Shari Frink & The Mission

Though my family started into Christianity in unconventional ways, my father became a Pastor when I was young and I accepted Jesus in baptism at the young age of eight. I had a good childhood, definitely not perfect, but it was never abusive or traumatic, like so many others I know have had to endure. This was a kindness and mercy that I can see the older I get. The world tried to make me find something or someone to "blame" or to overcome from my childhood. I fell victim to that lie for a long time, yet now, I see God's hand and the ripples of our own free will throughout all of it. I see an imperfect family that was doing their best, making good and bad decisions, loving God but also simply just being  human. We didn't have much, but there was always an abundance of love. For that, I am forever grateful.
 

I had a younger sister, Nicole, who had special needs (a diagnosis with similarities to Muscular Dystrophy with an added neurodivergent component.) She spent most of her life in a wheelchair and her mental development stayed at the level of a five-year-old (which, most days, was very joyful and fun!) 

I, myself, was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes when I was just shy of two years old, which brought its own set of challenges. Money was tight growing up, but the love in our home was abundant and I never felt alone or lacking. 
 

Music was always a huge part of my life. And singing was always my gift. I can remember singing publicly as young as two years old. My parents were both musicians and came from a long line of musicians in various forms. I sang at church and at Local events and talent shows growing up.  I was writing songs and recording them on my little walk-man, sending them to whomever I could get to listen to them. I still remember the day, at a Youth Conference in Tennessee, that I stood up at an Altar Call, alongside several others, that wanted to dedicate their gifts to serving the LORD. 
 

As a teenager, I was signed to an independent record label called IPI (Imannuel Production Inc.) I started in Christian music, touring as part of a Duo, but eventually transitioned to crossover, mainstream music as a Solo Artist.  My time in the industry gave me incredible experiences— Three albums by the age of 18, opening for some amazing Musical Acts such as Jaci Velasquez and Rebecca St. James during our "Youth Explosion for Christ" series, singing national anthems for NASCAR, the NBA, and MLB, showcasing at Sony Music Studios in New York City, and a wonderful experience with Trans-Siberian Orchestra. This resulted in many wonderful opportunities and music that I will cherish (no matter how embarrassing some of it may seem to me now!) 

But as I approached adulthood and things started to fall apart in my personal life, I started running. I should have leaned into God, should have trusted Him .. but I wasn't ready for that path yet and there were a LOT of church hurts, traumas , distractions and fears to push me running in the opposite direction. The voice of doubt, the lies of the enemy, the lies in my own head had me believing that maybe everything I had grown up believing was just a "nice story."  We also went through many trials as a family, and my parents eventually divorced. I questioned EVERYTHING and sought answers from a world that never had any to give me. I searched every source except THE source. I knew He was always there, but I ran. I hid. I thought I could do life better my way ... BUT GOD was there the whole time, patiently waiting for me to come back to Him.

"Doing life" on my own wasn't great, but it wasn't terrible either. I walked away from performing music for quite a while, but I was still always singing or finding a karaoke bar to fill that urge of using my gifts for more than belting around my home. I worked hard at many different jobs, always struggling to get by, made lots of bad decisions and poor health choices, felt happy but also lost, made a decision to get my act together, regained my health, met, fell in love with and married a good man ,and we started to build a life together.

It wasn’t until I got pregnant that I began to turn back toward God. My husband, John, and I had been married a couple of years, and we both wanted to raise our children in church, like we had been. At the time, we weren’t regularly attending, but the pregnancy was a wake-up call that led me back into a true relationship with God.

There are so many parts of my story I could share, but I want to focus on three key moments that have really shaped me and my walk with the LORD.

1. I AM A PIRATE (I even have the eyepatch, to boot!)  I have one eye! It’s something I joke about often, but it’s also a profound part of my story. During labor with my son, I experienced a Retina Detachment in my Right eye (a result of years of poorly managed blood sugar levels from my teenage years and twenties.) After my son was born, I suffered another hemorrhage in my Left eye, and for a short time, I was completely blind. It was terrifying—being a new mom with a newborn and no sight! That’s when I finally began talking to Jesus and praying everyday again. Awake at 3am, feeding a newborn, who's beautiful face I couldn't see, I cried, apologized, and I turned back towards God instead of running (that's what repentance means, yall!) I thought I was being punished for running from Him for so long. I felt I deserved every bad consequence I had brought on myself, including my lost vision, BUT GOD welcomed my prayers like the Father of the prodigal. He was so gentle in His forgiveness. Impressing love and a peace over me that I could not have had without Him. It took time, and work, yet He began to work this all for good. It’s amazing how you adapt when you have HOPE. I learned to rely on touch and instinct rather than sight, setting up rides to doctor’s appointments and using technology to navigate. I kept praying for healing, but I knew that even if He didn’t heal me, I would be okay and I would trust that His plans for me are still GOOD (Romans 8:28.) Eventually, I had treatment and surgery that restored some of my vision—my left eye is back to 20/20, and I regained peripheral vision in my right. HALLELUJAH! It REALLY gives me a firsthand perspective to the scripture and Amazing Grace lyric: "I once was blind but now I SEE!" 
 

