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NIV is used unless otherwise noted.



‘Tis the Season to Give Thanks: For My Past

In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.
1 Peter 1:6-7


My life has had its share of problems and trials, as have most of yours. We have struggled with family problems that threatened our marriage, with financial trials, as well as illnesses and deaths. No one is exempt. Everyone has trials and heartaches.

During one of my darkest times, I latched on to something that Barbara Johnson, a noted Christian author and speaker said in her book, Where Does A Mother Go to Resign. She said, rather tongue-in-cheek I suspect, that her favorite Bible verse is, “and it came to pass”. . . .  I thought about this and decided she was right! It all does come to pass: our troubles and our trials.  They either end and pass by here on earth, or we go to our Heavenly Home and they definitely end and pass by in that case!

In the ‘80’s we were starting a new family business and putting our two boys through college.  Interest rates were up around 22% which was back-breaking to young entrepreneurs.  Every time we had tuition due, or bills accumulated that absolutely had to be paid, we usually had no idea how we were going to do it.  But we kept plugging along, tithing our little income and somehow, in some way, money became available for our needs. Definitely not our wants, but our most basic needs. The lessons learned then help me not worry about all that is going on now in our country.

In the 90’s our oldest son died with a horrible disease. I questioned God, and shouted at him, and got very angry with him, but it “came to pass.” Now I can look back in gratitude and absolute certainty that God was with me then, is with me now, and will always be with me.

Thank you Lord Jesus for my past and your lessons learned from it!

Pat Eppler   

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