God will make a way where there seems to be no way! Isa. 41:18

I am the adult child of an alcoholic; a wife; a mom; a grandma; a friend; a writer; a dog lover; a recently "retired" homeschool mom; a former court reporter; a co-founder of Glass House Ministries...

In short, I am simply an ordinary woman. I wear many different hats throughout the course of my days. Truth is, it is not who I am that makes me unique, but rather Who I serve. I am just another ordinary woman, but I serve an EXTRAORDINARY God. My heavenly Father continually takes the broken places in my life - in me - and makes them whole again. And when God restores something, it's always better than brand new!

Life's trials and tribulations can make us feel as if we are alone in a desert wasteland, but the truth is that God never leaves our side. He's right there, waiting; waiting for us to call on Him; waiting for us to get out of His way; waiting for us to acknowledge our need of His saving grace. He longs to bring refreshment to our parched souls. We have only to ask Him. Sounds simple, but it is often the hardest part. I speak what I know, for I have learned this truth - relearn it sometimes daily - the hard way; surrendering is a learned art.

But nothing is ever wasted in God's kingdom. What the enemy intends for our destruction, God uses for our good. I have seen this time and again in my own life. My hope and desire in writing - in sharing my life with others - is to bring a word of encouragement to another life, is to share some of the things God has taught me, in order that my words might be like a stream in the wilderness of someone else's desert.

So then, who is Cheri Hardaway?

I'm a wife. I met my wonderful husband in 1983, on a blind date. Neither of us knew Jesus then, but He knew us; He knew we needed Him, and He knew we needed each other. He brought us together, two love-wounded souls, and challenged us to dare and love again. Throughout our first year of marriage, Christ wooed us to Himself, and just before our first anniversary, we both accepted Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. For the past 25 years, we have walked through life together, experiencing both blessings and trials. For every blessing, we give thanks; through each trial, we are learning to rejoice... in God's faithfulness, in His provision, in His grace and mercy, in the lessons He is teaching us... learning to rejoice in growing up.

I'm a stepmother. I'm a grandma. When my husband and I married, I got an instant family. Hubby came with a three-year-old son. This little guy may have started out a stepson, but he soon became a son of my heart. The past two-and-a-half decades have afforded us many opportunities for growth, and I am proud to be a mom to this special young man. He married a lovely young woman, and they have added three beautiful grandbabies to our family - twin boys and a little girl.

I'm a mom. Once married, we added three more to our little family, another son and two daughters. Our second son took us on an incredible journey as he struggled with addiction in his teen years. When he graduated from Teen Challenge in December 2007, the keynote speaker said this: "Before it was incredible, it was impossible." There were many times when we thought we'd never see our boy walking with the Lord, but God did the impossible. This young man is an inspiration to our whole family, and he is a picture of what God can do with a life fully surrendered to Him.

I was a homeschool mom. We graduated our youngest child from high school in May of 2009. When we first started homeschooling thirteen years ago, I wasn't sure I could do it. It looked like an impossible task, to home educate through high school; yet we now have three graduates, homeschooled through high school, currently attending college. Once again, God has accomplished what appeared to be an impossible task. If He calls you to it, He'll see you through it!

I am a writer. I have written articles for both FaithWriters and The Cypress Times, as well as various other places. God first breathed into my heart the idea of a book, a written testimony of His faithfulness to me and my family, in 1995. What He neglected to tell me in 1995 was that I hadn't yet lived all that He had for me to write about. It is now 2009, and the fourteen years that have come and gone since God whispered in my ear have taught me and my family about God's love for each of us in an incredible way. It's time to share our story and His love...

Worth Every Tear is the true story of the Hardaway family's journey with God, the story of the change God wrought in my heart and the resulting changes I saw in my family. God rescued all of us in a way that could never have happened with me in control. God has used my family's struggles to get my attention and remind me that He is God and I am not.

Surrender and victory are often seen as opposites, but in God's kingdom, surrender to Him, letting go of our own plan and trusting in His, is the only pathway to freedom and victory in Christ. This is the hope I want to share with others in my book, which is now in the process of being written!

Finally, in the fall of 2008, God called my husband and I to begin Glass House Ministries, which is nearing its first birthday in December. Over the past year, we have watched in drop-jawed amazement as God has taken the seed of an idea and turned it into a prayer and encouragement ministry with the potential of sharing the hope and love of Jesus Christ with people both locally and through an Internet presence. We are humbled to be a part of God's heart in this way.

Remember: "Before it was incredible, it was impossible."

Matthew 19:26 tells us that "with God all things are possible."

I have watched Him take my life - my family, my struggles, my shortcomings - and do incredible things. Let Him make your life incredible too.

WEBSITES

Glass House Ministries

Glass House Ministries at TCT

Cheri's website