Reimagining God’s Promises

By: Janelle Cach

Janelle stepped into the Reimagine Conference in February 2024, tears gathering in her eyes when a sign with the word ‘grace’ caught her attention. She and her husband had been praying for another sibling for their two young boys and they’d found out recently that their prayers had been answered!

Janelle had her heart set on a baby girl. “Grace was a name that my Nana and my mother-in-law had loved and it felt like it fit with our family. So when I walked into one of the bathrooms at the conference and saw the word ‘grace”, I thought, thank you God! This is affirmation from you that I’m going to get my Grace. I went home from the conference worshiping God and feeling so connected and joyful that He was providing me with Grace.”

However, three weeks later, the God connection she’d felt at the conference began slipping away. “I had a miscarriage and I felt so hopeless and forgotten, as though God had forsaken me. I felt then like His promise was not meant to be. And it hurt.”

Despite the pain, Janelle clung to her faith. She didn’t know why God had allowed her to lose the baby, so she leaned into what she knew to be true about Him. “There are seasons where we don’t get our prayers answered and it’s hard. It can feel discouraging, but that doesn’t mean we should stop praying. We can continue to go to Him and seek His guidance, even if on the surface we don’t feel like we’re being heard or that we’re getting what we want. We have to remember it’s part of His greater plan and we have to be okay with that lack of contentment at different points throughout our lives.”

“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” Jeremiah 29:11

God’s Greater Plan

Since becoming a mother herself, Janelle has felt the lack of local support in her community for Moms. She dreamed of filling the gap herself, but as a mother of two little boys, she knew running a group wouldn’t be sustainable if she had to do it on her own.

During her season of loss, Janelle was plugged into a local Bible study, part of a local  Women’s Ministry (Arise). God continued to put her dream of a Mom’s ministry on her heart, she mentioned her desire to her Bible study leader. “The leader of my Bible study, Darla, shared that God had also laid it on her heart to help start this mom’s group and through prayer, felt that He wanted it to be called Moms of Grace. It was a full-circle moment. God was calling me to be a leader. I saw then that Grace was always supposed to be a part of my life—it was just going to look different than I thought.”

A word that represented a season marked by sadness became a word proving God’s faithfulness to her in every circumstance.

“The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.” Deuteronomy 31:8

A More Intimate Understanding of Jesus’ True Character

Janelle says God has not only called her to leadership during this season of ‘grace,’ but to a more intimate relationship with Him. She attended a number of Salt’s online summer Bible studies and was encouraged as she learned what a more conversational relationship with Him looks like. 

Janelle’s story is a powerful reminder that when we remain steadfast in our knowledge of God and cling to Godly community, He will show us a way forward through present uncertainty, hurt, and struggle. Even when we can’t see it, the Lord is always at work creating, molding, and shaping us into His image.

Is there a time you felt God abandoned you, only to discover His involvement with your life had never ceased? We’d love to hear about it!

“Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance.” James 1:2-3