Heidi Chiavaroli -- Overcoming Fear With God's Help

Heidi Chiavaroli, welcome to Overcoming With God. We appreciate your willingness to share your testimony of overcoming with our readers. 

Thank you so much for having me, Carrie!

Would you tell us about the one of the most difficult things in your life you have had to overcome, with God’s help?

 Definitely, definitely fear. I was the little girl who would run to my Mom every time I got the smallest scrape, fearing it would somehow prove fatal. I was the girl who clung to the side of the pool for the entire 4^th of July party, missing out on all the fun, even though I had a perfectly dependable bubble strapped to my back.

By God’s grace, some of this lessened as I grew and then…I had kids of my own! Talk about knowing fear. How would I protect them, raise them right, keep my patience? Add to that a particularly trying time in the northeast when New England was shaken up by the Boston Marathon bombing, just months after the Sandy Hook Elementary tragedy. I totally reverted back to my old fearful ways. I didn’t want to send my kids to school, I even called the police on a tax assessor who came to our door in the days following the bombing because I was fearful one of the brothers stood at my door (to me, the assessor looked just like the pictures all over the news). Crazy, but I was scared, just realizing—really realizing—that anything could happen any time or any place. I was not an exception to the evil in the world.

BUT I was able to explore this fear in the writing of this novel, and even work out my own struggles through it.

What passages in the Bible have been most helpful to you in those times?

I’m so glad you asked this!

There are many, but here are two of my favorites:

Isaiah 41:10 – Do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.

This verse absolutely speaks to my heart. And I love that it’s one of those special prophecies, written about Jesus (my righteous right hand) hundreds of years before Jesus even showed up in Bethlehem. Love that.

The other is Romans 8:28 - And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.

I think we often go to this verse and think, “Okay, everything’s going to be good for me because I love God.” But that’s more of a health and wealth gospel, not the gospel Jesus died for. His gospel is so much bigger, bringing purpose out of pain and suffering. Though I often struggle with fear, this verse reminds me that no matter what, no matter how I see things, God has this, simply because I am his.

What helped you get through or helped you cope with this difficulty?

Marinating myself in God’s promises and the truth of His gospel. By realizing that belief isn’t just a one time thing. It’s an every second of every minute kind of thing. We need God for so much more than a one-moment-of-faith conversion. We need Him to sustain our own faith, even. At least I know I do!

Reading the writings of those strong in the faith also helped me, as well as attending a Bible study. Having sisters who sympathized with me and prayed for me made an absolute world of difference. And of course, my family. I don’t know what I’d do without their love, shown in tangible ways all the time.

Disability friendliness: Is this latest release available in audio format or do you have any other works available on audio?  Do your e-books have audio capability? Do you have any in large print? 

I’m sorry—nothing yet! Hopefully down the line…

In this latest work, do you have any topics useful for bibliotherapy, or therapeutic influence through reading about a disorder or situation?  

Everyone has struggled with something they fear, or something in their past they would have done differently. This is both Annie’s and Liberty’s difficulty. Annie wonders how she will ever get past the day of the marathon bombing, and the subsequent choices she made. Liberty fears she will have to face the man she stole a ring from—a man who showed her nothing but kindness. She is also distraught over her brother’s death in the Boston Massacre.

Both these characters struggle with forms of PTSD (though certainly they didn’t label it such in colonial days!) Though we might or might not suffer from a similar disorder, we have all done things we regret. We struggle over our inability to have do-overs. We spend precious time fearing we will make the same mistakes, or fearing that we are simply not strong enough, not smart enough, not enough at all. And maybe we’re not. But that doesn’t mean there isn’t a hope greater than us and our abilities.
BIO:

Heidi Chiavaroli is a writer, runner, and grace-clinger who could spend hours exploring Boston's Freedom Trail. She writes Women's Fiction and won the 2014 ACFW Genesis contest in the historical category. She makes her home in Massachusetts with her husband, two sons, and Howie, her standard poodle.

Heidi’s Links:

http://www.heidichiavaroli.com

https://www.facebook.com/HeidiChiavaroli.Author/

https://twitter.com/HeidiChiavaroli

https://www.pinterest.com/hchiavaroli/boards/

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/16080793.Heidi_Chiavaroli

Question you’d like to ask readers:How have you struggled with fear in your life? How has God used this in your life?

GIVEAWAY: Heidi is generously giving away a copy of her book to one of our commenters!