Where is God When Your Daughter Leaves Home?

Where Is God When Your Daughter Leaves Home?

I hoped I would never have to ask that question even though I already knew the answer. He’s right there with you. As a mother of three daughters, I prayed they would stay rooted in their Christian faith throughout their lives. When our youngest daughter chose to turn her back on her faith and walk away from God, my husband and I faced one of the most difficult and painful times of our lives.

Questions plagued us. What had we done wrong? How had we failed our daughter? Had we treated her differently as the youngest? What would become of her as she deliberately pursued a dangerous and addictive lifestyle? Would our prodigal daughter be able to hear God’s voice as she wandered far from the One who loves her with an everlasting love?

I’ve been a Christian for many years and have learned from experience that God is always with us no matter what circumstances we are going through. During these years when my heart was broken time and time again, His Word became my anchor in the raging storm. Spending time in His presence strengthened my faith and brought peace to my heart.

When I asked my questions He reminded me of His unfailing love for our daughter and assured me that He was at work in her life. Even when I pray and see nothing happening or things get worse? I asked. Yes, even then, He whispered.

Several years later, God impressed me to share our story as an encouragement to the many hurting parents who are sitting in our pews. When I mentioned it to my daughter, she told me she felt God urging her to do the same. Together we prayed that God would use this story for His glory. Our prayer is for parents and teens to read this story of forgiveness, grace and redemption together and be strengthened in their faith.

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CUT THE STRINGS is the true story of a mother who experienced the agony of watching her daughter walk away from everything right and good, ending up in a life of degradation and shame while each of them lived in their own reality.

It is also the story of a daughter’s desperate search for a life of fulfillment and acceptance who found herself instead chained in a prison of emptiness, addictions and despair.

Best of all, it is a story about GOD, the one who relentlessly pursued a willful young woman, protected her life, and sustained a family through it all.

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CUT THE STRINGS is now available at Chapters and at Emmaus Family Books.


Book signings:


Emmaus Family Books Saturday September 11th 1-3 pm

Chapters Saturday October 16th 1-3 pm

Cut The Strings - Book Review

God is faithful! This message comes through loud and clear as we watch Sharon Cavers, her husband and family, and daughter Amy Jackson navigate through the storms of teenage rebellion. Second to that, we see how Sharon and her husband Bill have their faith tested; and it comes through as pure gold. And third, we are caught up with them in their longing to see their youngest daughter wake up to the realization of the dangerous path she is on, and come running into the waiting arms of her Heavenly Father.


Sharon and Bill are parents to three daughters. Things go along fairly smoothly for them, as they raise the girls in the fear of the Lord, with the support of a loving church family. Until Amy, as a young teenager, begins to step outside of Christian boundaries of behaviour and lifestyle into a world that is scripturally forbidden for all, and certainly not allowed for anyone raised to know and obey God.

Sharon and Amy take turns in the writing, each speaking in the first person. Having both made journal entries over the period of time when the story takes place, they are able to give us a glimpse into each of their thoughts and hearts. Sharon faces each challenge brought by Amy's increasingly rebellious lifestyle with a mixture of emotions. As a worried parent anguishing over her daughter's life and soul, she experiences fear, doubt, and finally finds peace in remembering just Who her God is. He is her rock, her strength, her wisdom, and her hope. The journal entries are her emotions spilled onto the page; all of her heart is poured out to her God, with nothing held back.

As I read through the book (in two evenings), I was almost praying along with Sharon and her husband, praying that Amy would take that one step toward her Saviour, and be rescued from the darkness she was in. She endures a pain-filled journey over several years, sinking into the clutches of drugs and alcohol, trying to prove to the world that she can handle anything. But all the while, inside she is a frightened young girl, longing to be "home", but not sure where that is or how to get there.

I applaud both Sharon and Amy for their courage in telling their story. I know that they have both prayed that God will use it, and I know He will As I said in a previous post, real life stories are my favourite. Of course, knowing both the authors of this book made it even more "real" to me. However, I know that just about anyone who is a parent or a teen to grown up child will be able to relate.

You will find it hard to put this book down, and you will find your own faith strengthened as you read this beautiful story of faith and redemption.

