TESTIMONIES/SORROW-PAIN

God Is Good All the Time And All the Time God Is Good

walkingbyfaith.us In the Sunset of Our Lives Yet On the Dawn of Eternity

Testimony

Suzanne deaville

An itinerant preacher in Manchester, England migrates to Canada and a lovely lady, born in a covered wagon on the Oregon Trail settles in Washington. They meet, marry and serve the Lord as organist and choir director for their small church in Canada. Soon they head north as missionaries to the First Nation Indians and bring many to the Lord.

So begins my legacy. These were my grandparents. They had three children, my father being the only one to have children of his own. The Lord blessed and honored my grandparents in that all 62 (my best count) of their offspring walk with the Lord. This is a miracle.

My personal introduction to the Lord came when I was 4 years old and my mother had taken me to the park. I found myself, as always, on a swing, my mother resting on a bench. There were no voices, no visions, but the park became encapsulated with nothing else existing. Everything around me became alive, the grass, morning dew even the stone wall. The colors magnified, the sounds intensified so that you could almost touch them. Somehow, I knew I was in the presence of the Lord and He was instilling Himself into my soul. There is no tangible way to express this…I did not have the words, but the experience is as vivid today as when it happened. This was God.

My two brothers and I were raised in a broken home, my parents divorced when I was six. There was the expected difficulty of this issue and while I have some good memories, the best that can be said about my childhood is that it is over. Both my parents had passed away by the time I was 30.

At that time my spiritual education had consisted of catechism class and Catholic school. I loved God so much and wanted to learn about Him, I even thought about becoming a nun. Becoming disenchanted, I left that denomination and headed straight into the rebellion, anger and pain I had tried so hard to bury. I had become as ugly as I felt. I attempted suicide….I had lost touch with God of the park. It was a long, hard road back.

It started when I married John. I knew he had a drinking addiction, and he claimed to be an atheist. I believed love conquered all, and while that is true, I didn’t realize it is God’s love not mine. I tried to rescue him and fix him, which only made life very difficult for both of us. But I loved him, and he me…. we vowed to love each other always…. I found myself in the shadow of turning…. turning back to the Lord.

And one thing I longed for was to have children. It took 9 years, 3 or 4 miscarriages and 3 surgeries before I had my daughter. When she was a year old, we moved near one of my brothers and started attending a little fledgling church…The turning was complete. John accepted the Lord at an Easter sunrise service. His recovery was not easy but he struggled through it.

We moved to Oregon in 1982…. sight unseen…blind faith. I started my 20-year career at Jewett Elementary School and John at Scenic Middle School. In 1985 John got sick. He had cancer and died that year. I was a widow at 38 with a seven-year-old daughter. I had a brother and some incredible friends, but only the Lord could get me through this time.

Three years later I learned I had breast cancer. I grew closer to the Lord than ever before and believed He would heal me. No matter how hard the enemy tried to shake my faith God had a scripture or two right on the tip of my mind to comfort and reassure me. I have not left my first love since. That was 30 years ago this September…. truly God is good.

I never remarried…never wanted anyone but John, and it isn’t “always” yet. I did need to find a new church home, something to help my daughter with all she had been through. Her faith was strong, but she was only 10 years old. Her schoolteacher was a man named Don Main….one of the very first Applegaters. He invited me here.

He drew me a map but still I made a dry run on a weekday….my sense of direction suffers from my dyslexia. I walked into the sanctuary and was met by the Holy Spirit…. God from the park. I was and am home and am so thankful for such a Christ centered church and all I have learned under Pastor Jon’s teaching.

I retired from the school district and worked at Asante as a chaplain for 12 years. I have been blessed with the closeness I have with my daughter and four grandchildren. Since I was only expected to survive 5 years with cancer, I take each day as a gift and my family as a special blessing.

This is just an overview…there are many sub-stories, but perhaps another time. As I read through this and remember…the thing God would have me reflect on….

