January 6, 2024 • 24 mins
When the waves of life threaten to engulf us, where do we turn for solace? This is the question at the heart of our latest podcast episode, where we embark on a candid exploration of faith, community, and the shared burden of life's challenges. Through the lens of scripture and personal anecdotes, we delve into the narratives that bind us, finding common ground in our struggles and solace in the divine.
At the onset, we're invited to consider the role of faith in breaking through isolation, particularly during trying times. The act of engaging with scripture is depicted not as a passive reading but as a dynamic interaction—wrestling with, embracing, and embodying the text. This deep dive into spiritual study isn't just for personal edification; it's a bridge to communal support. We're encouraged to share our journey with others, finding strength in the mutual exchange of experiences.
A poignant tale of one individual's father battling cancer serves as a testament to the fortitude that prayer and community can foster. This narrative interweaves the rawness of despair with the emergence of a profound spiritual encounter, demonstrating the transformative power of vulnerability before God. It's a reminder that in the depths of grief and fatigue, faith can act as an anchor, holding us steady in the tumultuous seas of adversity.
In sharing this episode, we aim not only to offer solace but also to extend an invitation to dialogue, to connect, and to remind each listener of their inherent worth. It is a message of upliftment and unity, beckoning us to join hands as we navigate the stormy waters of life together.
By delving into these topics, we're reminded that storms are a universal experience, yet they are also deeply personal. The podcast doesn't just tell stories; it offers a roadmap for resilience. It’s a narrative that many can find themselves within, an affirmation of the quiet strength that comes from shared burdens and the unwavering support of faith and fellowship.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Rev. Cathie (00:19):
Welcome back.
This is episode 2 of Will youWalk With Me as we get started?
I do pray that the season wejust ended offered you an
opportunity to be with familyand friends and share the
precious gift of time withothers.
If you remember from our firstepisode, we reflected on the
peace that God offers.
(00:39):
Second Peter 1, verse 2, saysMay God give you more and more
grace and peace as you grow inyour knowledge of God and Jesus,
our Lord.
And as I shared last time, oneof the many ways we can break
through the possible isolationwe can experience in challenging
times is to grow in ourrelationship with God.
(01:02):
Now, the term relationshipmeans different things to
different people, and that'sjust fine.
God is multi-dimensional andready and willing and wanting to
meet us wherever we are on thejourney.
So, as we work on building thatrelationship, one of the ways
open to us is a deeper study ofGod's word and how we can
(01:25):
connect it to our own lives.
But that's only one half of thecircle.
The second part is veryimportant.
It's great to be able to quotescripture by chapter and verse,
to know what Jesus said and did,to know God's plans for
humanity, taken from the text.
What's also very important,though, is sharing our journey
(01:47):
with others, the challenges, thejoys and everything in between.
If we can connect our journeyto something learned in
scripture, well, I think that'sjust icing on the cake.
What a joy.
I remember my homileticsprofessor in seminary, dr
Simpson, telling us that we haveto be able to wrestle with the
(02:09):
text.
Homiletics, by the way, is astudy of and for the preparation
of sermons, but to wrestle withthe text means to me not to
just take it at face value.
We're called to ask questions,to look at different
translations, to talk to othersabout what they feel.
Whatever you can do to get inthere, don't hold the word at a
(02:35):
distance.
For some people, the wordwrestle might be too strong.
I can see that.
So if that word doesn't workfor you, maybe the word embrace
or embody the text would bebetter.
No matter what word you choose,the object is to dig deep,
listen for the Holy Spirit tooffer you an educational
(02:57):
experience far beyond any youcould ever imagine.
So let's dig in Jesus, in theStorms of Life.
Our foundation scripture todaywill be taken from Mark's Gospel
, chapter 4.
On the same day, when eveninghad come, he said to them let us
cross over to the other side.
(03:17):
Now, when they had left themultitude, they took him along
in the boat as he was, and theother little boats were also
with him, and a great windstormarose and the waves beat into
the boat so that it was alreadyfilling up.
But he was in the stern asleepon a pillow.
They woke him and said Teacher,do you not care that we are
(03:39):
perishing?
Then he arose, rebuked the windand said to the sea Peace, be
still.
And the wind ceased and therewas a great calm.
