Welcome Ada Brownell

It is my pleasure to introduce Ada Brownell to you.. At one time or another we all experience pain and loss. The story she shares below with touch your heart strings. I pray that we all draw close to Jesus during times of pain, as Ada did.

 Peace I  Couldn't Understand

By Ada Brownell

"The Lord is near."

"Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus" (Philippians 4:5—7).

 I thought I couldn't endure the loss of a child. Yet, I heard the words every parent fears: "She's gone."

Only two months after the diagnosis of Burkitt's lymphoma, our beautiful 31-year-old daughter, Carolyn, who put up a valiant fight against the disease, slipped into the arms of Jesus.

An aching pain shot through my spirit as I accepted the loss. It's been 20 years, and I still miss her, and sometimes weep.

It's not that I weep as those who have no hope (I Thessalonians 4:13). She lived with faith, and went on her journey in faith.

Yet, while she was dying and sometimes in the early weeks afterward I wondered, "Do I believe what I always thought I believed?

I feared the night, especially. I've had trouble sleeping much of my life.

I remembered a friend who said even before she became a Christian when her father died, she went to sleep whispering the name of Jesus prayerfully. The first night and many nights after Carolyn went to be with Jesus, probably for about a year, I whispered His name and quoted the scripture at the beginning of this piece when I went to bed.

I slept.

While reading the verses, I noticed the passage begins in the New International Version with "The Lord is near," and that added more comfort.

He came near to me. I experienced peace.

Fear told me I could not endure such a loss. But I became grounded in the truth. Death is why Jesus came. He conquered it and gives eternal life to those who seek Him!

When I worried about tomorrow, I had no peace about my fears. I could not borrow peace in advance. Yet, when I needed Him, Jesus was there and peace remains.

God is faithful and true to His promises, and I am so grateful.

Ada Brownell is the author of Swallowed by Life: Mysteries of Death, Resurrection and the Eternal, written after the loss of her daughter. A former medical reporter, the author combines the spiritual and medical aspects of death and resurrection.

Amazon Ada Brownell author page: http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B001KJ2C06

Blog: http://inkfromanearthenvessel.blogspot.com Stick to Your Soul Encouragement