When the glass is half empty it is also half full.

Blessings

by Suzanne Deaville written in 2018

Testimony

janice k feagin

Margy

Back in time when I was 53 years old, I had a group of gals, four of us playing music at the Solid Rock Coffee House after Friday night worship. Margy Porter happened to be there that night and afterward came up to talk to me. She asked me if I would be interested in playing guitar for her at the 55-Live meetings.

One thing you don’t know about us is that we have never been joiners outside of church. We didn’t do bowling leagues, didn’t join social clubs, didn’t go on retreats. My hubby worked swing shift for years, so we stayed up late and slept in. Getting up early to go to meeting would never have happened except…

Years ago, I made it a priority to go wherever the Lord led in my music ministry. The Lord had given me two verses that I still hold dear.

“But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts and be ready always to give an answer to every man who asketh you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear.”1 Peter 3:15

This verse means for me to be ready at any moment to bring worship. I can’t tell you the multitude of times I’ve had my guitar in the car not telling anyone I had it, but sometimes people would ask. I was ready.

The second verse has to do with how I used to compare myself to other worship leaders. Someone who didn’t need the music or chords, whereas I can’t remember any chords or words even of the songs I’ve written. So, if the lights go out, I’m literally dead in the water.

“But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty.” 1 Corinthians 1:27

So, I kind of reluctantly agreed to give it a shot.

And 24 years later I'm still at 55-Live leading worship. God is good and all the time God is good!

To heavy to bear

A Glass of Water

During one lecture, a professor suddenly picked up a glass of water and held it up. He stood there quietly, just holding it, as the students began to glance at each other, waiting for an explanation. Ten minutes passed, and he still didn’t lower his arm.

Finally, he asked: “Tell me, how much do you think this glass weighs?”

The students started guessing: “Maybe a couple of ounces!”

“Four ounces!”

“Five!”

The professor smiled. “Honestly, I don’t know either. To find out, we’d have to weigh it. But that’s not the real question. What happens if I hold this glass for a few minutes?”

“Nothing,” the students replied.

“Right. Now, what if I hold it for an hour?”

“Your arm will start to hurt,” one answered.

“Correct. And what if I try to hold it all day?”

“Your arm would go numb, you’d be in serious pain, maybe even need medical help,” another said as the class laughed.

The professor nodded calmly. “Exactly. But tell me—did the weight of the glass ever change?”

“No,” came the reply.

“So why the pain in the arm? Why the tension in the muscles?”

The room fell silent.

Then he asked: “What should I do to get rid of the pain?”

“Put the glass down,” someone said.

“Exactly!” the professor exclaimed. “Life’s problems work the same way. If you carry them in your head for a few minutes, it’s no big deal. Think about them for too long, and they start to hurt. Dwell on them all day, and they paralyze you—you won’t be able to do anything else.”

He paused, then finished with this: “That’s why it’s so important to put your problems down at the end of each day. Don’t go to bed carrying the weight of them. Rest, recharge, and you’ll wake up ready to face tomorrow with strength and clarity.”

pain

jesus knows your hurt - Song by Dallas Holm

The pain some people bear
No one would believe
The hurt that's sometimes there
Makes it hard to see
That in the darkest hour
There is still a way
Listen to these simple words I say

Jesus knows your hurt
Jesus feels your pain
Jesus knows just how you feel
’Cause He's felt just the same
Jesus knows your need
Better than you do
Just hold on to Jesus
He's holding on to you

Sometimes you feel alone
Does He really care?
Has He left you on your own?
And does He hear your prayer?
Well, He has never left you
Or forsaken you one day
Listen to these simple words I say

Jesus knows your hurt
Jesus feels your pain
Jesus knows just how you feel
’Cause He's felt just the same
Jesus knows your need
Better than you do
Just hold on to Jesus
He's holding on to you
Just hold on to Jesus
He's holding on to you

sorrow - grief

Grief is an emotion common to the human experience, and we witness the process of grief throughout the biblical narrative. Multiple Bible characters experienced deep loss and sadness, including Job, Naomi, Hannah, and David. Even Jesus mourned (John 11:35; Matthew 23:37-39).