But he said to them why are youso fearful?
How is it that you can have nofaith?
And they feared him exceedinglyand said to one another who can
(04:01):
this be that even the wind andsea obey him?
Now I want to take that samepassage and read it to you from
the message translation, and thesubtitle of it is the Wind Ran
Out of Breath Late that day.
He said to them Let us goacross to the other side.
(04:23):
They took him in the boat as hewas.
Other boats came along, a hugestorm came up, waves poured into
the boat, threatening to sinkit.
Jesus was in the stern with hishead on a pillow, sleeping.
They aroused him and saidTeacher, is there nothing you're
going to do?
We're going down, awake now.
(04:45):
He told the wind and he saidPipe down to the sea, quiet,
settle down.
And the wind ran out of breath.
The sea became smooth as glass.
Jesus reprimanded the disciples.
Why are you such cowards?
Don't you have any faith at all?
(05:06):
They were in absolute awe.
Who is this anyway?
They asked when and see are athis beckon call.
I like the message translationbecause it helps put me in the
story.
I can absolutely see myselfscared out of my mind being on a
(05:26):
boat in the middle of a storm.
Actually, it happened to meonce.
My husband and I were in Maineand we were traveling from the
mainland to Monhegan Island on aferry boat.
We were trying to beat anincoming storm, but we didn't
and the storm started.
Not only was I scared, but Ihad to hide under a large tarp,
(05:48):
sitting like sardines, withpeople on each side of me.
My husband was on one side, buton the other side was a person
who was consistently throwing up.
Well, that was pretty gross,and over the past 30 years,
anytime I ever think of thatstory, it still makes me
nauseous.
But besides being scared.
(06:09):
Being in a storm any type ofstorm can cause us to become
isolated.
You know, we can't let anyoneknow how fragile we might be.
We have to put up a front,smiling faces, bold words, so we
can seem strong.
In the meantime, we feel likethe apostles did, we feel like
(06:30):
we're just going down.
Sometimes, isolation and fearcan cause us to get angry.
Eventually it pushes us to thepoint where we start to yell at
the one who could have changedthings, the one who was supposed
to understand.
Why, why, why, god.
(06:50):
I'm going to share with youthree different stories to
illustrate this point.
Two are actually from the worldof film and television.
Yes, god can definitely speakto us through the arts.
The first story is from themovie Forest Gump, a very famous
movie.
Many of you have probably seenit, but, just to recap, the
(07:13):
story takes place through thecourse of Forest Gump's life and
at one point he's in Vietnamand his commanding officer,
lieutenant Dan, played by GarySinise and of course Forest Gump
is played by Tom Hanks wasinjured in battle and he had to
have both of his legs amputated.
He came from a military family.
With his injury and now hiscareer being over, he isolated.
(07:38):
He couldn't stand thedevastating change to his life
and it caused him to go into adownward spiral that landed him
in the world of drugs andalcohol.
Meanwhile, forest had also losta good friend in the war and
started a business to carry onhis friend's dream.
He formed the Bubbush GumpShrimp Company and he got
(08:01):
Lieutenant Dan to help him runthe business to see if it would
give him purpose in life.
After lots of days of no luck atall catching shrimp, a huge
storm came up.
Sound, familiar Waves pouredinto the boat that Forest and
Lieutenant Dan were in, and itwas the last straw for
Lieutenant Dan.
He climbed up a pole on theboat which, when I told this
(08:25):
story in my congregation, theytold me was called a crow's nest
, and he yelled and he screamedand he wanted to have it out
with God.
In this case God was the stormand having it out with God was
his way to break his prisonwalls.
The very first time I saw thatmovie I remember thinking man,
(08:45):
just get it all out.
God already knows everythingyou're thinking, the pain and
the suffering.
He's taking all the anger.
So the character and us couldbe free.
Then from television, the WestWing, one of my favorite shows
(09:07):
and somewhat of a similar story,president Bartlett, played by
Martin Sheen, grieving the lossof his executive secretary,
played by Catherine Judson, whowas killed by a drunk driver
while driving back to the WhiteHouse with her brand new car.
Not only is he grieving, but hehas to reveal to the country
(09:30):
that he has an illness that hehid during his first election.
He isolated himself from hisdeep grief.
