As young women, many of us are still working through negative thoughts about our bodies, misunderstandings about God and His will, and have dewy-eyed expectations for our lives.

We’re not prepared for loss and when it comes, even many years later, we’re left reeling.

Several years ago, miscarriage and breast cancer were my twin losses—physical parts of me taken against my will, one right after the other, that left me hollow and disfigured. Then menopause, the surprise triplet, slammed shut the door on my hope of having more children.

Miscarriage left me grieving for a life unseen.

Cancer brought the fear of death up close and an ugly scar in its stead.

And the finality of menopause left me sorrowful for what could no longer be.

Oh, the pain of loss!—it weighs down the heart of a woman like no other.

These losses had me believing I deserved them, secretly believing God was punishing me for faithlessness in His perfect design. You see, all throughout my life, I despised my small breasts (and now I was left with one). My husband’s declaration that I was the most beautiful woman in the world (even after surgery) could not convince me otherwise.

And having a lot of children was never my dream. I had two kids early in my marriage and was content with that. A third startled me and I was done, or so I thought.

Years later, my fourth child was my awakening to God’s best and my fifth was the first time I planned.  All those years worrying I might get pregnant was such a waste of potential. Why did I take so long to see what joy in motherhood could bring?

I had finally aligned my will to God’s and then miscarriage, cancer, and menopause came like a tsunami, and the guilt over what I thought of my body and what I refused to embrace in my early married life hit hard because it was too late.

We don’t realize what we have until it’s gone.

It’s been over seven years since the beginning of these losses and I’m still sad. If I could snap my fingers and get back all I’ve lost I’d do it in the blink of an eye.

But we can’t circumvent God’s will, can we?

Without these physical losses, what spiritual lessons would I have missed?

What reliance on God would I have forfeited because I didn’t need Him as desperately as I thought?

Thanks be to God’s gentle love (which I admit I doubted in the midst of my pain), it was not too late for me to trust in His goodness.

I believe God takes our hesitations and our mistakes, He takes our sadness and our scars, and with our repentant heart molds them to accomplish a pleasing form.

A form that showcases His glory.

Catch Up On Previous Made for Brave Stories…Here

Sisters, we are called to walk the way of hope instead of the way of defeat.  We must claim more than our title of “Daughter of the King.” We must step up and also claim our position.

And we must claim these together. As a sisterhood; a sisterhood of brave women who stand strong in the promises of who God is and who we are.

• We all are Made for Brave.
• We are made to live for something authentic and brave.
• In living brave, we silence the past, transform the future, and take a front row seat to God’s wild and uncontainable love!

So, I’m inviting you to join this Made for Brave Sisterhood, each Monday as we share our stories and allow God to bring hope and healing. Let’s commit to being authentic and brave, one step at a time, side by side, holding each other up and nudging each other toward our true selves. And let’s claim the victory waiting on the other side of brave; for ourselves and our sisterhood.

Let’s celebrate our tears and our struggles as we peel away the layers of fear to reveal the beauty of brave.

Let’s risk everything that brave requires for everything that brave has to offer…

Becoming who we were created to be!

Do you have a Made for Brave story to share? Get the writing guidelines and submit your stories HERE!

Download Your Made for Brave Manifesto from the Soul Hope Cafe!

The Simple Life Series + Giveaways is here!

What if we could find greater freedom, joy, and balance by wanting less, living with less and sharing more? What if we could loosen our grip on the things that bring false security and find the kind of balance that shifts the weight of anxiety toward solid faith? What if uncluttering our inside could result in real joy on the outside?

THE SIMPLE LIFE SERIES – 6 Weeks to MORE Freedom, Joy, and Balance.  We’re tackling the impossible, clearing away the old and making space for what matters most.

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