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I have a friend joining me today, and we’re talking about God making beauty out of ashes in our lives.  Edie and I have similar stories, and thankfully, we both have similar redemption to share as well! We’re also talking about never giving up, so if you’re someone who has tried and tried and just can’t stick to something, I know you’ll be encouraged!

All the Pretty Things – “I don’t know how old I was the night the trailer burned down, or if the rumor was true that Daddy was the one who set it on fire.”

For a long time, Edie thought she had escaped. It started in an Appalachian trailer park, where a young girl dreamed of becoming a doctor. But every day, Edie woke up to her reality: a poverty-stricken world full of alcohol and violence, where getting out seemed impossible. She taught herself to drive a stick shift truck at twelve years old so she could get her drunk daddy home from the bar. She spent Saturdays at Brushy Mountain prison visiting her incarcerated cousin. She watched adults eat while her stomach gnawed and then there was torching of the family trailer, where she dug through the ashes to try to salvage her most prized possession–her Tammy Wynette album.

And at the center of it all was her charismatic daddy. She never knew when he would show up but when he did he was usually drunk; she learned the hard way that she couldn’t count on him to protect her. So she told herself it didn’t matter. All she wanted was to make him proud. Against all odds, Edie “made doctor,” achieving everything that had once seemed beyond her reach. Only, it was too late, because her Daddy died a year before she graduated medical school. She split the cost of his funeral with her sister.

When her past finally caught up with her, it was all too much so she did what her Daddy would have done–she set it all on fire. It would take her whole life burning down once again for Edie to be finally able to face the truth about herself, her family, and her relationship with God.

Click here to see more about Edie and Heidi’s favorite oils!

Edie Wadsworth is a national speaker, writer, and faith blogger at life{in}grace. She has been featured in various media including Better Homes and Gardens. Edie is a physician and natural health enthusiast who encourages and inspires women to live with more passion and purpose so that they can impact families and communities with their unique gifts. After overcoming her difficult upbringing to become a successful medical doctor, Edie left her practice to raise her family and pursue her love for writing. Her passion is to love her people well and to see women embrace the full measure of their life’s passion and purpose. She blogs at lifeingraceblog.com on a variety of topics centered onhome—including vocation, hospitality, faith, parenting, cooking, and life in the South. In 2012, she traveled to Nicaragua as a Compassion International blogger to advocate for children in need. When she’s not writing or teaching natural health classes, she enjoys cooking (with butter!), running, reading, banjo music, and the beautiful scenery of southern Appalachia, where she makes her home with her husband, Steve, and their awesome kids.