Founder of Auntie Anne's Reveals How 'Power of Confession' Changed Her Life after Sexual Abuse Left Her 92 Lbs. and Suicidal

Tré Goins-Phillips : Sep 30, 2019
Faithwire.com

"That's the good news of the Gospel, because Jesus paid the price. He paid the price for my shame. And let me tell you, the power of confession took away all of my shame—all of it, 100 percent of my shame. It's a miracle. It's the power of the Cross and the power of confession." -Anne Beiler

(Lancaster, PA) — [Faithwire.com] On paper, Anne Beiler, founder of Auntie Anne's, looks like the quintessential achiever of American success. But the path to where she is now is one paved with great pain and deep heartache. (Image source: Anne Beiler-Facebook /via Faithwire)

After surviving sexual and spiritual abuse at the hands of a minister following profound personal loss, it took Beiler years to find healing, which ultimately came through the power of confession—a profound story she chronicles in her forthcoming book, "The Secret Lies Within."

The secret to her healing was speaking.

"Please tell," Beiler said during a phone interview with Faithwire, her voice filled with emotion. "You must tell to get better."

Beiler, who grew up in an Amish community in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, was taught from an early age to believe God was wrathful and "harsh" to His people. So, when she married her husband Jonas at just 19 years old, and the couple soon thereafter experienced the tragic death of their 18-month-old daughter, Angela, in 1975, Beiler's world came crashing down around her.

"When Angie was killed, I found myself going into a deep, dark, and emotional and spiritual confusion in every way," she recalled. "And my husband and I began to drift apart."

Struggling to cope with her daughter's death, which came as the result of a freak farming accident, Beiler did what many Christians do every single day: she turned to the pastor of her charismatic church for counsel.

What she needed, though, is not what she found. Beiler was soon seduced by her pastor—a well-liked member of the community—and told to stay quiet about his sexual advances.

"I decided when I left his office that I would never tell anyone," Beiler said. "Because, No. 1, who would believe me? He was a loved man in the church and in the community. And No. 2, I would never know how to tell that kind of an experience. That secret kept me in an abusive relationship for over six years."

She went on to describe that time as "the darkest, most despairing" season of her life, at one point weighing a mere 92 pounds and on the brink of suicide... Subscribe for free to Breaking Christian News here

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