Good News FEB 2023 A4

CONTENTS
God Allows U-
Turns
THE GOOD NEWS
F E B R U A R Y 2 0 2 3
It is sometimes difficult
to see that God is paying even
the slightest attention when
our lives are
a mess. I
mean, where
is He, exactly,
when you really
need
Him? The
"God is
great", "God
is good", and
all the other
"God is terrific"
stuff is
hard to find
during times of turmoil and
tragedy.
I know I did not think
God was so "great" when my
now ex-husband was dragging
me up a flight of stairs by my
hair. No way was God "good"
when my
bones ached
from punches
and kicks, and
my eyes
burned from
hot tears of
despair and
fear. God did
not seem so
"terrific"
when I stared
into the hatefilled
eyes of
my husband as he held a knife
to my throat or a gun to my
head and sneered, "If you
scream one more time I will
kill you".

P A G E 2
T H E
G O O D
N E W S
My parents divorced
when I was young, leaving an
emptiness in my heart I could
never understand. As a teenager,
I felt separated from girls
my own age, and I rebelled
strongly against any and all authority.
I had given up on God
long before I ran away at the
age of fifteen to marry the
eighteen year-old man who in
one year went
from being
the love of my
life to my
abuser, jailer,
kidnapper,
rapist, and
attempted
murderer. By the time I was
"sweet sixteen" there was no
doubt in my mind — if God existed
it was certainly not in my
world.
After the birth of my son
and my divorce, both at the
age of sixteen, there was no
room in my life for anything
but the here and now. Practical
things consumed me, like
going back to school, working,
child care, housekeeping, paying
bills, and learning how to
be a mother. I was so very lost.
I filled my days with busy
take-charge tasks. I filled my
nights with alcohol, drugs, parties,
and self-destruction. I
filled my soul with empty
promises and emptier pursuits.
Over the years, another
marriage and divorce, several
broken engagements,
more than
one abortion,
and frequent
extreme
weight gains
and losses left
me even more emotionally
crippled.
Why couldn't I find happiness?
Why did it seem as
though nothing I did worked
out? Why did I feel so worthless?
The feelings of utter
helplessness and hopelessness,
the unrealised dreams,
broken promises, and deadend
streets overwhelmed me.

One summer evening I
was taking a walk in my neighbourhood
when I noticed people
going into the neighbourhood
church. Suddenly my legs
developed a mind of their own,
virtually propelling me up the
steps and through the doors.
Alone in the church balcony,
I looked toward the pulpit
and saw the
statue of Jesus
with outstretched
hands, looking
right at me.
Hot tears fell
down my
cheeks as emotions
I ould not
explain filled my heart and soul.
What was wrong? What
was happening to me? Why was
I sitting in a strange church crying
like a baby? When the Pastor
began to speak, it was a
message of being lost, without
direction, without hope, without
faith — and how it did not
have to be like that. He talked
of how we needed only to listen
to the Holy Spirit and ask the
Lord Jesus Christ to come into
our hearts and He would be
there — just like that.
My walk with the Lord
started that day, a day that forever
changed the course of my
life. Suddenly I wanted to know
more about this relationship
with Jesus of which the Pastor
spoke.
Over the next
decade the
world opened up
to me in ways I
could never have
imagined. Opportunities,
experiences,
and
spiritual illumination did not
make my life perfect, but it was
a life of healing and hope, a life
of promise where before there
had been empty desolation.
Psalm 71:20 says, "Though you
have made me see troubles,
many and bitter, you will restore
my life again; from the depths
of the earth you will again bring
me up".
P A G E 3
T H E
G O O D
N E W S

And bring me up He did. Jesus
Christ took my broken spirit and my
lost soul, filled with guilt and pain,
and turned me around, setting me on
a new course. He filled that empty
place in my soul I was trying so desperately
to fill with drugs, alcohol, relationships,
material goods, work,
and empty pursuits. He forgave me
the sins that weighed heavy on my
heart, showing
me I no longer
had to carry the
burden alone.
He can do the
same for you.
I did not find religion. I found a
relationship — a relationship with Jesus
Christ. 2 Corinthians 5:17 says it
all: "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ,
the new creation has come; the old
has gone, the new is here!"
Are you ready for a new relationship
and a new life? No matter
what we have done, no matter
where we have been, it is never too
late to change direction, because
God allows U-turns!
If you would like to turn your
life around, pray this simple prayer
from your heart: Dear Heavenly Father,
I have been going down the
wrong road and I
want to make a
U-turn toward
You. Thank You
for giving Your
Son as a sacrifice
for my sins, that I might not die but
have eternal life with You. Please forgive
my sins and come into my life.
Fill me with Your love and the power
of the Holy Spirit. In Jesus' name,
amen.
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