Hollywood is often one of the most perplexing places for performers looking for true meaning. Actors might amass fame and bring in millions of dollars, yet some still find themselves lost, confused, and alone, lacking the purpose some falsely assume worldly possessions and notoriety will bring.
Actress Jill Wagner has spoken out about this reality, explaining how she went through a time in her life when she was “really down, and depressed, and kind of lost,” according to Movieguide.
Like many, the Hallmark star had found material success yet wasn’t feeling fulfilled.
“On paper, my life looked perfect,” Wagner said. “I was this actress, and I was traveling all around, and everything was exciting. But really, all I wanted was stability, and I wanted a family, and I wanted a husband, and I didn’t quite understand what was wrong with me and why couldn’t have those things.”
Life turned around for the actress, though, when she “started talking to God” and bringing her issues and problems to Him — a process she said enabled her to let go of the negativity and confusion.
Once Wagner turned to the Lord, she described the emotions that came over her as a “big bear hug.” She suddenly felt God telling her, no matter what, she would be OK.
“It was the feeling that no matter what, with or without a husband or family or anything that, I was loved, and I was going to be OK,” she said. “And then I started to feel like, ‘Wow, maybe I’m going to be good being alone by myself,’ but not really by myself because I had God.”
That realization comforted Wagner, and just one month later, the man she would marry — someone she met years before when she was a teenager — came back into her life. She said both she and her now-husband found their faith again, building relationships with the Lord and one another.
In the end, as Movieguide noted, Wagner’s decision to give it all up to the Lord sustained her, and she credits it for building her faith.
Wagner previously explained in a video for Great American Family she didn’t find her faith until her mid-to-late 30s, and described the scenario as one in which her “eyes were open all of a sudden.”
“I started to see signs all around me, and God was talking to me every single day,” she said. “Whereas before…I didn’t have the lines of communication open up there. But they’re there.”
Wagner’s experience reminds us all that turning our worries and whims over the God is the best way forward in life. When we feel lost and aloof, He will guide us and sustain us; when we’re fearful of being alone, God reminds us He’s always there for us.
Beyond these facts, clinging to the Lord rather than fame, money, or material things is the best way to lead a fulfilling and purpose-driven life.