2 & 3: "Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted."

The next two points overlap, so I’ll share them together. In 2017, my younger sister had a major health setback and ended up in the ICU. The prognosis was grim, and I remember receiving the call that she likely wouldn’t survive much longer. I was driving back from the hospital, overwhelmed with the immensity of this possibility. I drove directly to the little chapel on our church property - no one else was there but me and my Abba Father. I fell on the red, padded altar, and poured my heart out to God. I told Him, “I’m not ready. I’m not ready to lose her.” And in that quiet moment, He spoke to my heart these words: “Prepare yourself.”  
 

To my surprise, she made a miraculous turn for the better later that week! And though she was still in the hospital for months, weaning off the Ventilator, she was able to come home, although with a Trach, Feeding Tube and a lot more hardware than before. 

After that, we were able to focus on our family again. Because of the complications with my pregnancy and labor, we decided it was not a great idea to try again. This eventually led us down the path of becoming Foster Parents. Our first placement was a little boy 6 months older than my son. It was a whirlwind, a HUGE learning curve, beyond challenging and yet beautiful, to say the very least. He is now back with his Dad and we have a wonderful relationship with their family. (This is another testimony for another day!) God used that time to teach me MANY things about parenting, trauma, preconceived notions and forgiveness. Oh, the beautiful tapestry He is constantly weaving!

We had originally asked not to be placed with an infant, but my heart started to soften to this idea and we accepted the call for an infant baby girl. I went up to the NICU to meet her and do the required training with the nurses on staff. I told John “I’ll be back in a few hours, won’t stay too long.” Several hours later he texted me to see how it was going and I told him “I can’t leave her, don’t wait up!” The moment I saw her, she grabbed my finger and I just KNEW. God planted it so deeply in my heart, "This is your daughter." I think I stayed at the hospital for 9 hours that day and went up every day until she was released and we were able to take her home. 

When she was 5 months old we learned that a family member was seeking custody of her. We knew this was always a possibility and the goal of Foster Care is reunification with the birth parents or family placement. But I was still devastated especially because I was so SURE of what God had impressed upon me. The cousin seeking custody and her husband were wonderful people with kids of their own and we developed a close relationship with them, resigned to the fact that I would just be whatever she needed in her life, but maybe not her “mom”. They allowed us to have visits with her every weekend and encouraged us to take her to church with us each Sunday morning. 

During this time, my sister's health began to decline and she was admitted to the hospital ICU again. I was back to traveling from the west to east coast, sleeping in the ICU room, trying to help my mom, and juggling my life back home. I never would have had the freedom to be with her like this if we had full custody of an infant at the time. (God's timing on perfect display here!)

After a month long battle, my sister passed away November 29, 2019, the day after Thanksgiving, surrounded by my mom, step dad and myself. It was the saddest and most challenging moment of my life, and yet I wouldn’t trade being able to be there for anything. God gave us those “Bonus Years” with her, the time to prepare myself for her going home to be with Him. I miss her deeply, everyday. But I am at peace knowing she is home and finally WHOLE again. I would never have been able to be there if not for His abundantly perfect plans, factoring in ALL the things that I couldn't see, but that He always can. It was during this time that I wrote the first song I had written in a long while, called "Supposed to Be" (You can listen to a ROUGH version I recorded on YouTube. See below.) 

Shortly after the loss of my sister, the family member who had custody of our baby girl called me. We spoke often, so this wasn’t anything unusual, but she continued to tell me they were asking if we could take custody of her again. She explained to me that they were overwhelmed with their work circumstances and their own children, and that they loved her but knew she belonged with us. NO ONE GETS THE CREDIT FOR THIS EXCEPT GOD. This doesn’t happen. We have so many friends in Foster Care that can testify: this DOESN’T happen. She was back in our home by the end of that week and we officially adopted her in October of 2021. 

It’s overwhelming, the beautiful work of art that God weaves. Every time He reveals a piece of it to me, I’m in awe. Because of these things, and countless others along the way, I walk with Him every day as my Confidant and True North. 

As I do, He is calling me back into writing and performing music for HIM and to lead others to Him: to accomplish the purpose He set for me decades ago. 

Back to square one. 

Back to the start. 

Back to my LORD and Savior, Jesus Christ, before everything else. 

The one who loved me first, through all of my questions (and still does!), rebellions, disobedience, defiance, grief, joy, disappointment and unbelief. 

He patiently and lovingly guides me deeper in this journey. He is the creator and sustainer of all these songs and this ministry. He is the one that says:

You MATTER.

You have PURPOSE.

You are LOVED.

You have a MISSION.

Jeremiah 29:11 - "'For I know the plans I have for you,' says the LORD. 'They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope...'"

John 3:16-17 - "For this is how God so LOVED the world: He gave His one and only Son, so that all who believe in Him will not perish, but have eternal life. God sent His Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save it THROUGH Him."

Romans 8:1-2 - "So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus. And because you belong to Him, the power of the life-giving Spirit has freed you from the power of sin that leads to death."