Heaton sees her role as Frankie Heck in “The Middle” as a blessing too. She believes the show fills a niche in showing how a normal family in middle-America lives, albeit in a way that’s quirky, humorous, and optimistic with just a little bit of edge. The show is also unique in that it’s written from the mom’s point-of-view and includes a husband/father who, unlike many sitcom dads, isn’t “a dork who can’t do anything right.” The feedback Heaton has received from viewers indicates that they are relating to the Hecks’ struggles with common issues like paying the bills and juggling work and parenting responsibilities. When asked if her own faith life was the reason the Hecks are churchgoers, Heaton said it wasn’t her doing. She credited the writers with knowing “that most people in the country go to church on a somewhat regular basis . . . It’s part of the fabric of the show.”
With a successful TV series and personal life as a wife and mom of four sons, Patricia Heaton is in a good place right now. She is grateful for her good fortune, but continues to view her life through the lens of faith and past experience -- “I have an attitude that God is in control of everything so sometimes we have to work really hard and sometimes we have to wait to see what He does in our lives . . . The life of a Christian doesn’t guarantee sunshine and lollipops. I think once you let go of that idea -- that if you become a Christian and follow God’s will, your life is going to be a bed of roses -- if you get past that, then you’ll do okay.”
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