“Where were you, God? I can’t see your hand in my story. Have you ever really shown up for me? Your heart might be good, but just not to me.” If you’ve thought these things, you aren’t alone.
Colleen never imagined that she’d swim through two decades of deep-water anxiety and depression. She didn’t guess that she’d marry late, suffer years of chronic pain and illness, and give birth to a child with health complications. And never in her life did she imagine hearing the words: “Cancer. Stage four. Terminal.”
Are you tired of the unrelenting pressure to be the best at everything? Scarlet Hiltibidal was too. For Scarlet, attempting to be the best at pretty much everything—whether that be the best wife or the best sub-sandwich maker, or the best Christian—was her life story. But in the midst of all her striving and reaching to hit the mark, she somehow still couldn’t grab hold of the joy and freedom and life-change that’s supposed to come with the gospel’s good news. That is until she realized something revolutionary—instead of the best, she might actually be…the worst. The “chief of sinners.” Poor in spirit and gone astray.
Overwhelmed. Stressed out. Burnt out. Fried. However we name it, all of us know what it feels like to deal with circumstances and worries that drag us down and wear us out. Many of us experience persistent anxiety. Peace can be hard to find.
Distractions can steal your joy. They can definitely steal your purpose. Billie Jauss tried to overcome a season of feeling unsettled and uncertain by simplifying her schedule and taking control of life’s chaos. It didn’t solve all her issues.