Auntie Anne’s Pretzels have been a mall staple for years, dishing out buttery, salty soft pretzels to shoppers around the world. But behind the scenes of the booming business, founder Anne Beiler wrestled through guilt, shame, sexual abuse, and devastating loss.
“Without God, there would be no Auntie Anne’s today. I can say that with confidence,” Beiler said in an interview with the Christian Post. “I would’ve died. I was about to run away and start a new life. Instead, God said, ‘Get up off your knees.’ What I know now is that all of the things I’ve experienced have been for a purpose; out of my pain, purpose was born.”
Beiler’s earliest understanding of theology began in a small Amish community in Pennsylvania. She had been taught to believe that “life is good, and God is harsh.” When she married at the age of 19, she continued to carry this belief with her.
With her high school sweetheart, Jonas, Beiler gave birth to her daughter Angela. But tragedy struck when Angela was 18 months old, dying in a tragic farming accident.
“I struggled so much and blamed God for allowing Angela to die,” she said. “I couldn’t stop grieving; I couldn’t stop crying. I began to feel guilty as a Christian because I believed that I was a conqueror and able to overcome and be victorious through Christ. But I couldn’t get over that…
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