He knew his secretary from whenhe was a teenager, when she
worked for his father.
He isolated himself from thecountry in order to be strong
and hide his illness.
The scene in the episode, theTwo Cathedral, takes place in
(09:53):
the middle of a huge storm, nota sudden one, it was predicted,
but huge just the same.
After the funeral, thepresident asks for private time
in the church because he tooneeds to have it out with God.
Why, why, why, why did thiswoman have to die?
I believe that God wept withPresident Bartlett and
(10:18):
Lieutenant Dan as they summonedthe courage to break their
prisons of isolation.
Now one final story, and thisone is true because it happened
to me.
It was the early summer of 1993when we noticed that my dad was
losing weight.
(10:38):
He eventually went to thedoctor and found out that it was
colon cancer.
The treatment plan was surgery,chemo, radiation, standard
stuff.
The surgery was to take placein July and I worked at putting
together a prayer chain for myfather for the 24 hours
(10:59):
surrounding the surgery.
I was going to God with thisand I knew God was going to be
with us.
Each hour there was at leastone person praying for my dad.
The doctors, nurses andeveryone involved participated
with everything they hadbelieving, believing in the
(11:20):
healing power of God, and by thetime I was through asking
people to participate, therewere over 50 people and 12
church families participating inthis prayer chain.
It stretched across the country.
Well, the surgery was successfuland after a few months my dad
was healed enough to go back towork and he lived an active life
(11:43):
for the next 14 months or so,until one day he unexpectedly
threw up.
In the weeks ahead we noticed achange in him that was not good
and went back to the doctor tofind out that the cancer had
returned and spread to otherareas of the body.
That was in October of 1994.
(12:05):
By the end of January 1995, thedoctors told him that he should
get his affairs in order.
That pushed me over the edge.
There was no hope now, just awaiting game.
I was angry, but I held ittogether, kept myself in control
, focused on work, helping tomanage my parents' affairs.
(12:31):
And then one day, a Saturday, Iwent to my church to set the
altar for the Sunday service.
While I was working, I staredat the statue of Christ on the
wall and the storm inside of meexploded and I started to scream
and cry and throw things allover the church.
I couldn't understand why.
(12:53):
We prayed, we tried alldifferent kinds of medications,
everything.
Lord, don't you hear me?
I don't know how long I went on, but at some point, after
making a huge mess, I just laidon the floor and fell asleep.
When it was over, I could feelGod saying to me are you
(13:20):
finished?
Would you please clean up myhome now?
There was no punishment, therewas no chastising, there was no
shame, no-transcript.
The important thing for me wasthat I got out the fear, the
sorrow, the confusion, so Icould be free.
(13:41):
It didn't change anything frommy dad Unfortunately, he died
about two months later but theexperience changed me.
I was trying to be strong formyself, for everyone else, and
out of fear.
I needed to be strong so Iwould not fall apart and be too
(14:04):
afraid that I would never beable to pick myself back up.
In that intimate time with God,the walls came tumbling down.
There was a big crack in theisolation and I was able to love
through the rest of those daysand into the future.
(14:25):
That's my story and, pleaseunderstand, I'm not trying to
say that the only way to breakout of isolation is to yell at
God.
In fact, in my own journey, Ipractice talking to God every
day about all aspects of my life.
I'm sort of preparing God.
Yeah right, like God needs abriefing on from me, I'm the one
(14:47):
who needs to get the words out.
I'm not trying to let the wallgo up in the isolation return,
and I do mean trying.
It takes practice Because formost of us, we were not taught
how to communicate with Godbeyond written prayer when we
were children, and so now weneed to learn it as adults.
(15:13):
Let's get back to the scripture.
There are some interestingsimilarities in these stories.
First of all, jesus was tiredafter a long day of teaching.
Jesus was human, just like us.
He needed rest.
He needed rest to clear hishead rest to keep focused.
In these three stories I shared, there is fatigue Different
(15:35):
reasons, but fatigue just thesame.
In the scripture, as they arecrossing the sea, a great storm
arises.
Matthew tells us it was asudden storm.
The message says it was huge.
This is not just a major storm,a storm that quickly comes, but
(15:55):
the implication in these, inthese scripture passages, is
that the storm was the storm ofthe enemy and attack on the
people.
