This week on To Help You Heal, we’re continuing the Stories That Shaped Me series with a story that has deeply influenced how I live today.

When my first husband and I got married, my greatest dream was to be a wife and a mom. In our first year, we found out we were expecting a baby girl, Elise. But at just 26 weeks, she was born premature and lived only 20 minutes in our arms. The loss was devastating—not only in that moment, but in the way it carried forward into every part of life.

In that season of grief, I began to find God as a healer. I discovered I could be completely honest with Him about how I felt, and I started to believe He really did want to speak to me. In time, I sensed Him giving me a promise: that I would one day have a daughter, and her name would be Abigail.

Holding on to that promise brought me to a daily choice—was I going to lean into fear, or lean into faith? That choice didn’t erase the pain, but it gave me a way forward. And it’s a lesson I’ve carried into so many other seasons since then.

In this episode, I share how God met me in loss, what it looked like to trust His promise, and how choosing faith over fear can change the way we live our everyday lives.

Maybe you’re in a place right now where fear feels louder than faith. If so, I’d love to walk with you through that. My book To Help You Heal was written for moments just like these. You can find it here: https://mariemonville.com/product/to-help-you-heal/

Reflection prompts for your week:

• Where are you leaning into fear?

• What would it mean to lean into faith instead?

• How is God inviting you to trust Him today?

Come back next week for another story that shaped me!