Why do bad things happen to good people? How do we find gratitude and joy in life’s most difficult moments?
One of life’s toughest tasks, even for people of faith, can be seeing God’s love during difficult circumstances.
God doesn’t abandon us; He carries us. He wants us to bring our problems to Him and find our way by grabbing His outstretched hand. And sometimes it’s true stories about how ordinary people walk with God and discover this that help strengthen our faith and trust in God.
A new book, It’s Not About the Broken Road, offers true stories about everyday people finding their way through difficulties in a Christ-centered and inspirational journey. It’s about building faith while persevering through adversity.
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Each of the families featured discovers joy and gratitude in their own distinct and inspirational ways. Spoiler alert: the answer is God!
One of the families is David and Julie Brannon. They scheduled a routine ultrasound for their second child, and their expected joy shattered when they learned their son had severe genetic anomalies. They rejected the doctor’s suggestion to abort the child and made a conscious decision to see the pregnancy through. The couple worked with a new, more compassionate doctor, and they bonded with their child growing in the womb.
They struggled with the question, Why us? The story chronicles their thoughts and emotions and how their reliance on faith brought them peace and joy. Their son Joseph was born alive, and David and Julie had a precious four hours to spend with their infant son.
Although difficult, they discovered that God truly provided them a blessing: the gift of time and the opportunity to be parents to their son. Joseph’s entire life experience was receiving love from his parents and other family members.
David and Julie found that gratitude and healing could bloom in life’s darkest moments. Through faith, love, and unexpected grace, their powerful story showed how Christ met them in suffering—and led them toward hope and purpose.
A second story highlights Kim Marvin, whose adult life continued to be affected by the trauma related to her memories about surviving a failed abortion. Kim details the frightening dreams she experienced as a child. After an intense episode as a teenager, she burst into her parent’s bedroom in the middle of the night. That’s when she learned she was almost an abortion statistic.
She is cautious about starting a new relationship with widower Reagan Perry. But their love of Christ strengthened their faith and relationship. Their life story is a testament to how adversity can change the way we see God. God’s plan for restoration often appeared in the most unexpected ways, and it brought a perspective to the age-old question: Why do bad things happen to good people?
The book also features the story of Greg and Elsa Verrier. They discover joy through faith, family, and service. As they faced adoption struggles, illness, loss, and uncertainty, they heard God’s call to start a horse ranch and provide a refuge for children and families. Along the way, they witnessed firsthand the power of the Holy Spirit to mend hearts and transform lives.
We have blessings and burdens in life. It’s not always obvious, nor what we initially thought. We frequently miss the bigger picture. We live in a broken world with our own free will. God isn’t a micromanager and God is not punitive. He doesn't want to see us suffer, but sometimes things are allowed to happen that can open our eyes and make us yearn for Him even more.
We can’t always control what happens in life, but we can control our reaction. We can choose gratitude. Our struggles, trauma, or problems don’t define us. Scripture recounts many broken people who do great things. God loves a comeback story, and humans love second chances and stories of redemption.
Tweet This: Our struggles, trauma, or problems don’t define us. Scripture recounts many broken people who do great things. God loves a comeback story.
If we’ve had difficulties in our life, we can help others. If we’ve felt pain, we can comfort a friend in need. Surviving a challenge or persevering through life’s trials can bond us to another person. It’s the same as with Jesus when we go through it with Him. We become bonded to Christ.
Editor’s note: John DiGirolamo is a speaker and Christian author of five books, featuring true stories of police officers, a pro-life doctor, spiritual warfare and human trafficking. It’s Not About the Broken Road is his fifth book. John is the Board President of Bringing our Valley Hope, a nonprofit that provides human trafficking education, awareness, and survivor support. All of John’s books are available on Amazon. More information can be found HERE.
