. I’m just thankful for His grace and mercy.”
Shawn A. Akers is a content development editor for Charisma Media.
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