Hope Is In The Shared Stories.

Remember the Refine series I wrote? If you haven’t had a chance to read it yet, I hope you take a moment to. In it, I shared about one of the hardest refining seasons I’ve ever had to walk through—and even now, there are moments that still haunt me. Healing from trauma and learning to navigate chronic pain is a long and exhausting road. But today, I’m not here to talk about the pain. I want to talk about the gift God gave me through the people who crossed my path along the way.

The people who shared their stories with me gave me something I didn’t even know I needed—hope. They helped me believe that one day I would be okay, maybe not the same person I once was, but someone stronger, someone who had been shaped and refined by the fire that raged within me.

I’ll never forget one day, sitting at home in tears, overwhelmed by my thoughts and feeling completely alone. I couldn’t understand why, in such a hard season, hardly anyone had shown up. I felt abandoned, wrestling with everything on my own. And then… a knock came at the door. It was the mother of my son’s friend, stopping by to pick him up. As we began to talk, something inside me broke, and without hesitation, I laid my heart out on the table.

And then, she did something I wasn’t expecting. She shared her story—the one that had changed her life forever. She had lived through every mother’s worst nightmare, yet here she was, standing on the other side. She had walked through something no one should ever have to endure, and in that moment, she opened up and let me know that it was all going to be okay. She told me my mind would heal, that she would be there for me, and that no matter how broken I felt, I wasn’t alone.

That woman has been a constant support in my life ever since, and I always tell her she’s a keeper. But more than her friendship, it was her vulnerability and the story she shared that shifted my healing journey. It gave me the light I needed in my darkest moment. Her story wasn’t pretty, but it was real, and in it, I found hope that no matter how long it took, I would face this mountain and make it to the other side.

Let me say this: she wasn’t the only one God put before me. Each unlikely person brought pieces of their stories that would help shape and guide me in my own.

And I want to say this: in life, we’re going to go through many, many hard seasons. Sometimes the testimonies we accumulate seem like more than we can handle; sometimes we plead and ask the Lord why, begging, “Don’t make me go through another.” But those seasons help us connect to the very people walking through similar trials. I’ve seen it. Looking back now, I see why God gifted me with a heart of mercy, empathy, and encouragement.

This is the power of shared stories. They are the light that shows up in our darkness, the reminder that we are not alone. When someone is brave enough to share where they’ve been, it sparks a glimmer of hope in us, reminding us that healing is possible, even when it feels out of reach.

I know it can be hard, but your story matters to someone. One day, someone is going to need to hear it and discover they’re not alone too. That’s the power of testimony and empathy the world needs. So please, as hard as it can be sometimes to put yourself out there… keep sharing, keep being vulnerable, your story matters more than you know.

We all need these stories—the ones that make us feel seen, the ones that tell us we will make it through. I hope that in sharing my journey with you, you’ll find some of that light too.

“Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.”

— 1 Thessalonians 5:11

Love Sarah x.

*Thank you so much for reading my posts and journeying here with me! Every comment, heart and share blesses me and this little space of mine so much! This is my full-time calling and I pray these words continue to encourage you. Please consider supporting by becoming a paid subscriber (totally optional) and keep this creator… creating for Jesus!