Yes, it was unexpected, buthave you ever had unexpected
storms in your life?
You wake up that morning andthink it's going to be a good
day.
Then you get sudden news thecancer is back, the relationship
(16:21):
is broken, the job is no longeravailable.
The death of a loved one didn'tstart out this way.
But, as a matter of fact, yousigh and the fatigue sets in and
maybe you just want to go backto bed.
The storm was powerful and itwas overwhelming.
(16:44):
It was coming in the boat andit tested the faith of the
disciples.
There was no end in sight.
Where is Jesus?
Jesus is asleep in the boat.
He was tired and the disciplesare going to get him up.
Notice what they say.
Teacher, do you not care thatwe are perishing.
(17:05):
You can read the sarcasm, butJesus says awake now.
He told the wind to pipe downand to the sea, he said quiet.
And he said to them why are youso fearful?
(17:25):
Don't you have any faith?
Ouch, that hurts.
You know, jesus, we're justhumans, don't you understand?
Of course Jesus understands.
He wants to take us to a higherlevel of trust and faith.
(17:48):
There's a storm all right, arainstorm in two stories and an
emotional storm in all three.
There's fatigue all right, inall three stories.
Fatigue is sometimes based ingrief.
And there's a point in allthree stories that the person
involved yelled at God becausethey were at the end of their
(18:12):
rope.
The walls they had built aroundthemselves were crushing them
and it is in that last desperateeffort they screamed at God,
maybe releasing their anger tosomeone they couldn't see,
someone who is so distant butyet known as the creator of all.
God listens.
(18:34):
God does not judge.
The important thing is to getback to living life, caring for
self and others.
God does not want the storms tosteal our attention and
distract us from what we arecalled to do.
Days after my experience in myhome church, I was feeling
(18:57):
guilty, not because I had feltthat God was judging me.
I just felt guilty for what Ihad done.
I shared with my mentor andgood friend, catherine, what I
was feeling, and she saidsomething that I have held on to
this very day.
She told me God is a big Godand there is nothing you can
(19:20):
ever say that he can't handle.
Sometimes a word or a sentencecan be life changing.
Thanks, kath.
We do have tools in Scripture.
Philippians 4-13 says I can doall things through Christ, who
strengthens me.
Isaiah 54-17 says no weaponformed against me shall prosper.
(19:45):
Matthew 19-26 says with God,all things are possible, and if
we truly believe these things,they can be a strong foundation
for us to stand on.
Try saying them over and over,and over again, over and over,
until they become part of yourDNA.
(20:09):
And right now you may be sayingto yourself it's not that simple
, and I say you're absolutelyright, it's not.
And there's no one thing youcan do to ease the pain and
break through the isolation.
But first, and possibly forsome, the hardest thing to do is
(20:29):
know that God loves you.
You are created with a purposeand God desperately desires to
walk with you through all oflife's journey.
Maybe no one in your life toldyou how special you are and how
much God loves you.
So I am doing that now.
(20:52):
Each and every one of us is agift to the world from God and
we need to care and cultivate.
The very gift that we areEmbodying the Scripture in one
way is caring for yourself,along with eating healthy,
getting enough sleep, exerciseand all the things we hear over
(21:13):
and over again from parents,teachers and the medical
community, and you know whatthey're right.
They're right because thesethings prepare the soil of our
very being to receive the seedsthat are planted and help them
grow.
Most importantly, sharing yourjourney with someone.
(21:34):
It could be a long relationship, someone you meet on the
grocery line, the line thatnever seems to end, and in many
other different ways, reachingout to share and also to receive
the gifts from listening.
Remember, somebody else needsto share too, and it's when we
(21:58):
are trapped in our prisons, notsharing, not listening, not
engaging, that evil, the evil inthe world, feels way more
confident in knocking on ourdoor.
Isolation tempts us to feel thatwe are not wanted or needed, or
maybe that we should never havebeen born at all.
That's not true.
(22:21):
We have all come to this worldwith gifts to share.
Isolation is prison, and Jesuscame to set you free.
I am inviting you to walk withme on this journey, a journey to
know the healing, life-giving,life-restoring power of God,
(22:42):
through Jesus and the power ofthe Holy Spirit, and I would be
honored to walk with you.
