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Topic: Whispers (01/26/04)
TITLE: Whispering Hope! By Judy Sheridan 01/28/04 |
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As the years passed and our lives changed I remained steadfast in my prayer life. I hadn’t been raised to pray other than a brief “now I lay me down to sleep” prayer, but something inside knew that I longed for those whisper of hope and love more than anything. The older I got, the more my prayers evolved into conversations with God. At age twelve I began going to a near-by church alone. My family did not want to join me so I walked to church and choir practice alone but it made me so happy that I really didn’t mind at all... The gentle whispers of the Lord continued to help me along life’s road.
As the years passed my mind continued to wander back to my unanswered questions of my father and his life and death. I had so many questions. My family rarely spoke of him but one thing I knew for sure was that he was loved and that he loved us. I shied away from asking for fear of making my mother have to relive those awful days. With every passing year the burden I carried seemed to grow heavier. What would he have thought of my husband? Would he have been proud of our kids? I felt deprived. No father to walk me down the isle, no father to enjoy my children, I really missed him. A few months after my fourth son was born I went into a deep depression. There was no explanation for it, it just happened. During this dark time in my life I could still faintly hear the whispers of encouragement but they seemed so far away, covered by a dark mist. One terrible, fearful thought kept creeping in, ‘is this how my father felt? Then one day a friend recommended a councilor and in total desperation I went to see him. He told me to talk with my mother and ask all of the questions that I had held in my heart for so long. I prayed that the Lord would be with me and that I wouldn’t cry. That was a tall order since crying seemed to have become a common thing but the whispers of reassurance were there with me so I went forward. That night my mother and I had a wonderful talk and not a tear was shed between the two of us. As we finished our conversation we heard the sound of voices singing. It was near Christmas and there, just outside her door stood a group of carolers singing joyful songs about our Lord! It couldn’t have been a better ending if it had been written as a screen play! There we stood, my mother and I at the door, our arms wrapped around one another. The snow fell softly that winter night as we listened to words of praise and love sung for our Savior. That night I clearly heard that gentle whisper say “I am your Heavenly Father. I am the one you have been longing for. I will never leave you or forsake you. I will always be with you, now and forever.”
(A true story by Judy Sheridan) e-mail:[email protected]