THE BIBLE AND YOU
Keys to Coping in
Troubled Times When you face stressful, unsettling trials and troubles, how can you cope most effectively? Plus, what is genuine faith and how can it help you successfully face and overcome life’s inevitable adversities?
A
t age 12 in 1961, I began delivering evening newspapers each day to about 75 homes in my community. Over the next four years I made the acquaintance of many fine neighbors, including a young family of four with two elementary-school-age girls. It was enjoyable knowing and serving that particular family since they always seemed to radiate kindness, cheerfulness and enthusiasm. One cold winter afternoon while delivering the newspaper to their normally brightly lit home, I noticed it was unusually dark and no one was around. The next day I learned the terrible reason. The parents had been killed and their daughters seriously injured in a violent car accident. I was stunned and deeply saddened by this terrible tragedy. In another event several months later, I returned home
4 Beyond Today
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one evening after completing my paper route to find one of my uncles sitting on our sofa sobbing loudly and bitterly. My mother was trying to comfort her grief-stricken brother to no avail. Mom then told me that my muchloved grandfather had suffered a massive heart attack and died. I’ll never forget the stress and sorrow our entire extended family experienced due to that unexpected and heartbreaking event. As a result of those unsettling incidents early in life, I came to see that distress could dramatically affect anyone at any time. Even the kindest, most decent people could be caught up in severe trials and adversities over which they had no control. Perhaps you are among the many people facing various stresses, pressures and sufferings right now. If so, what are key ways you can cope? And what vital role can godly
Tinnakorn Jorruang/123RF
by John LaBissoniere