I hope that you'll join me inour next episode and I want to
be sure that if you are in needof professional help something I
treasure in my own journey andyou don't know what to do, you
can contact the National SuicidePrevention Lifeline, accessible
(23:05):
by dialing 1-800-273-8255.
Also modeled after the 911system, there is a three-digit
code that you can call 988, theSuicide Crisis Lifeline.
It's designated to be amemorable and quick number that
connects people who are in anymental health crisis to a
(23:28):
trained mental healthprofessional.
If you would like to reach outto us, please send us a note at
podcast at willyouwalkwithmecom.
I want to, as always, thank myproducers, andrew and Catherine,
and to all of you for listening.
I pray that each of you see thehand of Jesus extended and you
(23:49):
know that you are a child of Godwho can grab on and have a
blessed partner for the journeyforward.
See you next time.
Welcome back.
This is episode 2 of Will youWalk With Me as we get started?
I do pray that the season wejust ended offered you an
opportunity to be with familyand friends and share the
precious gift of time withothers.
If you remember from our firstepisode, we reflected on the
peace that God offers.
(00:39):
Second Peter 1, verse 2, saysMay God give you more and more
grace and peace as you grow inyour knowledge of God and Jesus,
our Lord.
And as I shared last time, oneof the many ways we can break
through the possible isolationwe can experience in challenging
times is to grow in ourrelationship with God.
(01:02):
Now, the term relationshipmeans different things to
different people, and that'sjust fine.
God is multi-dimensional andready and willing and wanting to
meet us wherever we are on thejourney.
So, as we work on building thatrelationship, one of the ways
open to us is a deeper study ofGod's word and how we can
(01:25):
connect it to our own lives.
But that's only one half of thecircle.
The second part is veryimportant.
It's great to be able to quotescripture by chapter and verse,
to know what Jesus said and did,to know God's plans for
humanity, taken from the text.
What's also very important,though, is sharing our journey
(01:47):
with others, the challenges, thejoys and everything in between.
If we can connect our journeyto something learned in
scripture, well, I think that'sjust icing on the cake.
What a joy.
I remember my homileticsprofessor in seminary, dr
Simpson, telling us that we haveto be able to wrestle with the
(02:09):
text.
Homiletics, by the way, is astudy of and for the preparation
of sermons, but to wrestle withthe text means to me not to
just take it at face value.
We're called to ask questions,to look at different
translations, to talk to othersabout what they feel.
Whatever you can do to get inthere, don't hold the word at a
(02:35):
distance.
For some people, the wordwrestle might be too strong.
I can see that.
So if that word doesn't workfor you, maybe the word embrace
or embody the text would bebetter.
No matter what word you choose,the object is to dig deep,
listen for the Holy Spirit tooffer you an educational
(02:57):
experience far beyond any youcould ever imagine.
So let's dig in Jesus, in theStorms of Life.
Our foundation scripture todaywill be taken from Mark's Gospel
, chapter 4.
On the same day, when eveninghad come, he said to them let us
cross over to the other side.
(03:17):
Now, when they had left themultitude, they took him along
in the boat as he was, and theother little boats were also
with him, and a great windstormarose and the waves beat into
the boat so that it was alreadyfilling up.
But he was in the stern asleepon a pillow.
They woke him and said Teacher,do you not care that we are
(03:39):
perishing?
Then he arose, rebuked the windand said to the sea Peace, be
still.
And the wind ceased and therewas a great calm.
But he said to them why are youso fearful?
How is it that you can have nofaith?
And they feared him exceedinglyand said to one another who can
(04:01):
this be that even the wind andsea obey him?
Now I want to take that samepassage and read it to you from
the message translation, and thesubtitle of it is the Wind Ran
Out of Breath Late that day.
He said to them Let us goacross to the other side.
(04:23):
They took him in the boat as hewas.
Other boats came along, a hugestorm came up, waves poured into
the boat, threatening to sinkit.
Jesus was in the stern with hishead on a pillow, sleeping.
They aroused him and saidTeacher, is there nothing you're
going to do?
We're going down, awake now.
(04:45):
He told the wind and he saidPipe down to the sea, quiet,
settle down.
And the wind ran out of breath.
The sea became smooth as glass.
Jesus reprimanded the disciples.
