Trusting God isn’t easy when tragedy strikes. How do you respond when you face death, suffering or a life-crippling crisis?

War. Genocide. Suicide bombings. Divorce. Rape. Sex slaves in cages. Toddlers in refugee camps. Orphans on streets. Debilitating handicaps. Premature deaths. Natural disasters. Car accidents. Mental illness. AIDS. Cancer.

So many people allow negative experiences and broken dreams to stop them. Yet God has the power to propel you beyond your disappointments.

Have you ever heard the statement, “Experience is the best teacher”? It’s true. The problem is that experience can teach you the wrong things as well as the right ones.

A person who is severely bitten by a dog, for example, generally has a lifelong dislike—and often fear—of dogs. People can have all sorts of fears and phobias because of one bad dream, accident or tragic event in their lives.

Nancy Alcorn, founder of Mercy Ministries, leads a one-woman crusade to help abused, addicted and pregnant girls find hope.

Nancy Alcorn slips into the back of the room and takes a seat. She’s in a large common room at Mercy Ministries, one of several Christian homes for troubled girls, the first of which Alcorn, a charismatic, started nearly 30 years ago. On a pristine, unseasonably warm November morning in Tennessee, five girls are preparing to graduate from Mercy’s Nashville home. These girls have lived here for an average of five months due to a myriad of addictions and problems, from eating disorders and substance abuse to depression.

Photo credit:  Michael Gomez / ­ Gomez Photography

There’s a particularly popular train of thought in the world today that says you have to know the darkness if you want to know the light. Obviously, it’s a way of thinking that supports a self-indulgent lifestyle: sin now, repent later, and you’ll be a better saint for it.

With a little advance planning and a lot of hustle, you can get the education you need and graduate debt-free.

Unless there’s a rich Uncle Earl standing by to pick up the tab, college students are often left with two choices: accumulate debt that follows them through life, or find often untapped resources to help make the dream an affordable, if not free, reality.