VL-Issue 44- July 22

PUBLISHER’S NOTE
Welcome Home
Kristi and her father, Parker Overton,
at the International Waterski and
Wakeboard Federation Hall of Fame
Induction in 2017.
If you’d like to partner with
our magazine to deliver God’s
hope and to impact the lives of
incarcerated men and women,
visit victoriouslivingmagazine
.com. Your gift enables us to
send this magazine into prisons
around the nation. Each
magazine impacts many lives
for years to come.
L
ife often goes differently than we
envision or desire. I’ve never met
anyone whose childhood dream
was to end up abandoned, addicted,
abused, or incarcerated. Nor have I met
anyone who prayed for a pandemic, a war,
or societal unrest.
People don’t get married hoping for
divorce. They don’t have children and
dream that they’ll be sick or go astray.
They don’t enter friendships hoping they’ll
end in betrayal. Neither do they take a job
hoping they’ll get fired.
No, we dream of good things and happyever-after
endings. But then life happens,
and we find ourselves in turbulent situations
that are not always of our doing.
Our hearts hurt, but we cope. We put up
facades, search for people who understand
our pain, or turn to substances to numb
our wounds. And then we wall up or lash
out. We might say or do things that make
our lives and others’ lives more difficult.
When we find ourselves in these lonely,
painful, challenging places, we often
wonder, “Where are You, God?” Darkness
can make anyone question the goodness
and presence of God. Even Jesus,
the Son of God, cried out, “Eli, Eli, lama
sabachthani?” which means “My God,
my God, why have you abandoned me?”
(Matthew 27:46 NLT) as He hung on a cruel
Roman cross. Darkness tries to hide the
reality of the unfailing love of God.
This issue is full of stories of people
who found themselves in painful circumstances,
struggling with the idea of God’s
goodness. Some wrestled a short time
before surrendering their questions and
situations to the Lord. Others got up from
their wrestling mats and ran. But God pursued
them. And, as you’ll see, they were
overtaken by His goodness.
Friend, I don’t know the curve balls life
has thrown you. Some of you have experienced
nothing but pain from the day
you were born. I am so sorry. Others have
been caught off guard and sidelined by
something or someone. Please know that
God is not the source of your pain; He is
the answer to it.
In this issue, I felt led to write about my
father, Parker Overton, to paint a picture
of God’s faithful love for us as our heavenly
Father. It’s important that we understand
our identities as children of God.
The devil has been after our identities
from the beginning of time; it started with
Adam and Eve (Genesis 3). He didn’t want
them, or anyone, to have an intimate relationship
with God, so he tempted them to
question God’s trustworthy love and care.
And then, when God’s first kids bit into
the lie, Satan brought shame and confusion.
Adam and Eve hid from God, naked
and afraid. They were sure He would no
longer want a relationship with them.
But God hadn’t gone anywhere. He was
still walking in the garden, calling out their
names, just as He’d always done. Would
there be consequences? Yes. But even the
consequences of sin are governed by God’s
everlasting, unchanging, never-failing
love. It is the goodness of God that seeks
to bring us to repentance.
Friend, Satan doesn’t want you to know
God the Father as your heavenly Father.
He wants you to run or hide. He wants you
confused and full of shame, anger, and fear.
He knows his game is over the minute you
understand the truth about God and your
identity as His child.
As you read these stories and dive into
God’s Word, I pray that you’ll come to know
God as your heavenly Father. He’s pursuing
you. He’s calling out your name. Listen!
Come out of hiding and come home to
your heavenly Father. You can trust your
life to Him. Unlike the world, He will not
fail you. In God’s family, you’re safe, understood,
welcomed, and valued. And that’s
where you belong. Welcome home!
Kristi Overton Johnson
Publisher & Executive Director
6 Issue 03 / 2022 VICTORIOUSLIVINGMAGAZINE.COM