LESSONS LEARNED

"And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose." (Romans 8:28).

I have learned through the years that in God’s economy nothing is lost when it is humbly submitted to His will. Our sins, sorrows, sicknesses, weaknesses, defeats, victories, ecstasies, accomplishments, and joys all work together to accomplish God’s character and His purpose in and through our lives. Nothing is wasted in God’s pursuit of transforming us into the image of His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ.

God is the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end of all things. His dealings with us today are based upon His Omnipotence, Omniscience, and His Omnipresence. He knew us before we were born. He knitted us together in our mother’s womb, and He has seen the last breath we will take on this mortal coil.

As our family has gone through this ordeal, one cannot but contemplate our mortality in this life. Liz was at death’s door for almost three months. Though I didn’t want to allow my mind to think of her departing and being with the Lord which the Apostle Paul states is "far better," there were times it was forced upon me. In fact, at one point I prayed a prayer of surrender. "Lord if you are going to heal her then raise her up, if not, please take her home." I just wanted her suffering to end, one way or another. God in His infinite mercy chose the former rather than the latter. We are eternally grateful. To lose Liz at this juncture in our marriage and ministry was simply hard to imagine.

One of the issues that was raised through Liz’s plight was an age old philosophical question. "Why does bad things happen to good people?" I’ve learned through the years, if you ask the wrong questions, you will be assured the wrong answers. First off, the whole premise of this question violates the Scripture because there are no good people. The finest saint on his best day still falls short of our Lord’s perfection.

God’s word shatters are religious pride and self-righteousness. Isaiah 64:6, "But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away." Besides the Scriptures declare, "As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one: There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God. They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one." (Romans 3:10-12)

In Luke chapter 13:1-5 the folks of Jesus’ day attempted to raise this issue. "There were present at that season some that told him (Jesus) of the Galilaeans, whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. And Jesus answering said unto them, Suppose ye that these Galilaeans were sinners above all the Galilaeans, because they suffered such things? I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish. Or those eighteen, upon whom the tower in Siloam fell, and slew them, think ye that they were sinners above all men that dwelt in Jerusalem? I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish."

Notice the buzz of the people and their perceptions of those unfortunate Galilaeans. Their retelling of the sad event implies a question of "why did this happen." Many who have responded to Liz’s plight have wondered the same. Through the years of serving the Lord, I began to realize that "why" was in most cases a fruitless question. It can become a black hole void of satisfactory answers. I do, however, ask "what" of the Lord? What are you saying through this and what would you have me to do?

Jesus rejected the "why does bad things happen to good people" argument, plus He rejected "It must be some deep dark sin" that brought about this tragedy. Jesus cuts to the chase and declares, "Suppose ye that these Galilaeans were sinners above all the Galilaeans, because they suffered such things?" The issue for Jesus was not why this happened, but what the Lord would have people to do in light of it. It is called repentance.

The real question is not "why bad things happen to good people," but "why does good things happen to bad people?" Jesus’ response to their inquiries reversed the tables and brought this revelation about. The real issue God raised was not why this travesty took place against the Galilaeans or the ones upon whom the tower fell, but why did it not happen to you. Why were you spared this calamity? Obviously, when it comes to seeking God, it is important to ask the right questions in order to receive the right answers. Thankfully, contained within those heaven-sent answers are life-changing, soul-liberating truths that absolutely transform our lives.

Honestly, I do not fully understand why all this has come upon my lovely bride, but in admitting my inability to fully comprehend, I can’t help but see God’s hand through it all. Many who were far from God have been brought near. In fact, some of them actually confessed that if this could happen to a godly woman like Liz what about them? Where do they stand with God and would they be able to endure such a great trial of affliction? Would they be able to face down a deadly disease and be prepared to meet their Maker? They could not answer in the affirmative and thus repented. We give God all the praise for bringing Liz back from the dead and reviving those who were spiritually dead. God granted us a miracle that he blessed, broke, and gave away to others. Sounds like His Kingdom to me.

