The Unfolding

"And so one day I stopped praying." Laura Wifler had believed in God since childhood, but after a season of suffering, she began questioning whether he existed at all. When she finally told her friend and husband, their response surprised her and helped her face the questions she'd been carrying alone. Laura shares how her trust in God slowly returned, even as some doubts remain. 

Listen to last week's Unfolding Short Stories for another part of Laura's story, about facing an uncertain future for her family. 

Learn more about Laura's new book, This Side of the Sky.

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After moving through twelve foster homes and experiencing abuse and neglect, Tori Hope Petersen believed she was unwanted. She questioned how a loving God could allow children to suffer. But a woman who offered meals, a hidden key, and a safe place to land helped her begin to see God, and herself, differently. 

In this episode of The Unfolding, Tori shares her journey from rejection to belonging, how she came to faith in Jesus, and how God's love shaped her life as a mother and foster parent. For Tori, hospitality became a way to offer others the welcome that had changed her own life, sometimes around a kitchen table, sometimes by opening her home to a family in crisis. 

Her story invites you to recognize God's love in ordinary acts of kindness, trust what He says about your worth, and consider how He might use what you already have to love someone else. This is an encouraging conversation about healing, identity in Christ, and hospitality.  Tori Hope Petersen is the author of Fostered and Safe House. 

Show Notes:  

Link to purchase Safe House: Amazon  

Author Website: torihopepetersen.com   

Facebook: Tori Hope Petersen  

Instagram: @torihopepetersen

"It doesn't feel like I know how to see a bright future." Laura Wifler's husband needed major surgery when doctors told them their newborn daughter would probably never walk or talk. Laura shares how God gave her peace amid uncertainty and helped her see that her daughter's worth never depended on what she could achieve. Her new book, This Side of the Sky: 101 Poems and Scriptures for the Hungry, Hopeful, and Homesick, explores seeing God's goodness in everyday life, even in hard seasons.

Do you feel responsible for keeping everyone happy, or like you have to prove your worth whenever you walk into a room? 

Bestselling author and Bible teacher Angie Smith, known for Seamless and Matchless, learned early to put others' needs and emotions ahead of her own. Through painful experiences and honest conversations with God, she began recognizing how those patterns shaped her relationships, her faith, and the way she saw herself. 

With humor and vulnerability, Angie shares her ongoing struggle with approval, control, and changing seasons, and how she's learning to live in the identity God has given her. Her newest book, Into the Deep, offers a practical path toward recognizing those patterns, working through them with God, and growing in freedom. 

Show Notes:  

Website: https://angiesmithministries.com/ 

Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/officialangiesmith/ 

Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/angiesmithministries 

Book:  https://angiesmithministries.com/books/into-the-deep/

https://spiritualsimplicity.com/
Pastor Allen Ratta was teaching on the Lord's Prayer when bullets began striking his church, with children at the other end of campus. Everyone survived, but a different crisis later left Alan a single father of four, stepping away from ministry to care for his family. Through both experiences, that familiar prayer became deeply personal. Alan shares how God protected his congregation and why "Give us this day our daily bread" became an invitation to reconnect with God.