For security purposes, this writer is unable to share personal details since she is serving as a missionary overseas.
Introduction – Tell us a little about yourself.
I have been married to my wonderful husband for 6 ½ years, and have 3 sons, ages 5, 3, and 1. We live in Central Asia, and are working to learn the local language in hopes of one day working in an unengaged people group.
Share about a hard season you have walked in your life.
Since even before my husband and I had been married, we both desired to move overseas and work in an unengaged people group. We went to training, raised support, and made plans. But we kept hitting roadblocks. First, a denied visa, then an unexpected pregnancy that would not allow us to travel until after the baby’s birth. Then COVID hit. So many unknowns arose during that time. Our hearts longed to be overseas to share the Gospel with those who have never heard, yet we were filled with confusion as we continued to be delayed time and time again. The uncertainty created a lot of anxiety in my heart, as I began to try to figure out things on my own instead of trusting God with my future. After 5 years of waiting and praying, we finally made it to Central Asia to begin our work here.
What did God show you during this season?
God taught me that His timing is perfect, and that His plans prevail. I can make plans all day long, but if it is not within God’s plan, it will not happen. And that’s a good thing. I need to trust that He truly knows what’s best, and He is using all things for His glory and my good.
How did God provide protective care during this season?
God provided in so many ways during this season of waiting. He provided housing for us in our uncertain timeline, he provided a church body that encouraged us and helped us grow in this season of pain and uncertainty, and he provided joy in the midst of confusion. But ultimately, He protected us by directing our steps. All of our delays allowed us to become prepared for our life overseas. When we started making preparations to go, we were so young and lacked life experience. But the delays allowed us to grow spiritually, gain ministry experience, and grow stronger as a married couple.
What scripture(s) encouraged you during this season?
I lived in the Psalms during this season. So many comforting passages are in the Psalms that can bring healing to a hurting heart. Especially Psalm 33, 34, and 130
Psalm 130:5
I wait for the Lord, my whole being waits,
and in his word I put my hope.
What encouragement do you have for others that may be walking through this season?
Our time of waiting is never wasted. God is using it for our good and His glory. Instead of becoming discouraged and frustrated with your time of waiting, look to the Lord for strength as you find your joy in Him. Look around and try to find ways that you can grow in your trials. Also, press into your local Church for encouragement and community.
Are there any books or resources that were helpful during this season?
Piercing Heaven: Prayers of the Puritans — Helpful when you are not sure how to pray
The Good Portion Series — Good resources for learning theology. Our theology directly affects how we live and respond to trials.
I have been married to my husband, Jason, for 29 years and have two young adult children. I gave my life to Christ at the age of 14 and have sought to know Him personally over these past 36 years. I am curious about many things and process life through writing. During Covid, I wrote and self-published my first prayer resource called, Consider: Reflecting on the Words of Scripture. I am currently working on a devotional series about grace. When I am not writing or studying Scripture, I enjoy mentoring young women, walking, reading, and hunting for vintage treasures at estate sales and flea markets. I opened Simple Sparrow Co in a local vintage market in 2022 and have fun curating my small shop with timeless cottage-style décor.
Share about a hard season you have walked in your life.
The past few years of my life have proven to be emotionally draining as my husband and I have watched our kids create their own lives apart from us. While this is natural and good, it has been much harder than I dreamed it to be. We hear about how fast time goes when our kids are little, but nothing fully prepares us for this reality. I spent most of my time educating our kids, so they were home with me more than most. I have been used to noise, laughter, friends, messes, and music filling the house for over two decades. I loved it. It was quite the adjustment when my son moved out and then married, but it wasn’t until my daughter moved out that the silence overwhelmed me. Big life shifts are hard even when life is full of new and exciting things.
I cheer them on in their new independence and love spending more one-on-one time with my husband, but the changes to my daily rhythms and routines have brought unexpected grief. Waves of loneliness occasionally barge in that only God can and has filled.
This season has been extra hard as I have longed to talk to my mom who passed away at the age of 69 a few years ago. As she had four kids, I know she would be able to offer some comfort and advice in this unchartered space I’m in. She would listen, and I would feel seen and understood.
What did God show you during this season?
God is showing me that my purpose in this season is the same as it has always been – to love Him with all my heart, soul, and mind, and to love others as He loves me. He has taught me to find my fulfillment and joy in His presence. There has been a new level of dependence on Christ to embrace the quietness within.
God is also teaching me how to embrace the tension that new seasons bring. There is always a degree of sadness when sweet moments end. It is a process to lean into Christ as we miss those precious times. He is gracious and kind to us, so we should be gracious to ourselves as well. There is also great joy and excitement about what these challenges will bring. I will always be a mom, but my identity is higher than that – I am chosen, adopted, loved, and an heir to the kingdom of God.
How did God provide protective care during this season?
