VL - Issue 34 - January 2020

More documents

Recommendations

Info

The Gift of Forgiveness
BY DORI GREESON, GENE GREESON, AND LINDSAY A. HAUGEN ARRANGED BY KRISTI OVERTON JOHNSON COVER AND PHOTO ABOVE BY DEAR DEE PHOTOGRAPHY DORI: It was the call no mother ever wants to receive. I had just left a business luncheon and was sitting in a Starbucks drive-thru. My mind was on my son, Robby, and I asked God to bless him and let him know that He was there for him. My phone rang; Robby’s number showed up. “Hi, Robby!” I said. Silence met me. Then Robby’s friend, Kate, began to speak. “Oh! Hi, Kate,” I responded. “How are you?” More silence. “Kate, are you okay? Is Robby okay?” “No,” she replied. “Robby... Robby’s dead.” It’s hard to put into words the depth of my pain in that moment. All I could do was scream out, “No! Robby! No! Please, come back! Oh God, help me!” I got out of the drive-thru and headed back to the office. It’s the only place I could think of to go. Alone in my office, I screamed and wailed; I pounded my feet on the floor and my fists on the desk. My office neighbor ran in, thinking I was being attacked. I told her what had happened, and she held my hand and sat with me while we waited for my husband, Gene, to arrive. GENE: When I got there, Dori was shaking violently. We held each other tightly and sobbed. Together, we cried out to God, begging Him for answers. We asked for strength and for Him to help our other son, Ben. We found solace in the truth that Robby was safe and whole in God’s presence. Robby had indicated numerous times over the years that he believed in Jesus Christ and had trusted in Him for eternal salvation. Robby had learned at an early age that Jesus had died on the cross to pay for his sins, was buried, and rose again to prove that His payment was a satisfactory one. Robby had accepted God’s free gift of salvation, and according to the Bible, that meant he was now in heaven. His struggle with pain and depression was behind him. We also found solace in the truth that God cares for us. No matter how painful this situation was, Dori and I knew God was with us and was hearing our cries for help. DORI: While Gene and I were still at the office, Kate called again. She said Robby had been murdered and that we could go online and read about it. The article I found only added to my VICTORIOUSLIVINGMAGAZINE.COM <strong>Issue</strong> 01 / <strong>2020</strong> 21
Page 1 and 2: REAL PEOPLE | REAL STORIES | REAL H
Page 3 and 4: ISSUE 1, JANUARY 2020 I am about to
Page 5 and 6: ISSUE 1, JANUARY 2020 CONTENTS STEP
Page 7 and 8: YOUR DAILY SOURCE OF HOPE @victorio
Page 9 and 10: TRANSFORMED LIVES Trusting God: You
Page 11 and 12: STEPPING FORWARD So I continued to
Page 13 and 14: PHOTO BY JOMARYS LEON-LORENZO she s
Page 15 and 16: STEPPING FORWARD What Do I Know To
Page 17 and 18: stead of the negative circumstances
Page 19: STEPPING FORWARD Hold Out Your Hand
Page 23 and 24: Dear Lindsay, I have wanted to writ
Page 25 and 26: STEPPING FORWARD Change Your Course
Page 27 and 28: wasn’t working out. I was just ab
Page 29 and 30: ENGLISH/ESPAÑOL which concerns me
Page 31 and 32: ENGLISH/ESPAÑOL El padre de él ta
Page 33 and 34: STEPPING FORWARD Finding Your Etern
Page 35 and 36: TRANSFORMED LIVES My perception of
Page 37 and 38: FROM THE FATHER Do you need rest to
Page 39 and 40: GOING DEEPER Matthew 4:1: “Then w

VL - Issue 34 - January 2020

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?