The Unfolding

Sparkle Sanders was driven to succeed in everything she did. One of her greatest fears was failure. Nothing made her feel more like a failure than motherhood. When Sparkle became a mom, it didn’t look anything like what she expected. Every day has hard, and the struggle with postpartum depression made her feel miles away from God.

When Tracy Hoth first met Jesus, it was fun and dynamic. Her life changed almost overnight. But as the years went by, faith became more of a responsibility than a relationship with the Creator. Prayer and reading the Bible felt like a duty, but didn’t bring life or joy. But God continued to pursue Tracy, confirming she could trust him, even when her son was in a traumatic accident. ()

For so long there has been a stigma around issues of mental health, including among believers in Jesus. For many of us, we assume depression and anxiety are issues we can fix, if we read the Bible or pray more. Lydia Laird knew God was calling her to write and perform music about her faith, but she was struggling with depression, anxiety and panic attacks. For years she carried shame because she just couldn’t fix it.

What if you knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that heaven is real and you could spend eternity with Jesus? If you could see it with your own eyes, would that change you? Dean Braxton was a normal guy, living a pretty normal life, when he had an out of this world experience that changed him forever.

Is there purpose for the pain and loss we experience? That’s been a question that Marie Kuck has grappled with throughout her life. As the mother of a special needs child, she has lived face to face and heart to heart with the challenges of disability. She’s been forced to ask tough questions, like how do you process grief, while holding on to hope? And how can God take heartache and work it for good? If you struggled with these questions, Marie’s story will help you believe that hope lives, even in the shadow of grief.

After a sudden illness and 107 days in the hospital, Gary Miracle came home to a radically different life. He had lost all four limbs. Gary and Kelly held on to the belief that God would not allow something so big and drastic in his life, if He didn’t plan to use it in a big way. Gary’s story became the inspiration for MercyMe’s song and video, “Say I Won’t.”

Gary and Kelly Miracle were living a very typical life when Gary suddenly became sick. He was admitted to the hospital, his kidneys began to fail, and he fell into septic shock. In a matter of days, life as they knew it changed forever. Gary is the inspiration for Mercy Me's song, "Say I Won't.

Mandisa is best known for singing powerful, upbeat songs of faith. When her close friend Kisha was diagnosed with cancer, Mandisa was confident God would heal her. When He didn’t, she fell into a deep depression that nearly claimed her life.

Have you ever felt like the foundation of your faith was crumbling? It's a hard experience for anyone, but especially difficult if you are an artist who has built your career on songs of faith. Jason Gray shares his story and a song inspired by his journey in this episode of The Unfolding.

Many people thought Dani Burton was a lost cause. From the time she was young she was searching for love and affirmation in all the wrong places. Drinking and drugs led to shame, addiction and eventually prison. She would walk through heartbreaking loss before she finally understood that God saw her as worthy, beautiful and beloved.