During this empty-nest season, I have seen God open ministry doors to mentor young women I didn’t have time for previously. He has allowed me to walk this journey simultaneously with a sister that lives nearby. We pray, weep, laugh, and have adventures together with our husbands. I also consider it God’s sweet grace to attend the same church as my adult children for now. I get to have a front-row seat to how God uses them to serve others through worship and often enjoy a Sunday lunch together. Knowing Christ keeps our sadness from growing bitter roots as we rest in His sovereign care of our lives.
What scripture(s) encouraged you during this season?
Hebrews 4:14-16
“Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”
Ecclesiastes 3:1-2 ESV
“For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven: a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted…”
What encouragement do you have for others that may be walking through this season?
Life will bring seasons of change. That we can count on. But we can also count on the faithfulness of a holy God to sustain us through. When we derive our worth and purpose from Christ from the beginning, we can shift our roles to fulfill them wherever God has us.
When we find ourselves wrestling through their absence, we can establish new patterns of joy. For me, I use my house to host small groups, family gatherings, etc. I fill our home with praise music, create craft messes of my own, find new uses for empty spaces, and pray about how to invest my time to love and encourage others. Children always need our love and support, so keep looking for ways to serve them in the season they are in while respecting their space to grow.
We can grieve. Jesus knows that change is hard. We can give ourselves space for that. There is also joy in the new seasons because Christ is our joy. He never leaves nor forsakes. He is the one sure thing. That keeps us moving forward by faith.
Are there any books or resources that were helpful during this season?
When I am going through any kind of struggle, I love to read slowly through the book of Philippians to remind myself where true joy is found. It shifts my focus toward hope as I walk through the hard.
I recently read Mary DeMuth’s book, Love, Pray, Listen: Parenting Your Wayward Adult Kids with Joy. You do not have to have “wayward” kids that have abandoned their faith to learn from this book. Young adults will make choices different from their parents, and this helps us to navigate that tension with the love and grace of Christ. It is full of practical wisdom on applying the truths of love as seen in 1 Corinthians 13. It led me to see my kids through God’s eyes, not mine.
Hi there! My name is Dina, but those who know me really well call me “Dee.” I’ve lived in Ohio, Florida, New York, and Texas, but I’m currently living’ it up with the parents in “The Land” where I grew up. I’m the youngest of four girls, an aunt to three nephews and three nieces, a graduate of Liberty University, and a single-twenty-something doing her best each day to follow Jesus through the highs and lows. I have been an author of a blog called “For the Times In-Between,” and I have a passion for writing words that move people towards Jesus and His Word in between hard times and their healing.
Share about a hard season you have walked in your life.
At the end of 2022, I hit a wall mentally and emotionally. I spiraled down a dark road of depression, which included many instances of suicidal thoughts. I felt the most hopeless I have ever been. I prayed and read the Bible and prayed some more, but to be honest, it wasn’t the immediate fix I desperately wanted. I struggled getting out of bed every day and doing normal tasks. I struggled driving because I would have thoughts of skirting off the road and ending the pain I was feeling. I would walk into the bathroom and see the bottle of pain pills beckoning me to take one too many. I would walk past the knives in the kitchen, and images flashed across my mind of me releasing all the built-up tension, bleeding out the darkness that just wouldn’t let go of its grip on me.
To say the least, I was scared and wondering if this road would ever end, or if any sign of relief would come in any shape or form. I was confused why God would allow me to get here if He truly did have a hope and future planned for me (Jeremiah 29:11). Like Asaph in Psalm 73, I wondered if I had followed Jesus my whole life just to have it all end in a tragedy of feeling worthless and numb. Did I read my Bible every day for nothing? Was I pursuing a life of purity for no reason? Was I involved in ministry and trying to encourage people toward Jesus for me just to give up and miss out on the abundance of His grace ahead? I was anxious and embarrassed and wanted someone to tell me the secret formula to get out of the murky water I was drowning in. Weeks went by and it felt like the lying voices of the principalities of darkness were taunting me day and night. Up until that point in my life, I never knew the life-or-death power of mental and spiritual battles. But there I was, earnestly asking God to help me; desperately, daily, directly pleading with the King of the universe.
What did God show you during this season?
Where do I begin? He’s still teaching me as I still struggle with dark thoughts. But during those few months, I started intense therapy and God used my counselor along with friends and family members’ support to help me walk through one of the darkest valleys. He showed me it’s okay to simply listen to worship music because that was all I had strength to do to connect with Him. He taught me through Psalm 23 He will indeed prepare a table for me in the face of my enemies, and all I need to do is sit down and keep my eyes focused across the table at Him. The enemy’s lies are loud, but God’s voice is greater – it defines who I am. A storm may be raging inside me, but my Captain has never left the ship, and He will always steer me safely to shore.
