Auntie Anne Beiler Shares Her Story of Tragedy, Confession, and Redemption in Christ
By Movieguide® Staff
If you do not recognize the name Anne Beiler, there is no doubt you are familiar with her company, Auntie Anne’s Pretzels.
Founded by Beiler and her husband, Jonas, in 1988, the pretzel chain has established itself as one of the most successful restaurants in America.
However, in a recent book titled “The Secret Lies Within,” Anne Beiler opened up about her past and God’s plan of redemption for her and her husband.
Despite the success of her business today, Anne Beiler grew up Amish, working on a farm with her parents. While Anne said she is thankful for her humble upbringing that championed God, family, and church, it wouldn’t be until later in life that her childhood faith would be challenged.
“I grew up in this great family, very religious,” she told Kirk Cameron. “The Amish people love God but it’s all about works. I believed my theology as a kid and on into my marriage was that if I was a ‘good girl,’ then God would bless me. My whole intention in life was nothing more than just to please God, please my parents, and someday be a good wife.”
Soon, that desire was granted when 19-year-old Anne married 21-year-old Jonas. The couple has now been married 53 years. But their wish to live an ordinary life like their parents was swiftly stripped away from the young couple after the tragic loss of their second daughter.
“We were married about seven years and our youngest daughter, 19-month-old Angela Joy was killed one morning as she was taking her morning walk up to my mom’s house,” Anne recalled. “As she made her ascent to heaven, I began my very slow and gradual descent into a world of spiritual confusion and emotional pain, which I knew nothing about. My question, which is what everybody asks, is why? I’m a good girl and why did you do this? Why did you allow this to happen?”
Anne’s early faith based on works could not sustain her amid tragedy for the first time in her life.
“Jonas and I became very distant and our really happy marriage became a silent existence,” she said. “We simply existed together. We had a four year-old daughter at that time who actually saw the accident as well, so we were living in this trauma. I knew that God would help us through it but months went by and there was no relief.”
Unfortunately, Anne would experience more sin and pain before finding the redemptive healing in Christ.
“I went to church every Sunday and I prayed, I read and a few months after that I went to see my pastor for help. Before I left his office, I really went there just for comfort and I needed answers, [but] before I left his office he took advantage of me and he took me into the dark world, I call it,” she said. “I didn’t know what the dark world was, we didn’t have TV where we saw horror movies or anything like that, but I knew I was somewhere where I had never been before and I kept it a secret and that secret then kept me in an abusive relationship with my pastor for almost seven years.”
After six years of living in grief and shame, Anne said God gave her the strength to tell her husband about her pastor.
“After about six years of just weeping my way through every day, never telling anyone, I was just pleading with God to deliver me from evil,” she said. “One day, God just was very, very clear with me. He said, ‘I want you to get up off your knees and stop crying, and go tell your husband.'”
“I mustered up all the courage that I had, which was not very much, and [with] my palms sweating and my heart racing and tears streaming down my face—I couldn’t bear the thought of telling him, because he was a good man—I did to tell him,” she continued.
Anne and Jonas found forgiveness, healing, and redemption in Christ, which started with confessing to each other.
“Most of the time, all we want to do is pray: ‘Me and Jesus have a good thing going, I know he’ll keep all my secrets, he’s going to help me, he’s going to make a way for me where there seems to be no way.’ I also believe that on this journey that I’ve been on, that when I told Jonas my secret I was, for the first time, taking responsibility for my life and for what I had done,” she said. “Up until that time it was just blaming God and blaming the pastor and blaming Jonas even for not understanding and not caring.”
“When I faced him that day I just gave him a very short, two-sentence confession. I didn’t hug him, I didn’t ask him to forgive me, I just said what it was I was involved with and I said to him I’m sorry and I’m a sorry person,” she added. “This though, is where God began to work. When I confessed to him something inside of me, there was a spark that I felt even though it seemed almost like the wrong thing to do.”
Anne said that confessing her burden to Jonas, not only Jesus, allowed them to begin healing their relationship and her spiritual relationship.
“I love the Bible verse that says ‘walk in the light as he is in the light.’ You will have fellowship with one another and then the blood of Jesus cleanses us from all sin and that day that was the beginning of fellowship and that was the beginning of cleansing,” she said. “We’re created to carry God’s presence in our bodies from head to toe, this is his purpose for us, and the more darkness that you let in your life, the the less light there is and the less we can carry God’s presence. When it comes to redemption, that was the beginning of the redemption that God had planned for Jonas.”
Anne encouraged others to confess to Christ, confess to each other, and experience the healing and redemptive power of Christ.
“That’s what He does, that’s what God does. I know many many people just carry the burden to their grave, they’ve never been able to open up their lives,” she said. “Share your story, share your life, walk in the light as He is in the light, and then you’ll be connected with others and I believe that confession to Jesus is important, but when I confess to Jonas when we confess to one another, it’s a relational healing and that’s the journey that we’ve been on.”
“The verse in James 5:16 is the power verse that I didn’t see at that time, but have discovered along the way. If we will confess our faults and our sins to each other and pray then we’ll be healed.”
Now more than ever we’re bombarded by darkness in media, movies, and TV. Movieguide® has fought back for almost 40 years, working within Hollywood to propel uplifting and positive content. We’re proud to say we’ve collaborated with some of the top industry players to influence and redeem entertainment for Jesus. Still, the most influential person in Hollywood is you. The viewer.
What you listen to, watch, and read has power. Movieguide® wants to give you the resources to empower the good and the beautiful. But we can’t do it alone. We need your support.
You can make a difference with as little as $7. It takes only a moment. If you can, consider supporting our ministry with a monthly gift. Thank you.
Movieguide® is a 501c3 and all donations are tax deductible.
Now more than ever we’re bombarded by darkness in media, movies, and TV. Movieguide® has fought back for almost 40 years, working within Hollywood to propel uplifting and positive content. We’re proud to say we’ve collaborated with some of the top industry players to influence and redeem entertainment for Jesus. Still, the most influential person in Hollywood is you. The viewer.
What you listen to, watch, and read has power. Movieguide® wants to give you the resources to empower the good and the beautiful. But we can’t do it alone. We need your support.
You can make a difference with as little as $7. It takes only a moment. If you can, consider supporting our ministry with a monthly gift. Thank you.
Movieguide® is a 501c3 and all donations are tax deductible.