I’ll leave you with these few quotes that served to bless us through this trying time. Corrie Ten Boom stated, "There is no pit so deep, that God is not deeper still." C. S. Lewis wrote, "God whispers to us in pleasure, but shouts at us in pain." Barry McGuire declared, "I walked a mile with pleasure and she chattered all the way, but there is nothing I learned from pleasure when we walked along the way. I walked a mile with sorrow and nothing did sorrow say, but oh the things I learned when I walked with sorrow along the way."

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Dear Liz,

I was so deeply saddened and grieved when I heard about your situation. My family & I lift you up to our Father every single time we pray. I can't imagine the pain you have suffered or the difficulty of being away from your children whom I know you love so dearly. But I do know that Christ will make a way where there seems to be no way and that God's grace will carry you thru this horrible trial you have had to endure.

I just wanted you to know that there are only 2 women that have greatly impacted my life and you are one of them. Even though it seems I've never been able to spend a lot of time with you, your life has spoken volumes. The way you unselfishly lay your life down to do everything you can to enable and encourage your husband to be the awesome man of God that he is, is simply amazing. You are truly the finest example of a wife that I have ever come across. It encourages my heart and challenges me to do the same. Especially in the days that we are in where most women have lost focus of these concepts.

You also make it look to be such a blessing and so easy to be the mother of so many children. I know most days it's easy to love them all but I know there also are days that you probably wonder why there are so many of them. I know I do. It comforts my heart just knowing that you are out there somewhere doing the same thing when I have days like that. It also helps me to remember that it can be done, and how important that it is that it should be.

But most of all I love the soft spirit that you have. Your love for Jesus just radiates. I thank you for the godly example that you are and for being such a dear sister in Christ. I thank you for your life that helps me spiritually keep things in proper prospective in times when the world tries to suck me in. Even though I don't see you, I know you are out there living it, striving to be the proverbs 31 woman.

I love you and your family so much and thank the Lord that He has brought you all into our lives. We look forward to and pray for the day that you can go home and be reunited with your family. But until then we stand with you and trust that God's Holy Spirit will fill you and be with you in a special way to help carry you through.

With All My Love-Kathy Heldreth

Elijah Ministries

Luke 1:17 "To make ready a people prepared for the Lord."

On the wall of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services there is a huge plaque with a Nov. 1, 1977 quote from Hubert Horatio Humphrey, "The moral test of a government is how that government treats those who are at the dawn of life -- the children; the twilight of life -- the elderly; the shadows of life -- the sick, the needy, the handicapped."

President, George W. Bush said, "We will defend the rights of the aged. We will defend the rights of the infirm. We will defend the rights of the unborn." "America, we must now live up to those inspired words. The lives of the weak must be protected from those who would cavalierly say, ‘We are the master race,’ from those who would call the weak and infirm, the elderly, and the young, ‘useless eaters,’ and from those who would call a precious young lady like Terri Schaivo, ‘a vegetable.’ Terri is not a vegetable! She is a precious human being made in the image of God. She is simply disabled and infirmed," stated Rev. Rusty Thomas from Elijah Ministries.

Recently at our local Planned Parenthood abortion mill, the faithful came to the gates of hell to stand in the gap and to speak for those who cannot speak for themselves. Because of their willingness to reach out to those who find themselves in a place where they ought not be, God moved to spare the life of precious baby made in His image.

This is how it happened. As Christians were making up the hedge around Planned Parenthood, a young Hispanic man pulled up and asked our brothers and sisters, "Is there any other abortion clinic around here?" They replied, "This is the only one." He responded, "The reason why I am here is because I just found out that my sister has a 9:30 appointment to have an abortion. I thought maybe if she sees me here, she might just change her mind." He was visibly upset.

The saints gathered about him to stand with him, pray, and to trust God for a miracle. As they were seeking the Lord about this crucial situation, lo and behold, her car pulled out of the Planned Parenthood parking lot. Seeing his sister leave the young man stated, "I'm just going to wait a little while longer just in case she decides to come back."

A little later on, he received a phone call from his wife relaying the joyous news, "Your sister is at our house and she wants to keep her baby!" With tears streaming down his face he passed the message unto those who stood with him during this trial. He personally shook hands and thanked every person who cared enough to be out there for him, his sister, and her pre-born baby.

Afterwards, Pastor Ronnie had the opportunity to minister to him and give him follow-up information that will help his sister bring the baby to term.

