“The Lord helps the fallen and lifts those bent beneath their loads” Psalms 145:14
In 1992, my dad passed away after a five year battle with cancer. In 1993, my business partner of 11 years discarded me like trash after a spectacular business failure, and left me to deal alone with it. In 1994, Katie, our 13 month old daughter pulled a glass pitcher of Gatorade off the kitchen table which sliced her face open, and she lost her right eye. Allison, our five year old daughter witnessed the entire bloody episode. The trauma of the accident and subsequent years were very tough for her because so much focus was needed for Katie’s recovery at Allison’s expense; unintended, but true nonetheless. Those were the worst three consecutive years of my life.
A couple of years ago, I was praying for God to show me anything He wanted to show me. He took me back to those three years, and I very painfully binge watched every episode of my own tragic three season series. With every scene, I was forced to relive the sadness, the anger, the helplessness, the depression, the failure, the defeat, and the joy-tempered life I knew I would live from that time on. I couldn’t stop the tears as I watched because everything that happened was real – again. When the rerun of that destructive series ended, I pleaded with God as to why He would make me feel so much pain in its full force again?
God then mercifully took me through the progression of my life after those gut-wrenching years. In my series sequel, God revealed how I needed to be cleansed of some things, set up for a future of new things, and humbled by everything. He showed me how He redeems the completely broken, and that helplessness and hopelessness are human feelings, but are not His plan. I was cleansed of a partner who was very politically connected but not a good man; I was set up in business for myself so I could run it with the honesty and integrity my dad stressed over and over to me; and I was humbled in that maybe I wasn’t meant to be in the world of power names and big money just to gain everything material and self-serving that goes with it. God let life work like a drill instructor as it stripped me of everything me, and then God lifted me up in His Way so I could see His Truth and live The Life. Time needed to pass for me to be shown how He much had lifted me; how far He had brought me. He is The Lifter.
>> Skip Forward:
- Katie went to Westmont College as a Monroe Scholar with a full four year scholarship where she earned her BA in Religious Studies and a minor in biblical languages, and then attended Gordon Conwell Theological Seminary with the help of a Tim Keller Scholarship where she earned her Masters of Divinity, and met her husband who also earned his MDiv. They just bought a house about 35 minutes from Atlanta, and are happy, happy, happy.
- Allison, after being part New Age and part Christ follower, now only loves Jesus, speaks boldly of her faith, and unabashedly promotes the only Truth. She’s on her way to being a Christ–centered Health Coach, following her calling and passion to mentor people to better physical, mental, and spiritual health. She just loves on people.
- Business stayed good, and I got to keep all the profits. (My ex-partner ended up having a heart transplant).
Heidi at one point took five years off as a pharmacist to teach 3rd/4th grade at the private Christian school Katie and Allison attended. She was blessed to be Katie’s teacher in 3rd grade. God multiplied my business during that time to more than make up for the 75% pay cut Heidi took by teaching.
- We found LPC and started a walk with Jesus that has never stopped, and never will.
- Our lives were remade and rebuilt with Jesus front and center. Can I ever give Him enough gratitude and glory?
“The Lord helps those who are fallen and lifts those who are bent beneath their loads.” He really does.