THE SECRET SUPPLY

There is an old fable about two neighbors who planted similar orchards. One watered his plants every day, but the other, only every few days. When the dry season came, the trees of the first farmer withered, but the trees of the second kept growing steadily. Since these trees hadn’t been watered so often, their roots had grown downward to find the underground water tables.

I remember when I had to dig deep for the hidden waters. Our family was living in a city at the border of Brazil and Argentina. Business was going well, and we had just moved to a nice house with a yard that we transformed into a small football field for our boys. Then my husband had a sudden stroke and passed away after three weeks in the Intensive Care Unit. My whole world seemed to fall apart.

The emotions that come after losing someone so close can only be known by experience. It was like an arm or a leg was missing. I would often dream of him still being around and would sometimes see someone in the street and think for a split second that it was him, but of course it couldn’t be, as Jesus had called him home.

My faith in heaven and that I would one day be with him again was what kept me going. Those deep waters of knowing that God would never leave me nor forsake me gave me strength to face the many challenges that lay ahead.

Today I enjoy my grandchildren and consider myself tremendously blessed. When troubles come my way, as they still do, I remember how God didn’t fail me during that most difficult time and gave me strength to go on. My secret supply comes from Philippians 4:6–7, which I have posted above my desk:
“Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.”

The strongest people out there—the ones who laugh the hardest with a genuine smile, those are the people who have fought the toughest battles. Because they’ve decided they’re not going to let anything hold them down, they’re showing the world who’s the boss.—Author unknown

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Romans 5:3-5 ESV / More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.

James 1:2-4 ESV / Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.

1 Peter 4:13 ESV / But rejoice insofar as you share Christ’s sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed.