Overcoming Anger Led to a Gospel-Centered Life

In this episode:

When Jodie Cooper found out her son was on the autism spectrum, it magnified her struggle with anger. Her marriage was already rocky. But instead of causing everything to fall apart, it forced her to face the challenges head on, and in the process, she found truth faith and discovered hope.


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Inspired Life

Jodie Cooper shared about how isolating it was when her son was born and her life changed. As her friends’ children hit milestones, she blamed herself, thinking she had done something wrong. But then some people suggested that they see some specialists. When her son was around 2 years old, they received a diagnosis that he is on the autism spectrum. 

She had it in her mind that if they had a diagnosis, her son would be fixed. But when it registered with her that it was going to be a long process, she started to experience the phases of grief.  

Jodie talked about how the challenges as parents brought some of their marriage issues to light more, and more specifically, she acknowledged that she had an anger problem. I love how vulnerable she was with sharing her struggles. Ultimately, pulling together for the sake of their children brought them closer together as a couple.  

About Jodie: 

Jodie Cooper calls herself an incredible sinner saved by a more incredible God. After years of painful misunderstandings about the Christian life, a crisis in her marriage finally led her to understand the gospel and it’s power to change lives. She now writes children’s books designed to help parents disciple their kids at home and has a Youtube channel where she shares biblical wisdom for family discipleship. She lives in Perth, Australia, with her husband and two kids. 

Life, Repurposed

One of Jodie’s solutions for controlling her anger was fasting and studying the Bible. She looked up all of the verses in the Bible that talked about anger and studied them. It made her realize that her anger gave her unhealthy power and control in her relationship.  

 “I wanted my anger to go away because it was inconveniencing me…God really pulled back the curtain on my heart, the darkest corners…and I feel like I really experienced repentance for the first time then. And it really changed me,” Jodie said. 

Even though she still gets angry sometimes, she says she’s much quicker to repent. She now realizes that her anger offended God, and it wasn’t just an inconvenience to herself.  

Have you noticed how your teenager self or the three-year-old version of yourself comes out when you’re mad? You’re in good company with others. But we can learn to manage those emotions and curb the behavior.  

Jodie has wise and supportive family members who know how not to feed into her frenzy. They speak wise counsel and help her see that when she’s venting, she might not always be the one in the right. We need those honest people in our lives. Rather than validating us, they hold us accountable to examine our thoughts.  

Jodie once treated her faith like a doctrine that you believe and then put on a shelf. But that has all changed. “I discovered the gospel in my thirties after going to church my whole life…Now I understand that the gospel is a truth that I need to be living my whole life in light of.” 

Recommended Resource

YouTube Channel: The Gospel Led Family 

Children’s books:
Glory: Lead Your Family to Stand in Awe
Other books in the Good News in the Gum Trees series
Study guides for books 

You can also read Jodie’s chapter in the Life, Repurposed book. www.liferepurposedbook.com


Consider joining our Life, Repurposed Facebook community to build connections and engage in conversation about topics from each episode. 


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Michelle Rayburn is the author of The Repurposed and Upcycled Life: When God Turns Trash to Treasure, as well as a small group Bible study to accompany the book. Learn more about these and her other books here. A sample chapter of the book and Bible study are available for free download.

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Posted in Articles, Books & Resources, Podcast Episodes.