Faith Made in the Fire
This Christmas, the Frank family understands what the greatest gift truly is. It is not wrapped. It cannot be placed under a tree. It is life itself, restored through healing and faith tested in the fire. For Jeff and Faith Frank, the past eleven months stripped away nearly everything they owned. Their savings vanished. They lost their home. Plans to build were dissolved. What they gained instead cannot be measured in dollars or square footage. Their two-year-old son, Bridger, became the center of everything they lost and everything they would fight to keep.
“It was December 2024,” Faith said. “I had just had our third baby, Baker, and was alone in my car singing when a song I had not heard in years came to mind. It is called ‘Blessings’ by Laura Story. The song talks about how God uses trials as blessings. I felt the Lord say to me that something was coming. I immediately knew it was not a good thing. I begged Him not to allow it.” Less than a month later, her mother’s intuition knew the truth she did not want to face. On January 27, 2025, one day after their oldest son Turner’s fifth birthday celebration, Bridger was diagnosed with B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia with central nervous system involvement. What Faith had sensed in that car was now undeniably real.
Bridger had battled the flu for ten days, and preliminary blood work indicated something was terribly wrong. “I remember asking our pediatrician, Dr. Rachel King, if it could be cancer,” Faith said. “She did not answer right away. She was kind and wise enough to shelter me from the inevitable, but I could tell she knew. Later, when she called and told me to get to Arkansas Children’s Hospital immediately, I knew what we were facing.” Jeff rushed home, they threw some clothes in the car, and drove to Arkansas Children’s Hospital. Upon arriving, they re-ran the blood work and told them it was likely leukemia, a parent’s worst nightmare.
Jeff and Faith met with the oncology team, where they learned treatment would last two and a half to three years. The induction phase began—the first 28 days of intensive treatment. Bridger had steroids, two chemo treatments a week, and a spinal tap every week that month. He gained a lot of weight, and he was so weak he could not navigate a four-inch step or get on the couch without assistance. He slept most of the time and ate uncontrollably. Unfortunately, after that 28-day phase, he was not cancer-free, but his cancer load had reduced significantly. “When he was diagnosed, 90% of his bone marrow was cancer, and cancer was detectable in free blood samples,” Faith said. “After 28 days, only 0.006% cancer was left.”
Bridger then entered the second phase, known as the consolidation phase, which, in many ways, was harder than the induction phase. It lasted eight weeks. “The doctors told us they were confident in him reaching complete remission. There were four weeks when he went every day for chemo. He got so thin. He lost all his hair. He was so sick,” Faith said. “At the end of that phase, tests showed he still had cancer. We were completely devastated and terrified.”
Doctors began discussing bone marrow transplant, and it was looking like that might be the best next course of action. Bridger started a 28-day continuous infusion of an immunotherapy drug called blinatumomab, wearing a small backpack that kept his port accessible 24/7. He would have weekly changes to his IV bag and fresh port dressings. “We prayed constantly,” Faith said. “A group of believers, organized by friends, prayed twice a day at 9 a.m. and 9 p.m. that whole week.”
About a week and a half after receiving the devastating news that Bridger still had cancer, the third and most sensitive test results came back completely negative, and showed zero cancer. Bridger would not need a transplant. The doctors could not explain it. “There was no logical or scientific explanation. That test is so sensitive that it can detect one cancer cell out of a million, so they felt confident he was in complete remission. These tests are so sensitive and rarely incorrect, so why did the second test detect an increase in cancer cells? And then why did the most sensitive test detect zero?” questioned Faith. “We knew it was God. He had heard our prayers and was merciful. The Bible says, ‘the prayer of a righteous man avails much,’ and I know righteous people prayed for our boy that week faithfully, and God was compassionate and healed Bridger.”
“Some of the hardest moments were having to hold him down while nurses accessed his port and hearing him scream, ‘Let me go!’ It was traumatizing every single time. Watching him suffer was unbearable, but God gave us the strength we did not have.”
What sustained them was the overwhelming generosity of others. “God provided through His people in the most incredible ways,” Faith said. “Meals appeared. Childcare was covered. Financial gifts arrived when bills came due. Anonymous donors gave thousands of dollars on four separate occasions. Even people we had known for less than six months loved us like family. It was humbling to see them spring into action to love and serve us in unglamorous ways, often sacrificing their own time and entire days on multiple occasions to make sure we were taken care of.” Faith’s parents kept Bridger and Baker for them, since neither child could attend regular childcare for fear of bringing home illnesses. Her mother attended every appointment and stayed at the hospital when Faith and Jeff returned to work. Her younger sister, Abbey, took time away from her own job and family to stay at the hospital and stepped in daily to help. Turner’s teacher, Laurie Booker, recognized that the oldest sibling needed to feel valued while his family poured into fighting for Bridger. She made it her mission to nurture Turner throughout the year. “Our Sunday school class cleaned our home, watched our kids, and folded our laundry,” Faith reflected. “I cannot explain how timely every bit of generosity was. It was like God was orchestrating every detail.”
Through the most challenging year of their lives, Faith discovered something unshakeable. “God stripped us of everything this year, but He gave us Himself. I believe He is the God of restoration. He has already restored us spiritually, and I know He will restore the rest in His time. Her conviction is simple but profound, a quiet assurance that says, “You can trust Him.” God sees us completely, and everything that reaches you has gone through His hands. He will make beauty from ashes. No matter the outcome, He is still good!”
Jeff and Faith made a choice early on in Bridger’s battle—the choice to praise God no matter what. “We agreed that if He healed Bridger, we would praise Him. And if He took Bridger home, we would still praise Him. Our love for God is not contingent upon the outcome. He numbered Bridger’s days before time began. He knows what is best.”
Today, Bridger’s body is still healing, his spirit is strong, and his family is filled with gratitude. “Faith is made in the fire, not in the good times,” Faith said. “And now, I pray others hear our story and find God too—that they will see He can be trusted with all we hold most dear.”
This Christmas, as the Frank family gathers around the tree, their greatest gift will not be wrapped in paper or tied with a bow. It will be the very living reminder that God still heals, still restores, and still gives life. And Bridger is all the proof they need.
