Two Incredible Women

Yesterday, two of my friends experienced life-changing events. Today, they are hurting because their bodies have betrayed them, yet they are trusting in the One who holds them in His hands.

One of my friends suffered a stroke. Perhaps nothing is more frightening than being trapped within your own body, unable to do what your mind is telling you to do. Fortunately, “G’s” stroke caused only minimal damage, but she will be in the Neurological Unit for a while until doctors find the exact source of this event.

As I held her hand and listened to the beeping of the monitors, I wanted to take her out of that place and return with her to last weekend. Just three days ago, three other friends and I laughed together at “G’s” jokes, listened to her wisdom and shared good food.

Now, she lay on that sterile bed, tubes hanging out of her and a giant tear meandering down her cheek. “I want to go to God,” she said, her voice raspy from the breathing tube.

I understood, because sometimes when life hands us those life-changing events, we just want things to be over so that we can be at peace – safe with God.

However, it isn’t time for “G” to leave yet, and all of us who love her are rooting for a complete recovery.

Another friend, “J”, found out yesterday that her cancer is back with a vengeance – now attacking her lymph nodes. She had surgery about a year ago, and we all celebrated the end of that nasty prognosis. But now – here she goes again – right into the same battle, except worse this time. Much worse.

Yet…she is responding with grace. She is asking for prayer from all of us and believing that God hears and answers. She is trusting the One she loves and depending on her relationship with Him.

As I grieve for these crises of my friends, God reminds me of Hebrews 10:23. The New Living Translation states it thus, “Let us hold tightly without wavering to the hope we affirm, for God can be trusted to keep His promise.”

My friends are holding tightly and God is also holding them close. These two incredible women have found hope in knowing that no matter what happens, they are not alone. God is with them.

What about you? How are you holding tightly today?

2013 Rebecca Thesman, GateWay Program Director and Certified LifeCoach

A Way Through

So many hurting women struggle to find their way through grief, divorce, abuse issues and stress. Sometimes, life seems to erect giant walls of struggle around them and they wonder how in the world they will ever raise their heads above the water and take a fresh breath.

We can help, here at GateWay, through our counseling services, our coaching, the support groups and prayer. But ultimately, the way through our difficulties is the same as it was thousands of years ago.

The clue is in Psalm 78. “God divided the sea and led them through; He made the water stand firm like a wall” (NIV).

The children of Israel ran from slavery in Egypt toward the Promised Land. Led by Moses, they hurried away before Pharaoh and his army could catch them. Then, just as they seemed to be almost free, they ran smack into the Red Sea. An insurmountable giant of a circumstance.

But what did God do? He parted the Red Sea and made the water stand on both sides so that the Israelites walked through on dry ground.

The God who parted the Red Sea is still available and still powerful. He is the same mighty One today as the God in the Old Testament stories. He is able to part the strongholds and the difficulties of life – to make them stand like walls at attention and to keep us safe from drowning in our own griefs. He is able to make a way when it seems most desperate.

If you feel as if you’re running for your life and you’re heading smack into your own Red Sea drowning, call us at 913.393.4283. We are here to help you, and we will point you toward the One who can part your difficulties and help you find the way through.

God did it before. He can do it again.

2013 GateWay of Hope Ministries – The Helping Place for Hurting Women

God Honors You

Maybe you were mistreated and abused as a child and no one honored you.

Maybe your marriage never included that “happily-ever-after” life, and you felt betrayed and abused. Your spouse did not honor you.

Maybe you work in a toxic environment where you’re just trying to survive one day at a time. No one in your workplace honors you or your gifts.

Many women feel as if they have never received honor, even from the ones who know and love them best. They feel devalued and worthless, because others have told them by words and by actions that they don’t matter.

But God is not that way. He highly values his daughters and in fact, he tells us about it in Isaiah 43:4, “You are precious in My sight; You are honored and I love you.”

He goes on to say, “Don’t be afraid. I am with you.”

No matter how others may treat us, no matter how devalued we feel by society, the church or even family and friends – God knows our value.

He created us with incredible gifts and talents and He delights in watching us as we use them. He made us emotional creatures, because we are made in His image and He, too, has emotions. He calls us precious, because He loves us with a pure and eternal love.

In God’s eyes, you are honored and you are honorable – today and forever.

2013 GateWay of Hope Ministries – The Helping Place for Hurting Women

Gifts That Keep Giving

It happened again.

I began my morning devotion time with God as the divine whisper stirred in my soul. “Turn to Psalm 57, verse 10.”

So I started to look at the verse in my New International Version, but again was instructed, “Upstairs. The Amplified.”

In my bedroom, with my Amplified Bible before me, I read a different version of Psalm 57:10. Then I journaled what I learned from the words of King David, “For your mercy and loving-kindness are great, reaching to the heavens, and your truth and faithfulness to the clouds.”

A beautiful passage. A reminder that God showers us with mercy, loving-kindness, truth and faithfulness.

Later that day, I shared the same verse with two women from different walks of life, dealing with different struggles. Then I wrote a blog post about the verse, describing some of the things I had journaled earlier in the day and also some of the truths I had thought about ever since God gave me that early-morning assignment.

So far, that one verse has blessed two women, three – counting me, and it has contributed to a blog post where it will be read by our followers, including you.

Who knows how many people it will bless in the days to come?

The really wonderful thing about this is that our amazing and awesome God knew even before I woke up that a couple of hurting women would need to be reminded about his mercy, his loving-kindness, his truth and his faithfulness. He knew they would need that particular message today.

And he knows all the other women who will need it – women I haven’t even met and won’t know about until I run into His arms in heaven. That shows how much God loves his daughters and how much he wants to heal those incredible hurts they suffer.

So…each morning, I’m going to be listening to hear what message he has for the day. Who knows what might happen tomorrow and the day after that and the day after that.

2013 GateWay of Hope Ministries – Rebecca Thesman, Progrm Director and Life Coach

4 Gifts for Hurting Women

“For your mercy and loving-kindness are great, reaching to the heavens, and your truth and faithfulness to the clouds” (Psalm 57:10 Amplified).

How do these 4 truths help hurting women?

1. Mercy
Definitions of “mercy” include anything from clemency and forgiveness to a blessing. Women who are hurting may need to forgive themselves, forgive others and/or forgive God for allowing difficult struggles into their lives.

And women everywhere can use a blessing and/or learn to be a blessing to someone else. As we give mercy, we also receive mercy.

2. Loving-kindness
God is the only One who loves us unconditionally. Women who are hurting need extra kindness from their families, their friends – from everyone. The fact that God knows how to combine love and kindness brings a special comfort to us, especially when we’re hurting.

3. Truth
The Bible reminds us that the truth is what sets us free, but sometimes getting to the truth and admitting it is half the battle.

The wonderful attribute about God’s truth is that he shows it to us and covers it with his loving-kindness. He isn’t harsh about His truth, because he knows that we sometimes need to just chew on the facts for a while.

And when we realize that Jesus himself is the Truth – that helps us face life with hope.

4. Faithfulness
God is the true lover of our souls who will never betray us, never abandon us and never abuse us. He is faithful to surround us with mercy, to forgive us when we fail, to teach us the truth and to continue to love us forever.

When God makes a promise, he keeps it. Since God has included us in his covenant family, he never throws us out. He is faithful to show us the way we need to take in life and he is faithful to equip us for new tasks.

He won’t leave us or forsake us – ever. He will continue to show us mercy, loving-kindness and truth while remaining faithful to do what he has said he will do.

What about you? Which of these 4 gifts do you appreciate most?

2013 GateWay of Hope Ministries – The Helping Place for Hurting Women