The saints found out later that the main reason why this woman decided to keep her baby was because she didn't want to face all those people who stood on the sidewalk representing Jesus, righteousness, and the plight of her child. Praise be to God!

I was just wondering if you are the one doing all the abortion protesting? If you are I have a few things to talk about. I got pregnant with my 3 child and the doctor explained to my that if I didn't terminate the pregnancy, that I would die giving birth, and so would the child. Do you realize that a lot of people in this world have to have them to save their life? I don't think you people realize that. Are you going to take care of all the kids that have lost their parents because you don't believe in something. I don't believe that standing outside of a school that has small child protesting in right, but you do it anyway. If you and all your people are going to take care of those children that have lost their parents in childbirth, why are their kids in foster homes and kids living on the streets. There are a lot of things in this world that I don't believe in but sometimes it's a life and death situation. You all need to think of that next week when you are there in front of Planned Parenthood making all that noise. You don't know how hard it is and what you go through in there, I DO. And I had to, to save my life, so my other children would have a mother. Please keep in mind you are only hurting the little children across the street. The women that go in Planned Parenthood are going in there because they want to or because they have to and none of you are going to change their minds. I don't want to get into a long drawn out e-mail fight, and you are more than welcome to e-mail me back with your response, but after that don't expect me to talk to you. I just thought I need to tell you a few things and I have. Thank you for your time.

Crystal

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Dear Crystal,

The Lord richly bless you! Thanks for contacting me with your concerns. Believe me, it grieves me that the Montessori School felt it appropriate to establish their school across the street from a known abortion mill. Why they chose to do that is beyond my comprehension. I believe that was a terrible misjudgment on their part. We do our best not to try and target the little ones with the horrible truth of what is taking place across the street. It is a difficult line to walk, but we are doing our best.

I'm deeply sorry that your doctor advised that abortion was the only solution to saving your life. I know many doctors do, some because there really is a risk, others because it suits their ideology. I personally know some women who were advised to abort their children as well to ensure their safety. They chose instead to trust God, and lo and behold, a lot of the fear that came from the diagnosis never materialized. In saying this, I don't want to minimize your loss. I'm sure it was an excruciating decision. If you really need to talk about that and need some ministry along those lines, our hearts, ears, and lives would be made available to you.

Historically, abortion was allowed in case of the "Life of the Mother." Today, however, with the advancement of technology and science those risks have been significantly reduced. It is somewhat a moot point. Typically, those who are liberal in their leanings tend to take worse case scenarios, the most extreme situations to make normal that which is unthinkable otherwise.

For whatever reason those who seek to justify abortion and defend the indefensible, always try to deflect from those who are guilty of murdering babies in the womb to those who seek to defend the children's lives. I can't tell you the number of times I have endured the argument of "how many kids have you adopted or do you care for all the children, who for whatever reason, are ill-treated in this world?"

My family and I through the years have sought not only to curse the darkness, but light a candle. In nineteen years of marriage, for about half of those years, we have taken in unwed mothers and their children. We sought to help them get on their feet and give them the tools to be successful in life. Currently, besides ten children of our own, we have taken in another child. She was fatherless and life was devouring her. She has now found a place of refuge. This is on a personal level.

On a general one, as you stated, children born into these dire circumstances need love and care, not death and destruction. In other words, you would never advocate the idea that all children born in this world that are mistreated, unwanted, and downtrodden should be lined up at a Planned Parenthood clinic to dismember them. No reasonable, rational person would ever dare present that as a legitimate solution. What is true for the born is also true for the pre-born. Both are made in the image of God and thus have inherent dignity and worth. Life is not based upon some arbitrary philosophy called "the quality of life." Life is sacred and it must be protected. The more we devalue God, His word, and the life of the child in the womb, the more we devalue ourselves.

Finally, I know it is uncomfortable going to the school and being confronted with the atrocities that are taking place across the street. But I do want you to know, mothers have changed their minds, lives have been spared, and souls have repented and come to the saving grace and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.

If you have any other concerns or questions, I'll be glad to continue the dialogue. If not, I understand.

IN KING JESUS' SERVICE,

Rusty, Liz, and the Thomas Nation