Uploaded August 2026 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago
# Mary Shearer Eckert on Trusting God When Everything Seems to Go Wrong at Once
In this episode of **The Neil Haley Show** and the **Wounded Sisters Podcast**, bestselling author **Mary Shearer Eckert** shares a deeply personal story about faith, worry, financial pressure, and what happens when multiple problems seem to arrive all at once. Her message is simple but powerful: when life feels like it is falling apart, do not let fear take control. Hold on to your faith and trust that you can make it through the crisis.
Mary begins by describing her normal morning routine. She wakes up, makes coffee, sits on her front porch swing, and spends time praying. On this particular morning, finances were heavily on her mind.
She is excited about everything happening around *Wounded Sisters*, including promotion, future appearances, and the opportunity to reach more women with the message behind the book. At the same time, Mary describes herself as financially conservative, and she admits that investing money into promoting the book sometimes makes her nervous.
She began thinking about other things she could purchase with that money—a refrigerator, household necessities, and other practical expenses. For a moment, she questioned whether she should be spending so much on getting the book into the world.
During her prayer time, however, two familiar Bible passages came to mind.
One was Jeremiah 29:11, a verse that also appears in *Wounded Sisters*, reminding her that God has plans involving hope and a future. The other was the message from Proverbs about trusting in the Lord rather than relying entirely on your own understanding.
Mary says those words helped calm her. She reminded herself that she believed God had given her the direction to continue with the book.
Then the morning became considerably more complicated.
Mary is preparing for a book tour through West Texas, where she also plans to take photographs and gather inspiration for the sequel to *Wounded Sisters*. While getting things ready before leaving, she walked to an outbuilding where the family keeps a deep freezer.
She opened it and discovered that it had stopped working.
Mary checked the light and the electrical receptacle, hoping for a simple explanation. Instead, the freezer itself had failed. She suddenly had to remove everything, transfer food into ice chests, and figure out how to replace the appliance.
By that point, Mary admits she was having what she jokingly calls a good old-fashioned “Southern hissy fit.”
Then another problem appeared.
While unloading her dishwasher, she realized the dishes were still dirty. Now, within the same morning, the freezer had died and the dishwasher appeared to have stopped working—all while she was already worrying about money.
For Mary, that became the moment when the morning’s spiritual lesson became real.
She began thinking: these are machines. Machines break. They can be repaired or replaced. The situation was frustrating, but it was not the end of the world.
Her husband called a store about seventeen miles away and discovered they had a freezer available. The store delivered it within an hour and removed the old one. The food was saved.
Mary then cleaned the dishwasher, ran another cycle, and discovered that it was working again.
Suddenly, the disaster that had seemed overwhelming was largely resolved.
Mary believes the experience reminded her that faith is not only important during enormous tragedies. Sometimes faith is strengthened through the everyday situations that test our patience, create fear, and make us wonder how we are going to handle one more problem.
She also reflects on financial insecurity later in life. When someone is no longer earning a traditional paycheck and is living primarily on retirement income or Social Security, unexpected expenses can feel especially intimidating. That fear can make someone question decisions that previously felt right.
For Mary, continuing to promote *Wounded Sisters* is connected to something larger than book sales. Women have approached her and told her that the novel feels real because it touches experiences they recognize in their own lives.
Her upcoming sequel will continue exploring difficult issues, including grief and loss.
Neil Haley encourages Mary not to allow temporary fear to convince her to abandon a larger mission. He points out that nobody knows how far the book may eventually travel, how many women could be helped by its message, or what kind of legacy Mary’s writing may ultimately create.
Mary agrees that legacy and service are at the center of her work.
To learn more about **Mary Shearer Eckert**, purchase *Wounded Sisters*, and follow future episodes of the **Wounded Sisters Podcast**, visit **MaryShearerEckert.com**.
# Mary Shearer Eckert on Trusting God When Everything Seems to Go Wrong at Once
In this episode of **The Neil Haley Show** and the **Wounded Sisters Podcast**, bestselling author **Mary Shearer Eckert** shares a deeply personal story about faith, worry, financial pressure, and what happens when multiple problems seem to arrive all at once. Her message is simple but powerful: when life feels like it is falling apart, do not let fear take control. Hold on to your faith and trust that you can make it through the crisis.
Mary begins by describing her normal morning routine. She wakes up, makes coffee, sits on her front porch swing, and spends time praying. On this particular morning, finances were heavily on her mind.
She is excited about everything happening around *Wounded Sisters*, including promotion, future appearances, and the opportunity to reach more women with the message behind the book. At the same time, Mary describes herself as financially conservative, and she admits that investing money into promoting the book sometimes makes her nervous.
She began thinking about other things she could purchase with that money—a refrigerator, household necessities, and other practical expenses. For a moment, she questioned whether she should be spending so much on getting the book into the world.
During her prayer time, however, two familiar Bible passages came to mind.
One was Jeremiah 29:11, a verse that also appears in *Wounded Sisters*, reminding her that God has plans involving hope and a future. The other was the message from Proverbs about trusting in the Lord rather than relying entirely on your own understanding.
Mary says those words helped calm her. She reminded herself that she believed God had given her the direction to continue with the book.
Then the morning became considerably more complicated.
Mary is preparing for a book tour through West Texas, where she also plans to take photographs and gather inspiration for the sequel to *Wounded Sisters*. While getting things ready before leaving, she walked to an outbuilding where the family keeps a deep freezer.
She opened it and discovered that it had stopped working.
Mary checked the light and the electrical receptacle, hoping for a simple explanation. Instead, the freezer itself had failed. She suddenly had to remove everything, transfer food into ice chests, and figure out how to replace the appliance.
By that point, Mary admits she was having what she jokingly calls a good old-fashioned “Southern hissy fit.”
Then another problem appeared.
While unloading her dishwasher, she realized the dishes were still dirty. Now, within the same morning, the freezer had died and the dishwasher appeared to have stopped working—all while she was already worrying about money.
For Mary, that became the moment when the morning’s spiritual lesson became real.
She began thinking: these are machines. Machines break. They can be repaired or replaced. The situation was frustrating, but it was not the end of the world.
Her husband called a store about seventeen miles away and discovered they had a freezer available. The store delivered it within an hour and removed the old one. The food was saved.
Mary then cleaned the dishwasher, ran another cycle, and discovered that it was working again.
Suddenly, the disaster that had seemed overwhelming was largely resolved.
Mary believes the experience reminded her that faith is not only important during enormous tragedies. Sometimes faith is strengthened through the everyday situations that test our patience, create fear, and make us wonder how we are going to handle one more problem.
She also reflects on financial insecurity later in life. When someone is no longer earning a traditional paycheck and is living primarily on retirement income or Social Security, unexpected expenses can feel especially intimidating. That fear can make someone question decisions that previously felt right.
For Mary, continuing to promote *Wounded Sisters* is connected to something larger than book sales. Women have approached her and told her that the novel feels real because it touches experiences they recognize in their own lives.
Her upcoming sequel will continue exploring difficult issues, including grief and loss.
Neil Haley encourages Mary not to allow temporary fear to convince her to abandon a larger mission. He points out that nobody knows how far the book may eventually travel, how many women could be helped by its message, or what kind of legacy Mary’s writing may ultimately create.
Mary agrees that legacy and service are at the center of her work.
To learn more about **Mary Shearer Eckert**, purchase *Wounded Sisters*, and follow future episodes of the **Wounded Sisters Podcast**, visit **MaryShearerEckert.com**.
