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Most people dream of living a normal life— with normal children, a normal job, not a lot of drama, and a bright and promising future. But what do you do when your dreams shatter and darkness comes to rob you of hope and joy?
In 1991, six years into marriage, Joan Schultz's dreams shattered...for the first time. She and her husband, Jeff, learned that their four-month-old daughter had an intractable seizure disorder due to a malformed brain at conception. As the years progressed, all four members of her family faced life-altering situations and traumas.
With all the strain of living life with twists and bends hurled at her, she realized that her marriage was also ailing. She wondered why God, who has power to change circumstances, could allow life to come with such heartache, loss and pain. Joan reached for books of people's personal stories of how they faced devastating difficulties. This helped Joan glean insight and inspiration, which gave her hope in God, and which she then applied to her own difficult situations. Other people's stories inspired Joan. They helped her see not only their struggles and pain, but how they press on toward God through it.
The story of Joan and Jeff Schultz and their two beautiful children, Ben and Hannah, will take you into their world of four separate, life-altering tragedies—intractable seizures, a life-and-death plane crash in the Alaska wilds, breast cancer, and a traumatic brain injury. You’ll travel along with them on their unique and gripping journey with each turn of the page. Together you will live through the sometimes heart-wrenching twists and turns that took surprising and unexpected paths. And all the while you will get to experience a beautiful faith dance—one that will change your life forever.
This book will help you navigate through your hardships, no matter how big they are.
About the Schultzes
Joan Schultz grew up in a small town in Ventura County California. She left her hometown at sixteen when she moved with her mother to Anchorage, Alaska. She landed her first job that same month, working for a local Denny’s. It was there she met Jeff, the man she would marry. After high school, she learned to fly a small plane and enjoyed flying around Alaska recreationally until returning to California to attend school to become a court reporter. In 1985 She married Jeff and worked as a court reporter for six years, until their second child was born. Joan has two children: Ben, who is thirty-one years old and Hannah, twenty-eight. Joan stays busy with her two grandchildren, Bible studies, walking with friends, volunteering at her favorite charities, and hiking and biking with her husband and best friend, Jeff.
Jeff Schultz grew up in the Bay Area of California, where his oldest brother instilled in him a love of the outdoors. When Jeff was in the seventh grade, his best friend sparked his interest in photography. Jeff dreamed of building a log cabin and living off the land in Alaska or becoming a photographer for National Geographic. Three months after he graduated high school, Jeff left the Bay Area and chased his dream north to Alaska. In 1980 he met the founder of Alaska’s Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race who invited him to get involved as a volunteer, making photos of the fledgling race. Jeff has been the official photographer of the Iditarod since 1982. Jeff’s God-given talent of outdoor-adventure and corporate photography has resulted in his photos being published world-wide in books, brochures, advertisements and corporate communications. Jeff’s photos have been featured in seven Iditarod books, and he has self-published two books related to the Iditarod. He also publishes an annual Alaska calendar. Jeff offers photo tours and workshops in some of Alaska’s grandest locations.
Jeff and Joan have been married since 1985 and live in Anchorage, Alaska near their son Ben and daughter Hannah.
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