Have you ever had a series of trials crash over your life with no warning? From placid waters to a tsunami in moments, peace and calm can feel very temporary and fragile, right? Many times we come away from trials with baggage, fear, and anxiety. What if the next wave is worse? What if I fail and sink in the chaos? Trials can shatter our safe world, and we’re just not sure how to put it back together again. I have been there. Three years ago, my world went topsy-turvy through a hard season. In that time, we lost my father, I faced some major health battles, and waded through disillusionment and disappointment with God. Even now, I realize that I am not immune to the storms of life. In fact, in Matthew 5:45 Jesus said, “The rain falls on the just and the unjust.” So what do we do with the lingering fears from the last wave? Many choose to square their shoulders, put on a good front, and quietly battle the darkness alone, allowing their wounds to become more infected and toxic by the day. Obviously, that’s a train wreck in the making. So … we have to choose to come to God with the grief, the questions, the anxiety, and invite Him to give us new perspective, strength, grace, and comfort. At some point, we realize that faith is the antidote for fear. Fear brings torment, and it will stomp around our minds as long as we allow it to, but time in God’s Word will both override the fear with faith and prepare us for future battles. I have learned that we can either be marked by the trials of life . . .or by the victory and growth that we glean from them.