When Faith Meets Fear

Faith and fear.
Two things I’ve wrestled with most of my life.

There have been seasons when faith came easily — when I could see God’s hand clearly and feel peace in the waiting.
But there have been other seasons — long, dark ones—when fear was louder.

When I lost my baby brother in 2021, fear became almost constant.
Fear of losing someone else I loved.
Fear that I wouldn’t recover from the grief.
Fear that maybe my purpose had already passed me by.

And yet… even in the moments when I couldn’t see a way forward, there was still this tiny, steady whisper in my heart —

“Keep trusting Me.”

Faith doesn’t silence fear.
It simply gives you something stronger to hold on to.

When I recently closed all of my physical store locations, that same fear resurfaced.
Standing in those empty spaces, surrounded by boxes and quiet memories, I felt grief all over again — grief for what once was, for the dreams that had filled those walls, for the version of me who built it all from scratch.

In that silence, I found myself praying through tears, asking, “God, what now? What do I do next?”

And that’s when I felt it — that same whisper I’ve come to know so well:

“This isn’t the end, Tress. It’s the becoming.”

Those words stopped me in my tracks.
They felt heavy, but holy.

I realized that “the becoming” is what happens after everything falls apart — it’s where God reshapes you into who you were always meant to be.
It’s not destruction; it’s transformation.
It’s the space between loss and purpose, between grief and growth.

I began to see that this chapter of change — closing stores, starting new projects, writing, and building my mission online — wasn’t a setback.
It was a sacred turning point.

Faith doesn’t always look like confidence.
Sometimes it looks like tears streaming down your face as you whisper, “God, I’ll trust You anyway.”

And that’s enough.

Now, as 7 Semicolon Couture continues online — and as I pour my heart into new forms of healing through writing, awareness, and design — I know fear will still show up sometimes.
But faith has learned to speak louder.

Because every time I’ve stood at what looked like the end, God has quietly reminded me:

“You’re not breaking down. You’re becoming.”

💛 And becoming isn’t easy — but it’s where the miracles happen.