Find out how to order a copy for yourself by visiting http://www.gardenpathinspirations.com/book.htm

by Maureen Breakspear

GOD WITH US

Winter is upon us! Up until recently, it looked as though we would be having a green Christmas. Now a sudden blanket of snow suggests the opposite. No matter what the weather, however, the season and all that it entails, is always celebrated with the usual enthusiasm.


Of all the images that surface this time of year, my favourite is the nativity. I love nativity scenes, and the Christmas Story. I love thinking about that time, when Mary gave birth to Jesus; she knew He was special and not just any baby. The angel had come to her and explained what His role would be:

“And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name Him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David.” (Luke 1:31-32)

Mary’s husband Joseph also had an angelic visitation, in a dream. The angel spoke to reassure him that he should proceed with his marriage to Mary:

“She will bear a Son and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.” (Matthew 2: 21)

The prophet Isaiah spoke also of Jesus, foretelling His birth: “Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, a virgin will be with child and bear a son, and she will call His name Immanuel (God with us)” Isaiah 7:14

Imagine, God coming to us in the form of a tiny baby! But the story does not end at that stable in Bethlehem. We love to gaze on that scene, on baby Jesus, so sweet and helpless. But that babe grew up; a man, yet fully God. He walked with humankind, and experienced life as they did. He was Almighty God, yet left the glory of that position to show us what God is like. Not only that, but He gave His own life in payment for the sins of the world.

We love the warm fuzzies we get when we decorate, hang pretty lights, and listen to Christmas Carols. But there is so much more to the Christmas Story than the babe and the shepherds and the wise men. That baby became a man, died for us, and is now alive in Heaven. He was born, not to give us a reason for a Christmas season, but to make a way for us to be reconciled to God. So when you see him there in the manger, fast forward to our ultimate cause for celebration, God’s great love gift to us: He came to die, so that we might have life.

Maureen Breakspear 2009

In the Heart of a Scotsman

Christmas time more than twenty- five years ago I went to a nursing home with a children’s choir to sing carols. I stood up in front of a small gathering of people whose faces were creased, showing their true age, but I could see in their gleaming eyes the twinkle of very young hearts experiencing the true joys of the Christmas season. Their enthusiasm brought a smile to my face and I sang as if I was performing at an opera house.

 Afterwards an elderly Scottish man came forward. He gave me a hug and asked me my name as he commented on my big blue eyes and the dimple piercing my cheek. I told him my name is Beverly, but in the ignorance of my youth, I forgot to ask his name. As I went to leave, he pressed a small piece of paper in my hand. Later I read the following words.


“Sweet Beverly fair will you sing for me a love song in the morn, with the dew like jewels clinging to the flowers newly born, and a lyric song at sunset at evenings gentle close. For I have seen your eyes that brightly shine like the dew drops on the rose. Twas thy voice loving in the Beverly and thy winsome winning smile that made this world a happier place Bonnie Beverly of Argyle.”

The piece of paper was unsigned. I believe it is a poem he wrote for me. Although, some have thought it may have been the words to a song. To me it was something special. I have saved this small ragged piece of paper all of these years and a smile comes to my face every time I read it.

Recently while I was studying my family genealogy, I discovered that my ancestors were from Argyleshire Scotland. The memory of this poem flooded my thoughts, and I found it very ironic that the man had put Bonnie Beverly of Argyle.

Music has a way of connecting us. It touches our hearts and souls. I have always felt a tug at my heart when I hear the sound of Celtic music. It does not matter that I cannot understand the word often sung. There is something about the music, which calls me home, to a place, I have never been, and I find comfort there.

I cannot help but think that maybe our singing that night brought the Scottish man back to the days of his youth. Back to fond memories of the land, he once knew with its green countryside, mountains and moors.

This Christmas season let us not forget that sometimes the most simple of gifts from the heart have a way of reserving a place in our memory more deeply than any store bought gift.


(c) 2008 Beverly Kent-Helmond

Glory to God in the Highest

“Glory to God in the highest,

And on earth peace among men

in whom He is well pleased.”

