By Melissa Thomforde God's Brave Women - Melissa's Story When I originally agreed to write for the Brave Women series, I had a plan in my head; a plan to talk about my abusive childhood, my first marriage, the adoption of my son, the unexpected gift of meeting my second husband and having a daughter after 15 years of infertility… and how God had been present in each of those places even when I wasn’t aware of it. His loving hand was there, guiding me, protecting me, when no o

By Cheryl Treiber-Kawaoka God's Brave Women - Cheryl's Story Even now, as Grace sharply turns the corner from childhood to teenager, I am filled with love for her and gratitude to God that she is our daughter. I can’t believe I hesitated. Almost 12 years ago, my husband, Gerry, and I, were struggling with the decision to adopt. We married late in life, realizing that it was probably too late for us to have children. God showed us the beauty of another path: My husband’s bro

God's Brave Women - Jennifer's Story Have you ever looked at your pain straight in the eye and thought, “Do I need to go there? Do I want to go there?” Have you ever decided to begin the journey of moving toward it and through it? When I see someone else do it, I see bravery. I don’t usually see it in me, but this journey of facing pain does require courage and bravery whether we recognize it or not. House on a Hill is a song breathing life into me these days as I am processi

God's Brave Women - Donna's Story I remember sitting there in the year 2000 and watching that TV documentary on caring for hospice patients. I was so moved by the compassion, grace, and dignity I saw! I wept at the end and told the Lord that I would welcome the opportunity to love on someone in their last few months in life. Little did I know my best friend at the time, my sweet mother-in-law, would make that quiet surrender a reality within weeks. Dolly was my confidant, my

God's Brave Women - A Missionary's Story If you had asked me in 2009, when I was single and teaching pre-school, where I saw myself in 10 years, the answer would NOT have been “in North Africa.” And then there’s God. I have been living overseas almost two years, attempting to learn three different languages (each in part; none fluently!) and, I have to say, I never saw this coming. And I don’t think anyone else who knows me did either! I have always been the close-to-home/ in

God's Brave Women - Katie's Story Tomorrow is my birthday. I turn 36. For such a long time, I’ve focused on how I’m not where I want to be. I’ve not lived in deep regret necessarily, but the moments I’ve lingered too long on have added up and robbed me of hours of joy and peace I can’t get back. NO MORE. Galatians 5:1 states, “For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.” I’m not a “word of the year” person, but if I

God's Brave Women - Anessa's Story “We don’t know why she is not in a coma right now,” the ER Doctor told my mother. “What do you mean? She was coherent enough to give me directions to this hospital,” was my mom’s reply about me. Bravery is found even at moments you least expect, especially when facing a critical health crisis. This was January of 2013. After years of being sick with random symptoms, my body had finally had enough and started to go into “crisis”, also known a

God's Brave Women - Elaina's Story My husband and I met in Miami while working for a community development ministry. After a year of friendship, we choose to commit our lives together before God and our families. Now if you knew me, you’d know I wasn’t the type of girl who longed for marriage or children. I never saw a healthy marriage and used my parents’ divorce as the picture of what the Lord called it to be. I was also told it would be extremely hard for me to get pregnan