Hope in Hard Places: Greg and Erica Smith

Erica Smith woke up in a hospital bed, confused and restrained, believing she’d been abandoned and tortured. She had just survived a weeklong medically induced coma caused by a sudden, life-threatening allergic reaction — one that nearly stole her life. At the same time, her mother was dying of cancer. And just a few months earlier, her husband Greg had lost his 10-year coaching job.

They were staring down career uncertainty, financial strain, and a medical crisis — all at once.But that wasn't the end of their story. It was the beginning of something deeper.

Before this time of hardship, life was full of movement — Greg’s coaching career took them across the country. But after his role at the University of Toledo ended unexpectedly, the Smiths faced a tough decision: pivot to a new life outside athletics or trust God to open another coaching door. 

Greg was ready to give up coaching. But Erica reminded him who he was: a coach called to lead. At the very last moment, a coaching position at Cedarville University opened, and the path became clear.

Today, Greg and Erica both serve faithfully at Cedarville — Greg as the head women’s volleyball coach and Erica as the executive assistant to the Dean of the School of Nursing. They’re thriving in roles that allow them to pour into students and staff with skill and deep empathy forged through hardship.

Their trials run deep. Greg survived stage 4 cancer as a young man and later underwent quadruple heart bypass surgery due to complications from his treatments. Erica, once the rock of her household, had to relearn how to trust after waking from her coma. Even through that darkness, they found light in prayer, community, and renewed purpose from the Lord. 

Today, they use their journey to encourage others — students, colleagues, and anyone walking through hard places. Their story, featured on the Cedarville Stories podcast, is one of grace, grit, and the relentless love of the God who never let go. Sometimes, it’s in the hardest places that hope grows deepest.

https://share.transistor.fm/s/5966486a

https://youtu.be/Tn0-R1I0OMI