Luke 2:14

This ,I believe is the best translation of the text. Peace, not, toward men, but among men. Not good will toward men, but peace among men of good will. This was the angels song that celebrated not only the birth of our Saviour but the effect of that birth as well. And that is not the first time that the angels rejoiced, for it is recorded in the book of Job that when God laid the cornerstone of the earth, The morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy. The song of creation and the song of the advent are both songs of rejoicing.

Adam was part of God’s first creation. The birth of Christ, our last Adam, announced a new commencement in human history. For the Bible tells us that in Adam all die, so also in Christ all shall be made alive. Herein lies the cause and the cure for the sad state of the human race. The cause? In Adam all die. The history of this human race is the history of conflict and pain. It is the history of bondage to our own sinful nature, a bondage that is the root cause of all the evils in the world. Look across the landscape of this world’s experience and you will be hard pressed to find much to sing about. War and rumors of war, famine, disease, poverty, insurrections, environmental decay, the threat of nuclear annihilation; all of these are our constant companions. Is there any sign at all that God loves us, or even cares?

The cure? The answer to the world’s problems lies wrapped in swaddling bands but the world does not want Him. He came unto His own and His own received Him not. He stretched out His hands in peace to governments and to people and they crucified Him. Light came into the world and the world loved darkness rather than light.

Does anyone believe that the world is at peace? The world’s national peace is a mockery. After centuries of conflict and negotiation all we have achieved is nothing more than an armed neutrality based on suspicion. If you remove from human history this Christ child there is no evidence that God has any sympathy with us at all. If this story is a myth, as some would claim, we have no peace in this life and no hope beyond. This matter set before us here is a Christian ideal and can only be realized when by faith men and women enter into the Christian experience.

What is that peace of which the angels sang? Here it is; Peace I leave with you; My peace I give unto you: Not as the world giveth give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.

Take this Christ child away and the conditions of this world become unbearable and death is an appalling darkness. Take this Christ child away and peace on earth is impossible.

Then pealed the bells more loud and deep:

God is not dead nor doth He sleep;

The wrong shall fail, the right prevail,

With peace on earth, good will toward men.

by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Arthur Franklin

A Christmas Wish

I'll spell out in this little rhyme

My wish for you this Christmas time.

This season special, though it be

is not the only time, you see

To celebrate and praises give

for what God did so we might live.

We love to look with tender eye

On Baby Jesus, where He lie

And wonder at Him, sweet and mild

This precious, tiny, Saviour Child.

But did you know that even now

He reigns above, and we should bow,

Give worship, honour, and adore;

He’s not a baby anymore!

He grew up like us, so He knew

All that we face; He faced it too!

He knows our greatest need is met

When He forgives our sins, and yet

We still resist, and He must move

To open hearts, and to us prove

That He is all we’ll ever need,

And in us place one tiny seed

Of faith that saves, and holds us fast

Until we see His face at last.

And so my wish, my prayer for you

Is that in grace, He would so do

If you have not Him yet received

Into your heart, then I would plead

That you might please consider then

Long past when Chrismas Season ends

This Jesus Christ, Who owns each day;

He is the Life, the Truth, the Way.

Maureen Breakspear 2007

Sightings by Sharon Cavers

Sightings

Jesus,

Someone said he saw you

On a dark and dirty street.

Said you were gently washing

An alcoholic’s feet.

They saw you in a nursing home

With those who need your care,

Caressing trembling, wrinkled hands,

Brushing tangled, snow-white hair.

You found the frightened runaway

Who bristled at your touch.

You didn’t offer her advice,

Instead you shared your lunch.

You were crouching in a doorway

Beside a homeless man.

You wrapped him in a blanket,

Spoon-fed him from a can.

You were spotted doing dishes

At a mission for the poor.

You slipped money to a blind man,

Helped a wino through the door.

They saw you at the ballpark.

You were cheering, standing tall

When the boy who had no dad

Tore the cover off the ball.

Someone saw you in the prison

With a man who killed his wife.

Your heads were bowed in prayer,

You spoke to him of Life.

Someone said he saw you,

And I believe it’s true.

What he saw was your Church at work,

Doing just what you would do.

 

© Sharon Cavers 2001

Garden Path Inspirations