Ep. 11: The Value of Hard Seasons

 

If you're in a hard season right now — in your marriage, in your life, or both — this episode is for you. Today I get personal, sharing some of the most difficult chapters of my own story, and unpacking what I’ve learned after years of both living through hard things and walking others through them as a therapist. The big question: what possible good can come out of the hard seasons we never asked for?

In This Episode

  • Why I spent most of her early life trying to control my way out of pain — and why that doesn’t always work

  • The hard seasons my husband and I have navigated together: a mystery illness that dominated our lives, career struggles, six moves in the first year of marriage, a parent's death, the LA wildfires, and more

  • Why "muscling through" isn't always the answer — and what to do instead

  • The 3 gifts that hard seasons can give us:

    • Gift 1: They humble you with the (relieving) realization that life is not all up to you

    • Gift 2: They teach you what you're made of

    • Gift 3: They prepare you to serve others in ways only you can

Key Takeaways

  • Hard seasons are not wasted seasons. They have deeply important things to teach us — even when we can't see it yet.

  • Suffering can be the vehicle that produces endurance, character, and unshakable hope (Romans 5:3-4).

  • Allowing yourself to be cared for and to lean on others is not weakness — it's part of what hard seasons are designed to do.

  • The pain you've been through is part of your preparation to help someone else who's walking the same road behind you.

Connect & Resources

✨ Find me on Instagram: @vibrantmarriagepodcast

✨ More resources at vibrantmarriage.co

Listen and Subscribe

Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Pandora

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Ep. 12: Preparing for the Empty Nest (Long Before it Ever Comes) and Navigating the Transition Well (with Kathy Young Deegan)

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Ep. 10: My Whole Life Orbited Around Other People: Lisa's Story of Overcoming Chronic Codependency