He showed me it’s okay to do the bare minimum and allow Him to help me rest in the green pastures of His grace because it is enough, and He will lead me beside still waters filled with the comfort of His near presence.
How did God provide protective care during this season?
During that dark season, it felt like relief would never come, but eventually it did. It takes work – hard work plus surrender. Taking one step after the other. I never attempted taking my own life, praise God, and I don’t take that grace for granted. But even if you have tried, don’t condemn yourself. We cannot outrun His help and guidance. God provided a wonderful therapist for me to connect with and talk through my struggles alongside. I discovered a lot about my personal mental obstacles and practical ways to cope when I feel the darkness closing in.
Asking for help is not weakness, it is the one of the greatest acts of bravery to bring what’s hidden into the light. A major part of God’s protective care is using His people to help more of His own. I wouldn’t be here without seeking support from a professional and those around me.
What scripture(s) encouraged you during this season?
Psalm 23 was my spiritual food and water during that time, and now it’s deeply personal to me. I love how verse 4 says, “even when I walk through the darkest valley, I will not be afraid, for you are close beside me,,” because the promise there is we WILL get through it. Guaranteed. He never leaves us in the valley, but guides us through it for a purpose, giving us everything we need along the way.
Psalm 23:4
Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.
2 Corinthians 10:3-5 says, “we are human, but we don’t wage war as humans do. We use God’s mighty weapons, not worldly weapons, to knock down the strongholds of human reasoning and to destroy false arguments. We destroy every proud obstacle that keeps people from knowing God. We capture their rebellious thoughts and teach them to obey Christ.”
2 Corinthians 10:3-5
For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.
As God’s children, we have authority to say “no” to every false lie the enemy throws our way and make it obedient to what Jesus says is true. Because the power that raised Him from the dead lives inside His own. We get to use that power and we must use these mighty weapons to claim the victory Jesus has already won.
What encouragement do you have for others that may be walking through this season?
Don’t give up. I know how easy it is to want to lose hope when the darkness convinces you there’s no other option. But I’m here to tell you, this won’t last forever, and the light is still breaking through. Relief is coming. The greatest comforter is with you in the shadows. And just like He’s done since the beginning, He will take the broken pieces you’re carrying and make it into something beautiful again. Keep going, one step in front of the other. One praise song after the other. One silent prayer after the other. One verse after the other. One day after the other. The Cross has the final word over your life, and that means you are worthy, filled with purpose to leave a trail of the Kingdom wherever you walk, and God is not done writing your story.
Are there any books or resources that were helpful during this season?
My number one book recommendation is “Don’t Give the Enemy a Seat at Your Table” by Louie Giglio. It completely transformed the way I look at my mental battles and how God is actively involved in them.
The song “In Jesus Name” by Katy Nichole was on repeat when I drove anywhere. Speaking or singing His name out loud has power in the spiritual battlefield!
My name is Lizzy Blanchard. I am a follower of Jesus sharing content about encouragement and truth. I do this in various ways, including online social media platforms, a Podcast titled, “The TRUTH podcast with Lizzy”, as an Editor in Splendeur magazine, and being a part of my local church. I enjoy coffee, theology, and style; I share about these things on my Instagram @lizzyblanchard_! I am passionate about Yahweh, His Word, and His church. I enjoy studying Scripture and pointing others to absolute truth. My focus is to point others to the difference maker – Jesus!
Share about a hard season you have walked in your life.
A particularly hard season that I walked in my life was when my sister, Sarah, died in a car accident. I was 20 years old when she died at the age of 22.
What did God show you during this season?
When you reach rock bottom, you find out who/what is your rock. Anything other than Christ will crumble.
During that time, God showed me just how good He is. When bad circumstances happen – even tragic circumstances – He uses them and ordains them for good for the believer. Romans 8:28 comes to mind, “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.” My sister LOVED God and placed her trust in Jesus Christ – she is secure in her eternal home with God. That is good! For myself, I grew in my faith, my perspective of what is truly important in life was honed. Through sanctification by the Holy Spirit, I became less worldly minded, and more kingdom minded (a continual pursuit). God certainly used it for good in His and my relationship. For others who witnessed my sister’s testimony and how God was continuing to work all things for good, it impacted their journeys as well. God works ALL things together for good. And the fact that He is able (more than able!) to use even hard, tragic things, is something to praise Him for.
How did God provide protective care during this season?
I became a follower of Christ when I was a child. In this hard season, at the age of 20, His protective care held me fast. He daily aided me in renewing my mind, and sovereignly walked with me through the presence of His Holy Spirit. He provided me with a shield of faith to extinguish the flaming arrows of the evil one (Ephesians 6:16). I remember sensing God continually reminding me in those earlier days after Sarah’s passing, “This is temporary, focus on the eternal.” In the very moment that I received the phone call, alone at home, of Sarah’s death I turned to God in prayer, and He brought Scripture to my mind such as Luke 22:42 when Jesus prayed to His Father in a time of suffering and pain. Upon receiving His peace that night, the Holy Spirit brought to remembrance Philippians 4:7.
