THE ever-present God
Singing ‘Never alone, no never alone!’ By Della Deighton The first time I heard the song, “Never Alone, No Never Alone,” I cried — not because I felt alone, but because I knew that God had been there for me all my life. My mother died when I was 4 years old, but God took care of me by placing me in the care of my wonderful Aunt Emma. She was a widow who had raised her own children and was now caring for a nephew, whose mother had also died. She could have said, “No way, I can’t take care of any more children!” But she didn’t — she took me in and loved me. My father and my uncle were killed in a car accident when I was 13, but God was there then too. He gave me comfort, and I knew that He was my loving Heavenly Father. When I was 15 years old, my Heavenly Father spared me from physical death. For a long time, I had been going to a doctor in Minnesota, where we lived at the time, but he could not find out what was wrong. We moved to Idaho at that time because my cousin, Carl, was going into the army and didn’t want Emma and me to stay on the farm alone. Another cousin took me to a doctor in Boise, who suspected what was wrong after my first appointment. He ordered further tests, and it was discovered that I had tuberculosis of the lungs and the kidneys. The doctor told us that one kidney was totally destroyed and would need to be removed, and that the TB had started in my other kidney as well. By this time, I was coughing up blood because of the TB in my lungs, and I was in almost constant pain because of the TB in my kidneys. The doctor said if it had not been discovered when it was, I would not have lived much longer.
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My mom died from TB and my dad spent several years in the hospital with TB, so this was a frightening experience for me. As a young teenager, spending six months in a TB hospital in Gooding, Idaho, away from family and friends, I often sang these words from the song “Abide with Me”:
“Abide with me; fast falls the eventide; The darkness deepens, Lord with me abide. When other helpers fail and comforts flee, Help of the helpless, Oh, abide with me.” I felt His presence, and He calmed my fears and eased the loneliness. When I was 17, God spared me from eternal, spiritual death. As I mentioned earlier, I was raised by my Aunt Emma, who was a strong believer in God and taught me to believe in and love Him too. My best friend in high school was the daughter of a minister. She invited me to come to church with her, and later her father, Kenneth Beckman, came to our home and taught me more about God’s Word. It was then that I made a personal decision to repent and give my life to Jesus. I was immersed for the forgiveness of my sin and was born again as a new creature in Christ. When I was 20, God spared me from making a very poor choice! Sometimes, even though we are Christians, we do not take seriously the warnings that God gives us, and because of our choices, we can end up reaping very serious consequences. Continued on page 31
Christian Living | July / August 2020 29
