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By Heather Frank

What or who do you find yourself relentlessly fighting for in your life? Do you remember the moment you decided, “This is it. This is the ‘hard’ I choose”?

We all have a story, one that has been imperfectly woven together through a series of free-willed choices, consequences and “it just so happened”. There are moments we are proud to display, while others we wish we can erase clean from some sort of browser history.  Some of these moments are the defining fires in our lives that can produce blazing, fervent flames…but only if we let them. What’s your moment?

The Goodness of God

My moment was July 2020: three years after the birth of our second child (2017) and four months into the worldwide pandemic. I am no stranger to anxiety. I walked through a fire known as postpartum anxiety that produced another ember known as panic disorder following our second born child. Enter the pandemic just a few years later, and I was sure there was no hope in coming up for air.

I didn’t suffocate like I thought I would. I found myself in a position of desperation, but it produced a pivotal point in my life. Through the Lord’s mercy and grace, he walked with me through the terrifying unknown promising me he would never abandon me. From this very moment I realized the goodness of God by not being spared of the fire, but being held in the process.

What was supposed to consume me to the point of ash, God made beauty from it. His loving-kindness towards me birthed a burning passion for those walking through similar fires because they are the very ones he had in mind. Who am I to hate the process when he saw my victory and their faces on the other end?

Honoring the Process Instead of Hating It
 

I realized I had two choices: I could live my life filled with bitterness, holding a grudge over what God allowed to happen in my life; or I can move forward, honoring the fire he guided me through and do something with it.

The first option would make me a slave, bound to shackles clothed in anger and pain. And while the second option required work, it birthed freedom. I chose to do the work, and in return God faithfully restored me while using me for his glory for the sake of freedom for others.

What Will You Choose?

“But even if you should suffer for what is right, you are blessed. “Do not fear their threats; do not be frightened.” But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have…” 1 Peter 3:14-15 (NIV)

Having peace through the highs and comfort in life is easy. To have peace in the fire is not. As you walk through trials, people are watching. Some are watching to see if you respond in faith (sometimes on the basis of judgment), but others are watching out of hope. They are hoping to see something come out of your fire because they want the same restoration for themselves.

I encourage you today, dear wife, to allow the passion God has stirred in your heart from your trials to be a light for others. Do not forfeit the opportunity of speaking on the greatness of God by dismissing your fires. Instead, I challenge you to honor what you’ve gone through to bring glory to his mighty power and mercy so that others may have hope they too will come out with beauty for ashes.

Wife Step: Is there someone in your life that is walking through a season you have already gone through? Reach out to that person letting them know you are praying for them, and share your testimony of how God brought you through it. To be hope you must share hope, so pray for his guidance and wisdom as you step out to share your story.

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