After Lazarus died, Jesus went to the village of Bethany, where Lazarus was buried. When Jesus saw Martha and the other mourners weeping, He also wept. He was moved by their grief and also by the fact of Lazarus’s death.

The astounding thing is that, even though Jesus knew He was going to raise Lazarus from the dead, He chose to partake of the grief of the situation. Jesus truly is a high priest who can “sympathize with our weaknesses” (Hebrews 4:15).

One step in overcoming grief is having the right perspective on it. First, we recognize that grief is a natural response to pain and loss. There is nothing wrong with grieving. Second, we know that times of grief serve a purpose.

Ecclesiastes 7:2 says, “It is better to go to the house of mourning than to go to the house of feasting, for this is the end of all mankind, and the living will lay it to heart.”

This verse implies that grief can be good because it can refresh our perspective on life. Third, we remember that feelings of grief are temporary. “Weeping may remain for a night, but rejoicing comes in the morning” (Psalm 30:5). There is an end to mourning. Grief has its purpose, but it also has its limit.

Through it all, God is faithful.

There are many Scriptures that remind us of God’s faithfulness in times of mourning. He is with us even in the valley of the shadow of death (Psalm 23:4).

When David sorrowed, he prayed this in Psalm 56:8: “You have kept count of my tossings; put my tears in your bottle. Are they not in your book?” (ESV). The touching image of God catching our tears is full of meaning. He sees our grief and does not disdain it.

Like Jesus entered into the grief of the mourners in Bethany, God enters into our grief. At the same time, He reassures us that all is not lost. Psalm 46:10 reminds us to “be still” and rest in the knowledge that He is God. He is our refuge

(Psalm 91:1-2). He works all things together for the good of those He has called (Romans 8:28).

An important part of overcoming grief is expressing it to God. The Psalms contain numerous examples of pouring out one’s heart to God. Interestingly, the psalmist never ends where he began.

He may start a psalm with expressions of grief, but, almost invariably, he will end it with praise (Psalm 13; Psalm 23:4; Psalm 30:11-12; Psalm 56). God understands us (Psalm 139:2).

When we commune with Him, we are able to open our minds to the truth that He loves us, that He is faithful, that He is in control, and that He knows how He is going to work it out for our good.

Another important step in overcoming grief is to share it with others. The body of Christ is designed to ease the burdens of its individual members (Galatians 6:2), and fellow believers have the ability to “mourn with those who mourn” (Romans 12:15).

Often, the grieving tend to shun others, increasing feelings of isolation and misery. It is much healthier to seek counseling, and group settings can be invaluable. Groups offer listening ears and helpful encouragement, camaraderie, and guidance in working through the grief. When we share our stories with God and others, our grief is lessened.

Sadly, grief is part of the human experience. Loss is part of life, and grief is a natural response to loss. But we have the hope of Christ, and we know that He is strong enough to carry our burdens (Matthew 11:30). We can give our hurt to Him because He cares for us (1 Peter 5:7).

We can find solace in the Holy Spirit, our Comforter and Paraclete (John 14:16). In grief, we cast our burdens on Him, rely on the community of the church, delve into the truth of the Word, and ultimately experience hope (Hebrews 6:19-20).

walkingbyfaith.us In the Sunset of Our Lives Yet On the Dawn of Eternity

Encourage One Another

never alone

WHEN LIFE IS HARD

Testimony

Suzanne deaville

Testimony

janice k feagin

To heavy to bear

A Glass of Water

Precious truth

jeremiah 1:5

Day 41 is coming

pain

jesus knows your hurt - Song by Dallas Holm

sorrow - grief

loss

PAIN