Why are you such cowards?
Don't you have any faith at all?
(05:06):
They were in absolute awe.
Who is this anyway?
They asked when and see are athis beckon call.
I like the message translationbecause it helps put me in the
story.
I can absolutely see myselfscared out of my mind being on a
(05:26):
boat in the middle of a storm.
Actually, it happened to meonce.
My husband and I were in Maineand we were traveling from the
mainland to Monhegan Island on aferry boat.
We were trying to beat anincoming storm, but we didn't
and the storm started.
Not only was I scared, but Ihad to hide under a large tarp,
(05:48):
sitting like sardines, withpeople on each side of me.
My husband was on one side, buton the other side was a person
who was consistently throwing up.
Well, that was pretty gross,and over the past 30 years,
anytime I ever think of thatstory, it still makes me
nauseous.
But besides being scared.
(06:09):
Being in a storm any type ofstorm can cause us to become
isolated.
You know, we can't let anyoneknow how fragile we might be.
We have to put up a front,smiling faces, bold words, so we
can seem strong.
In the meantime, we feel likethe apostles did, we feel like
(06:30):
we're just going down.
Sometimes, isolation and fearcan cause us to get angry.
Eventually it pushes us to thepoint where we start to yell at
the one who could have changedthings, the one who was supposed
to understand.
Why, why, why, god.
(06:50):
I'm going to share with youthree different stories to
illustrate this point.
Two are actually from the worldof film and television.
Yes, god can definitely speakto us through the arts.
The first story is from themovie Forest Gump, a very famous
movie.
Many of you have probably seenit, but, just to recap, the
(07:13):
story takes place through thecourse of Forest Gump's life and
at one point he's in Vietnamand his commanding officer,
lieutenant Dan, played by GarySinise and of course Forest Gump
is played by Tom Hanks wasinjured in battle and he had to
have both of his legs amputated.
He came from a military family.
With his injury and now hiscareer being over, he isolated.
(07:38):
He couldn't stand thedevastating change to his life
and it caused him to go into adownward spiral that landed him
in the world of drugs andalcohol.
Meanwhile, forest had also losta good friend in the war and
started a business to carry onhis friend's dream.
He formed the Bubbush GumpShrimp Company and he got
(08:01):
Lieutenant Dan to help him runthe business to see if it would
give him purpose in life.
After lots of days of no luck atall catching shrimp, a huge
storm came up.
Sound, familiar Waves pouredinto the boat that Forest and
Lieutenant Dan were in, and itwas the last straw for
Lieutenant Dan.
He climbed up a pole on theboat which, when I told this
(08:25):
story in my congregation, theytold me was called a crow's nest
, and he yelled and he screamedand he wanted to have it out
with God.
In this case God was the stormand having it out with God was
his way to break his prisonwalls.
The very first time I saw thatmovie I remember thinking man,
(08:45):
just get it all out.
God already knows everythingyou're thinking, the pain and
the suffering.
He's taking all the anger.
So the character and us couldbe free.
Then from television, the WestWing, one of my favorite shows
(09:07):
and somewhat of a similar story,president Bartlett, played by
Martin Sheen, grieving the lossof his executive secretary,
played by Catherine Judson, whowas killed by a drunk driver
while driving back to the WhiteHouse with her brand new car.
Not only is he grieving, but hehas to reveal to the country
(09:30):
that he has an illness that hehid during his first election.
He isolated himself from hisdeep grief.
He knew his secretary from whenhe was a teenager, when she
worked for his father.
He isolated himself from thecountry in order to be strong
and hide his illness.
The scene in the episode, theTwo Cathedral, takes place in
(09:53):
the middle of a huge storm, nota sudden one, it was predicted,
but huge just the same.
After the funeral, thepresident asks for private time
in the church because he tooneeds to have it out with God.
Why, why, why, why did thiswoman have to die?
I believe that God wept withPresident Bartlett and
(10:18):
Lieutenant Dan as they summonedthe courage to break their
prisons of isolation.
Now one final story, and thisone is true because it happened
to me.
It was the early summer of 1993when we noticed that my dad was
losing weight.
(10:38):
He eventually went to thedoctor and found out that it was
colon cancer.
The treatment plan was surgery,chemo, radiation, standard
stuff.
