Trust the Lord and keep moving forward

Good morning everyone,

Our theme for this month: “Renewed hope”

Our Bible verse for today: “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight.” Proverbs 3:5-6 (NIV)

Our thought for today: “Trust the Lord and keep moving forward”

Yesterday we considered the important truth that action makes a difference. Whatever it is we are dealing with in life, doing something about it is better than doing nothing about it. As an illustration, I told you about four men who are all recent widowers and who now have to figure out how to move forward in life without their much-loved spouses (grieving and moving forward at the same time). Today we will consider the inspirational examples of the four wives who are now in heaven.

Jacki courageously battled cancer for seventeen years. It went into remission and came back multiple times. Steve lovingly and faithfully walked through those years with her, weathering the storms side-by-side. Jacki never gave-in to the cancer. She continued to live life fully. The first time I met her she was entertaining guests in her home in Maryland, despite the cancer treatments. The next time, we were together on a mission trip to the coal-mining region in eastern Kentucky. Towards the end of her life, she still went on skiing vacations with Steve. She could no longer ski, but she could sit by the fire in the lodge and watch Steve as he came down the mountain, and that was good enough for her.

Gail had early-onset Alzheimer’s disease. It attacked her in her early fifties. Jim was an Emergency Room physician. He retired early to care of Gail. Although the disease was progressing quickly, together they still came to church on Sundays, they still went on vacations, and in the mid-stage of the disease Gail even went on a cross-country motorcycle ride with Jim and friends. Although her memory was bad and she was often confused, she still sat on the back of that Harley for hundreds of miles – being with her husband and friends and making the most of life.

My Linda had a stroke and brain surgery that left her seriously disabled. She lived for almost seventeen years after that and she never stopped living life fully. She went on a mission trip to conduct vacation Bible schools in Gypsy villages in the Transylvania region of Romania (in a wheelchair!) She served as the VBS leader at our church one summer. She was involved in children’s ministry at our church right up until the last days of her life. And she never lost her can-do spirit or her playful sense of humor.

Rebecca was also young, only fifty-five. She bravely fought cancer for almost a year, enduring surgery and chemotherapy. But she never gave-in or gave-up. She was our music director, leading singing in the church almost every Sunday (including just three days before she died). She also served as the Regional Director of the district office for Congressman John Rose. And, as the wife of our County Mayor, she was the First Lady of Cumberland County. Together Allen and Rebecca carried on a full life, helping and supporting each other in all their activities and duties. From the way they both handled it, unless you had the inside information about Rebecca’s illness, you would never have known she was even sick. Neither she nor Allen made a fuss about it. They just dealt with it and kept going.

There’s just too much to say about this to put it all in one devotional message. So, I will conclude this portion of the story tomorrow. For today, just consider the courageous and inspirational examples of these four great ladies, and then go and do likewise. Live life fully, with joy, enthusiasm, and hope.

God bless,
Pastor Jim

(If you like what you’re reading in these daily devotionals, and if you would like more content from Oak Hill Baptist Church, join us on Sundays at 10:00, in-person if you are nearby or, if you are geographically distant or if you just can’t make it, online at www.YouTube.com/@oakhillbaptistcrossville

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