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Timeless Truths ................................................................Pages
from His Grace Magazine
by His Grace
Page 8 Our 3rd Anniversary! July 2021
In and Out of the Fire
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Have you ever experienced such heartache that you couldn't even put it into words? Even though many years may have lapsed, simply trying to talk about it makes you well up? I have. It has taken me a long time to pen the emotions that cloud my world at times. I have rattled my brain trying to understand why things in life happen the way they do and I struggle to live with the pain of irreconcilable situations. Without going into unnecessary detail, I just need to say that my heart hurts over my relationship with my daughter. Try as I may, I never seem to say or do the right things and I end up shrugging my shoulders in defeat. We all have skeletons in our closets; we all have sinned and have come short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23). We all need forgiveness from the Lord; we all need to forgive and to be forgiven, to love one another and strive to work together to live in harmony. It's when the other person can't forgive... how do you go on living each day with a smile on your face? We know that the other party may be hurting as well, but when communication breaks down, there is
I was coming off my lunch break and heading back to work in my car, listening to a gospel radio program one day
in 2002, when God spoke to me. It was as though God was in my car with me. Words cannot even describe the sense of warmth and intimacy that came over and surrounded me at that point, and when He spoke, His voice was the voice of pure love and tenderness. He said to me, "Do not worry for Krystle, for I will let things happen to her, so that I can bring her unto Myself." I wasn't frightened, and never have I felt, nor heard a voice more beautiful and peaceful in my entire life. That was all He said, but Jesus was telling me to trust Him; to lean not on my own understanding, but to cast my burdens upon Him (Proverbs 3:5).
Many years passed, yet nothing really changed between my daughter and me. I had been living in NL for a couple of years at this time when, one day, I received a call from her significant other saying that Krystle wanted to talk to me. Once again the conversation became difficult, but before she hung up, she told me that she was expecting her first child, my first grandchild. I was overjoyed; my first grandchild! On June 15, 2011, my beautiful grandson, Austin, was born. It wasn't easy; there was almost four thousand km between us, but I managed to visit him three times over the next five years before Krystle again cut the cords on our relationship. Five more years have passed since then and I haven't seen or heard from her, nor have I spoken to my grandson, who is now ten years old. My heart breaks; I think of all the time lost when we could have been loving on one another, but instead, there's silence and disconnect. Just a few months back, I began doubting if God ever spoke to me that day, almost twenty
no way to come to any resolution. The Bible tells us in Colossians 3:15: "Make allowance for each other's faults, and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others." Ephesians 4:31-32 says, "Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you." As Christians, we strive to be Christ-like by walking in His ways and loving each other like He loves us, but when the other person doesn't share your convictions, it's very difficult to work through conflicts.
years ago, in my car. I was thinking that maybe it was just all in my head. But then, while my husband, Rob, and I were reading chapter 36:15 in the book of Job, "He delivers the afflicted in their affliction, and opens their ear in time of oppression," the Lord, through His Word, spoke to me again, reconfirming the promise that He made to me back in 2002, that He was still in control of the situation, desiring to bring Krystle to Him. God sometimes uses suffering to chasten and open people’s ears to draw them to Himself, which brings repentance. He gave me that reassurance that I desperately needed. What an awesome God we serve ... it is so amazing how He comes through exactly when we need to hear from Him the most! I don't know what Krystle has going on in her life right now, but whatever it is, God is all over it. I know that He Our 3rd Anniversary! Page 9
In and Out of the Fire
is still working on her. He's healing her so that she will be able to hear His call. Our heavenly Father loves us more than words can express, and He loves us just the way we are. Remember, He is the One who formed us in our mother's womb (Psalm 139:13). He knows the numbers of hairs on our heads (Luke 12:7), and He has given each and every one of us a free will ... the freedom to choose Him, or to reject Him (Ezekiel 18:31-32), because He is a God of love.
I also know that once Krystle gives her life to Christ, her heart will continue to heal and she will want her family back in her life. This is the blessed hope that we have in Christ Jesus, that "The Lord is not slow in keeping His promise, as some understand slowness. Instead He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance" (2 Peter 3:9).
The Great Deliverer
Into the fiery furnace I went, Bruised and melted with the pains of affliction; Mentally worn, emotionally drained, My spirit held captive by a dark depression. I called upon the Great Deliverer With thoughts distressed, wishing to die; I held nothing back; I bared it all, My Heavenly Father heard my despairing cry. With flames roaring, He filled my soul; He told me to trust and obey in His promise That He’d never leave, nor forsake me; He had proven His love on Calvary’s cross. Out of the fiery furnace I came, Remolded and polished into a new creation; I will forever live in His blessed presence Stabilized, strengthened, matured, forgiven.
Donna Wood
March 17, 2019
WOOD Ministries
