HOW THIS BLOG WAS BORN

For over five years, I did the same thing at the end of nearly every day. I would open my e-mail, reread any mail from my sister I had received that day, then hit reply and write to her about my day, her day, what she or I may be facing, sharing experiences, blessings, scripture verses and hymns, with the goal to comfort and encourage her as she bravely battled multiple myeloma. On December 17, 2013 she came out the victor as she was transported through Heaven’s gates into the very presence of her Saviour whom she loved and trusted throughout her journey.

It has been an adjustment for me to fill that void in the evenings with something meaningful to do. Truth be told, I miss my sister, although I would not wish her back. My loss is her gain. And someday I will join her.

But meanwhile, there are others who are hurting and in need of comfort and encouragement. What they really need is what sustained my sister Marlea through her illness – a personal relationship with the God of the universe. To know Him is to love Him. But how does one get to know Him in an intimate way?

First of all, by reading His love letters as recorded in the Bible. My sister read through the Bible many times. She memorized verses from the Bible as a child through adulthood. She listened to many sermons and studied God’s Word at home and at church, alone and with others. After a while, she began to teach God’s Word to others. Eventually, God led her and her husband to be missionaries in France, joyfully sharing the message of God’s Word to people there.

It was in France that Marlea first learned that she had an incurable cancer. And even as the doctor explained it to her, she said to herself, “I’m going to trust God through this.” And she did.

She could trust God and His goodness because she knew God personally. He had brought her through many trials: a stillborn baby girl. Their fourth son taken in an apartment fire in his last year of college. Helping to nurse her dear mother-in-law through pancreatic cancer till God took her. Not to mention how she came alongside many other hurting people to comfort them in their trouble and grief.

What better way to fill my time than to do what Marlea had so often encouraged me to do and  has been my passion since childhood – to write…......blogs. What a simple way to say what I want to say to whomever God leads to read it. That’s you.