The surgery was to take placein July and I worked at putting
together a prayer chain for myfather for the 24 hours
(10:59):
surrounding the surgery.
I was going to God with thisand I knew God was going to be
with us.
Each hour there was at leastone person praying for my dad.
The doctors, nurses andeveryone involved participated
with everything they hadbelieving, believing in the
(11:20):
healing power of God, and by thetime I was through asking
people to participate, therewere over 50 people and 12
church families participating inthis prayer chain.
It stretched across the country.
Well, the surgery was successfuland after a few months my dad
was healed enough to go back towork and he lived an active life
(11:43):
for the next 14 months or so,until one day he unexpectedly
threw up.
In the weeks ahead we noticed achange in him that was not good
and went back to the doctor tofind out that the cancer had
returned and spread to otherareas of the body.
That was in October of 1994.
(12:05):
By the end of January 1995, thedoctors told him that he should
get his affairs in order.
That pushed me over the edge.
There was no hope now, just awaiting game.
I was angry, but I held ittogether, kept myself in control
, focused on work, helping tomanage my parents' affairs.
(12:31):
And then one day, a Saturday, Iwent to my church to set the
altar for the Sunday service.
While I was working, I staredat the statue of Christ on the
wall and the storm inside of meexploded and I started to scream
and cry and throw things allover the church.
I couldn't understand why.
(12:53):
We prayed, we tried alldifferent kinds of medications,
everything.
Lord, don't you hear me?
I don't know how long I went on, but at some point, after
making a huge mess, I just laidon the floor and fell asleep.
When it was over, I could feelGod saying to me are you
(13:20):
finished?
Would you please clean up myhome now?
There was no punishment, therewas no chastising, there was no
shame, no-transcript.
The important thing for me wasthat I got out the fear, the
sorrow, the confusion, so Icould be free.
(13:41):
It didn't change anything frommy dad Unfortunately, he died
about two months later but theexperience changed me.
I was trying to be strong formyself, for everyone else, and
out of fear.
I needed to be strong so Iwould not fall apart and be too
(14:04):
afraid that I would never beable to pick myself back up.
In that intimate time with God,the walls came tumbling down.
There was a big crack in theisolation and I was able to love
through the rest of those daysand into the future.
(14:25):
That's my story and, pleaseunderstand, I'm not trying to
say that the only way to breakout of isolation is to yell at
God.
In fact, in my own journey, Ipractice talking to God every
day about all aspects of my life.
I'm sort of preparing God.
Yeah right, like God needs abriefing on from me, I'm the one
(14:47):
who needs to get the words out.
I'm not trying to let the wallgo up in the isolation return,
and I do mean trying.
It takes practice Because formost of us, we were not taught
how to communicate with Godbeyond written prayer when we
were children, and so now weneed to learn it as adults.
(15:13):
Let's get back to the scripture.
There are some interestingsimilarities in these stories.
First of all, jesus was tiredafter a long day of teaching.
Jesus was human, just like us.
He needed rest.
He needed rest to clear hishead rest to keep focused.
In these three stories I shared, there is fatigue Different
(15:35):
reasons, but fatigue just thesame.
In the scripture, as they arecrossing the sea, a great storm
arises.
Matthew tells us it was asudden storm.
The message says it was huge.
This is not just a major storm,a storm that quickly comes, but
(15:55):
the implication in these, inthese scripture passages, is
that the storm was the storm ofthe enemy and attack on the
people.
Yes, it was unexpected, buthave you ever had unexpected
storms in your life?
You wake up that morning andthink it's going to be a good
day.
Then you get sudden news thecancer is back, the relationship
(16:21):
is broken, the job is no longeravailable.
The death of a loved one didn'tstart out this way.
But, as a matter of fact, yousigh and the fatigue sets in and
maybe you just want to go backto bed.
The storm was powerful and itwas overwhelming.
(16:44):
It was coming in the boat andit tested the faith of the
disciples.
There was no end in sight.
Where is Jesus?
Jesus is asleep in the boat.
He was tired and the disciplesare going to get him up.
Notice what they say.
Teacher, do you not care thatwe are perishing.
(17:05):
You can read the sarcasm, butJesus says awake now.
He told the wind to pipe downand to the sea, he said quiet.