In short, He kept me. He provided for me. He listened to my cries for help. He reminded me of what’s true. He loved and guided me every step of the way (a He continues to).
What scripture(s) encouraged you during this season?
I mentioned some above, but specifically Romans 8:28, the text surrounding Luke 22:42 – and Jesus’ prayer therein -, Philippians 4:7 (and the surrounding text), the passage about Lazarus being raised from the dead and the timeline surrounding His trip to see Lazarus who was sick (Jesus delayed for a reason, and Scripture sites that reason as love and so that people might believe [see John 11]), and more!
Romans 8:28
And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.
John 22:39-44
Jesus went out as usual to the Mount of Olives, and his disciples followed him. On reaching the place, he said to them, “Pray that you will not fall into temptation.” He withdrew about a stone’s throw beyond them, knelt down and prayed, “Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.” An angel from heaven appeared to him and strengthened him. And being in anguish, he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground.
Philippians 4:7
And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
What encouragement do you have for others that may be walking through this season?
If you are walking through a season of suffering, grief, and loss; I encourage you with this truth: you are not forgotten. God’s hands are not tied. He is not out of control, and if you have surrendered your life to Him, then your life is not out of His control. It might be out of your control (your loved one dying, etc.), but God is still on the throne. This may be one of the hardest seasons of your life, but what if, by the power of the Holy Spirit, it is one of the most fruitful in your relationship with God? Press in. Be honest with God (have you read the vulnerability and honesty of David in many of the Psalms?), cry out to Him, ask Him for Help and for guidance. When we are weak, He is strong. He is faithful and He can reveal Himself mightily in your weakness. Do you believe? Read 2 Corinthians 4:7-9, “But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us. We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed”. By God’s grace, you can make it through. “Weeping may tarry for the night, but joy comes with the morning.” Psalm 30:5b.
Are there any books or resources that were helpful during this season?
The single most important text would be Scripture. His Word is like a double-edged sword; it’s living and active! It’s sweeter than honey. (Hebrews 4:12-13, Psalm 119:103). Being in a local church body as well is essential for the believer. If you are not a part of a Bible-affirming, local church… I encourage you to seek out a local body and join. They will almost certainly have great book recommendations as well!
The heart of Providence Ministries is to teach women about the protective care of God during difficult seasons, dark moments, and deep struggles. It has been a privilege to share my experience with God’s providence over this past year. The more I opened up about my own journey, the more I discovered that I am not alone in my fears, hurt, and insecurities. Over the next three months, we will get to hear stories of how other women have walked in providence.
Though the details of our stories are different, the same God revealed Himself to each one of these women in a personal, loving, protective way during some of life’s most heartbreaking moments. My prayer is that each of these stories will encourage you and remind you that you are not alone in your battles. We have a Heavenly Father that carries us through it all. He is good, He is faithful, and He uses everything for His glory.
ONE YEAR! Providence Ministries and the Walk in Providence Blog is a true testament of God’s protective care. It is absolutely amazing that during the hardest season and most difficult year for our family, God birthed this ministry. He is still working, and I look forward to everything He has in store! There were times it felt too vulnerable, too hard, and not worth it. I almost gave up, but God carried me through it. The thing that would often reassure me was that even if one heart was changed, one woman was encouraged and didn’t feel alone, it would all be worth it. And sometimes that heart and that woman was me. Writing, studying, and preparing each week was often therapeutic and the times I would feel God’s presence like never before.
MEET THE TEAM!
Thank you Moriah McLemore with The Heart Behind It Co. You make the website and social media posts beautiful and brought my vision to life. You are the biggest cheerleader, and this past year would not have been possible without you. Thank you, Matt Morse, for being my IT mastermind. So much of 2022 was painful, but I am so grateful for the way God brought us through it and that we were able to create Providence together. The future may be unknown, but I am so grateful we get to discover it together, hand in hand. Thank you, Rev. Dr. Brad Bradford (Dad), for being my in-house theologian! Carrying the Good News to others is a privilege and an honor. He has given me a heritage of those who love the Lord and I pray the legacy of faith continues with my children.Thank you, Kristy Peoples, for being my editor. You are the one that makes me sound way more educated than I really am! I have known you for 20 years and had no idea you were a grammar guru. For those who were on the focus group in the infant stages, thank you for your prayers and support. Your encouragement meant the more than you will ever know.
And thank you subscribers and followers of Providence Ministries and the Walk in Providence Blog! I have been overwhelmed with the response, interaction, and positive feedback. I pray this past year has been an encouragement to trust in the God who cares for us better and deeper than anything of this world.
I look forward to what this next year has in store!
