Booky wrote:

"Dear friends, do not be surprised at the painful trial you are suffering, as though something strange were happening to you.  But rejoice that you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed."  1 Peter 4:12

"But blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in him.  They will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream.  It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green.  It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit."  Jeremiah 17: 7-8 NIV

Thank you for this, Booky.  Such a pleasure to see you on board again. More hands to hold, more strength to share.

Hang out with us this Monday night if you can.  
 

I need to come back when I have more time later this afternoon, and re listen - read again, all the dear contributions of the last few hours.


Meantime, does this remind you of anyone?   Someone needs to do a side by side.

annieahoy wrote:

KeepOnSinging wrote:

It is very, very late, and I have been trying very hard to get to bed at a decent hour.  But I know that if I do not share this story now, I probably will forget to share it tomorrow.  

This story happened in the spring of 1942.  My mother did not share the story until the spring of 2011.  My parents along with me had gotten out of China even as the Japanese were bombing China.  In the spring of 1942 they were living in Kalimpong, India on the border of Tibet.  They were living in a guest house but they were not allowed to stay in the guesthouse during the day.  My dad went to work.  My  mom who was a 26 and1/2 year old young woman, who was 5ft. tall, weighed around 90 lbs. and was four months pregnant, had to find a way to take care of herself and a way to amuse an 11 month old daughter.  (I had been born in Burma in May of 1941.)  No matter how sunny a person's disposition, there are days when it all just gets to be too much.  On one such day,late in the afternoon when she was feeling particularly low, she heard singing coming from a Lutheran Church.  And so she went to the church and sat down with me in the back of the church.  The choir was rehearsing and the next hymn they rehearsed was this hymn.  The tears of fear, of pain, of loneliness began to come, but they were also became tears of healing.   Here are the words.

Come, you disconsolate, where ere you languish.
Come to the mercy seat, fervently kneel.
Here bring your wounded hearts,
Here tell your anguish:
Earth has no sorrow that heav'n cannot heal.

Joy of the desolate, light of the straying,
Hope of the penitent, fadeless and pure!
Here speaks the Comforter,
Tenderly saying,
"Earth has no sorrow that heaven cannot cure."

Here see the Bread of Life, see waters flowing.
Forth from the throne of God, pure from above.
Come to the feast of love-
Come every knowing
Earth has no sorrow but heav'n can remove.

This hymn became a favorite of my mom's because of the grace and peace that began to cover her that day sitting in the back of that church in the middle of World War II and far from family and home.   WATCHED[color=#ffffff !important]4:33[/color]Baylor A Cappella Choir (Men) - Come Ye Disconsolate - Johnsonby stephengoose

• 2 years ago
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My love to all of you dear sisters.  

KOS


 

Beautiful and so moving. Thanks for sharing.
 

I agree, very beautiful.  Love reading these glimpses into your past (and anyone else who shares). 

Wisdom

There is not a day I do not think of you. I miss your soft hands and the way you would move them as you spoke. It's as if they were whimsically floating in air. I loved combing your white perfect hair. I miss your large blue eyes that had so much depth. I miss seeing you on your rocking chair and hearing about the experiences of your youth. Your voice was always so gentle and soothing. I never heard you scream. I never heard any foul vocabularly come out of your mouth. On the contrary every word that came out of your mouth was uplifting and positive. You saw good in people and spoke greatness into their lives.  You offered a hand to anyone in need because you believed giving was part of truly loving others.  Your word was valuable just like your handshake. Written contracts were foreign to you because you stood by your word. That always impressed me. You taught me about character. You taught me what a man of character is and I have lived my entire life searching for those traits in a man, only to end in disappointment becase the fact remains that men like you simply don't exist anymore. 

~ Mirtha Marmol~ speaking about her grandfather. If only we all had such memories.