And he said to them why are youso fearful?
(17:25):
Don't you have any faith?
Ouch, that hurts.
You know, jesus, we're justhumans, don't you understand?
Of course Jesus understands.
He wants to take us to a higherlevel of trust and faith.
(17:48):
There's a storm all right, arainstorm in two stories and an
emotional storm in all three.
There's fatigue all right, inall three stories.
Fatigue is sometimes based ingrief.
And there's a point in allthree stories that the person
involved yelled at God becausethey were at the end of their
(18:12):
rope.
The walls they had built aroundthemselves were crushing them
and it is in that last desperateeffort they screamed at God,
maybe releasing their anger tosomeone they couldn't see,
someone who is so distant butyet known as the creator of all.
God listens.
(18:34):
God does not judge.
The important thing is to getback to living life, caring for
self and others.
God does not want the storms tosteal our attention and
distract us from what we arecalled to do.
Days after my experience in myhome church, I was feeling
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guilty, not because I had feltthat God was judging me.
I just felt guilty for what Ihad done.
I shared with my mentor andgood friend, catherine, what I
was feeling, and she saidsomething that I have held on to
this very day.
She told me God is a big Godand there is nothing you can
(19:20):
ever say that he can't handle.
Sometimes a word or a sentencecan be life changing.
Thanks, kath.
We do have tools in Scripture.
Philippians 4-13 says I can doall things through Christ, who
strengthens me.
Isaiah 54-17 says no weaponformed against me shall prosper.
(19:45):
Matthew 19-26 says with God,all things are possible, and if
we truly believe these things,they can be a strong foundation
for us to stand on.
Try saying them over and over,and over again, over and over,
until they become part of yourDNA.
(20:09):
And right now you may be sayingto yourself it's not that simple
, and I say you're absolutelyright, it's not.
And there's no one thing youcan do to ease the pain and
break through the isolation.
But first, and possibly forsome, the hardest thing to do is
(20:29):
know that God loves you.
You are created with a purposeand God desperately desires to
walk with you through all oflife's journey.
Maybe no one in your life toldyou how special you are and how
much God loves you.
So I am doing that now.
(20:52):
Each and every one of us is agift to the world from God and
we need to care and cultivate.
The very gift that we areEmbodying the Scripture in one
way is caring for yourself,along with eating healthy,
getting enough sleep, exerciseand all the things we hear over
(21:13):
and over again from parents,teachers and the medical
community, and you know whatthey're right.
They're right because thesethings prepare the soil of our
very being to receive the seedsthat are planted and help them
grow.
Most importantly, sharing yourjourney with someone.
(21:34):
It could be a long relationship, someone you meet on the
grocery line, the line thatnever seems to end, and in many
other different ways, reachingout to share and also to receive
the gifts from listening.
Remember, somebody else needsto share too, and it's when we
(21:58):
are trapped in our prisons, notsharing, not listening, not
engaging, that evil, the evil inthe world, feels way more
confident in knocking on ourdoor.
Isolation tempts us to feel thatwe are not wanted or needed, or
maybe that we should never havebeen born at all.
That's not true.
(22:21):
We have all come to this worldwith gifts to share.
Isolation is prison, and Jesuscame to set you free.
I am inviting you to walk withme on this journey, a journey to
know the healing, life-giving,life-restoring power of God,
(22:42):
through Jesus and the power ofthe Holy Spirit, and I would be
honored to walk with you.
I hope that you'll join me inour next episode and I want to
be sure that if you are in needof professional help something I
treasure in my own journey andyou don't know what to do, you
can contact the National SuicidePrevention Lifeline, accessible
(23:05):
by dialing 1-800-273-8255.
Also modeled after the 911system, there is a three-digit
code that you can call 988, theSuicide Crisis Lifeline.
It's designated to be amemorable and quick number that
connects people who are in anymental health crisis to a
(23:28):
trained mental healthprofessional.
If you would like to reach outto us, please send us a note at
podcast at willyouwalkwithmecom.
I want to, as always, thank myproducers, andrew and Catherine,
and to all of you for listening.
I pray that each of you see thehand of Jesus extended and you
(23:49):
know that you are a child of Godwho can grab on and have a
blessed partner for the journeyforward.
See you next time.
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