You're Going To Be OK by Bob Jones

There is beauty in brokenness. Broken things can be restored. And so can broken people.

As NJ Lindquist says, “what could be more beautiful than people becoming what God intended them to be and having some small part as a writer in their transformation.”

When holding my favorite fountain to begin crafting the stories of fighters, I hear a voice. Some Christian writers hear the Holy Spirit’s voice.  I hear Barry Manilow. The lyric, “I write the songs that make the whole world sing” morphs into, “I write the heroics that give the whole world hope.”

Hope is the anchor of the soul. What broken people have in common is a need for hope. Against a tsunami of suffering, an anchor of hope can secure one more day of life.

You feel overwhelmed.

Scared.

Fighting for air.

If your world is a mess it doesn’t mean that you have to be one.

You were in our thoughts and our prayers when Jocelyn and I wrote the book, You’re Going To Be OK. We share stories of eleven women who fight cancer, sexual abuse, mental illness and loss. The stories are true. Truth sets people free. The opening story is about a woman in her forties who has fought all four Goliaths.

A book or a short story – your short story - can be an answer to someone’s prayer. That’s why I encourage fledgling writers to start with telling their story. Just a week ago I had breakfast with a pastor in Manitoba named Jake who wants to be a writer. He told me his story.

“Writers write. Start with your story, Jake. Your experiences can be the healing words for a reader. Put your tears, the fears and the divine encounters down on paper.”

There is one thing You’re Going To Be OK offers you.

Without this one thing even the smallest tasks, let alone life and death issues are impossible.

Without this one thing couples give up on their marriage, parents give up on their teens, leaders give up on their people, people give up on their future.

You can survive for 40 days without food, about 3 days without water, and about 8 minutes without air.

You don’t want to go a single second without this one thing.

That one thing is HOPE.

That’s why Jocelyn and I envision ourselves as hope dispensers. We've experienced the power of hope in our lives and are sharing it freely with others.

Your anchor of hope is available through Amazon.ca.

I am a recovering perfectionist who collects Coca-Cola memorabilia and drinks iced tea. My walls are adorned with our sons’ framed football jerseys, and my bookshelves, with soul food. 

I write to grow hope, inspire people to be real, forge an authentic faith in Jesus, and discover their life purpose.

You can follow my writing at REVwords

Brokenness Makes Us Whole - Steph Beth Nickel

Only in God’s “upside down” kingdom can we be made whole by being broken. (Actually, it’s this world that’s upside down. His is definitely the right way up.)

Let’s consider Romans 5:3-5: “We also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us” (NIV).

This past year over half a dozen members of our church family have said their final goodbyes to loved ones. Some had a strong faith and there is great comfort in that. Still, it isn’t easy to say goodbye to your son—even though he suffered for a long time, and, in a real way, it was a relief to know that suffering was over.

And then their was the wife of many years who had to give her husband permission to stop holding on for her and go home to be with the Lord. (Just 15 minutes after she did so, he entered the presence of His Saviour.)

How about the wife who lost her husband to lung cancer, which developed because of his many years working with asbestos? She knows it’s the Lord who has carried her through and continues to do so.

Another lady and her husband had just moved into the seniors’ building across the driveway from our church. They were both confined to wheelchairs and had several medical issues. Shortly after they moved, on Christmas Day, her husband passed away. As if that weren’t enough to send her into a tailspin, approximately two weeks later, her ailing mother succumbed as well. I can’t even begin to imagine.

Each one of these precious souls could have thrown up her hands and given up, broken, hurting, defeated. But that’s not what happened.

Although her emotions are still raw, the lady who lost both her husband and her mom has volunteered to participate in our church’s monthly clothing giveaway, seeking to bless others in need. Both ladies who lost their husband of many decades have both expressed how they sense God’s presence and the prayers of His people sustaining them. And the elderly lady who lost her son is truly thankful he has found freedom from the suffering he endured for so long.

Have they learned to glory in their sufferings? I’m not sure. But I do know they serve as an encouragement—and challenge—to me and others.

From our perspective, God’s way of doing things is, indeed, upside down. But, as He works in our circumstances and in us, He brings about wholeness from our brokenness.