We want our kids to have this fairytale childhood, and when they don't, we think, "Oh, wow. That's my fault." But we know in our own lives that fairytales don't lead to closeness to God. They don't lead to character. Nobody says, "I learned so much and God molded me in the happiest, most carefree years of my life."
– Vaneetha Risner
In this video recording from the 2023 Midnight Mercies Virtual Summit, Vaneetha reflects on her progressive journey through chronic illness and remembers how God has mercifully met her in the midst of her limitations in motherhood.

Vaneetha Risner is a writer and speaker who is passionate about helping people find hope in the midst of suffering. Part of her story is losing her infant son, which was the inspiration for the hit song "Held," recorded by Natalie Grant. She is the author of Desperate for Hope: Questions We Ask God in Suffering, Loss, and Longing, Walking through Fire: A Memoir of Loss and Redemption and The Scars That Have Shaped Me: How God Meets Us in Suffering. Before she started writing, Vaneetha had a career in business and received her BS from University of Virginia's McIntire School of Commerce and her MBA from Stanford Graduate School of Business. Vaneetha is married to Joel and has two grown daughters, Katie and Kristi.  

Learn more about Vaneetha at her website vaneetha.com.
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Midnight mercies: walking with God through Depression in Motherhood
As Christine recounts her own midnight journey through depression and explores stories of desperate sufferers who experienced God’s mercy in the Scriptures, she shows how God meets us in our despair and helps us toward his light—one step at a time.
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