For months I wondered, will I ever be at peace? And what does it mean to have peace? Is peace the tranquilizing of emotions or the eradication of faithless thought? Or is it something deeper, less fickle, than the transient nature of feelings and thoughts? Perhaps it’s the deep, calm assurance that God is in control. Perhaps it’s resting in His power and trusting Him no matter what. Perhaps it’s surrender. One step, one battle at a time you lead me to the place you’ve planned for me. A place of contrasts-- death and life war and peace loss and gain-- a place where peace will reign where I face my greatest challenge-- the surrender of my will. Grace to you and peace from God our Fathe
On a hot August morning twenty-seven years ago, my husband Trent took me to the emergency room with severe abdominal pains. The pain had started shortly after breakfast. As the minutes passed, the pains only intensified. I lay in ER, writhing in pain, while the doctors discussed my case. They weren’t sure what was wrong, but they thought I would probably need surgery. When they heard that six months earlier I had had a bleeding disorder and almost died at the same hospital, they decided to send me three hours across the state to University of Michigan Hospitals. Six months earlier, U of M had treated me for the bleeding disorder. They could treat me again if need be. “Can Trent ride with me?
Several years ago, an official came to our home to interview my husband and me. The official asked us dozens and dozens of questions. All centered on our son. The gentleman asked personal questions related to finances, relationships, and character qualities. Contracted by the Air Force, our interviewer had a prescribed agenda as part of the screening process for our son’s military security clearance. We were asked all the questions on the list the Air Force gave him, even if the question made him or us uncomfortable. He asked only the questions he was given; he didn’t insert things he might be curious about. He was there to do, and only do, what the Air Force had hired him for. How does thi
