And changed it for the good if you like a woman with deep compassion, unshakeable faith, and patience to know nothing stays the same. I've become a person with hope that flows. Much to my surprise I've discovered the richness of knowing that God is with me, my life isn't over, and in the end Jesus wins.
If there was one thing I could tell a new widow, it would be the very same thing a young widow told me in the first phone call on the first morning after Bruce died---- You're going to make it. With God, you're going to make it, Ferree.
Thank you, Nancy Myers. I don't think I ever told you how much hope those simple words offered, and how many times they cheered me on.
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| Left side: Bruce and me Right side: friends Dave and Lenna |
And thank you, Bruce. Thank you for loving me for all our life. For keeping your promises, for living to the hilt, for laughing at your own jokes until your blue eyes brimmed and you wiped them with the back of your wrist. Thank you for the pranks we played (I'll never forget the day Bucky called you a #*%%! for what we did! lol!). Thank you for the kids we raised, the love we made, and planting that garden we survived on the year you had to work 3 jobs. Thank you for dreaming God's goodness with me, for living in God's grace, for proving the power of God's unfailing Word, and for granting me the freedom and strength to marry Tom and follow God without you. Not many men would have been able to do that. Ever. But you did, and I was blessed, and still am.
Because of Bruce, who he was and how he influenced me, when Nancy told me, With God, you're going to make it, I knew she was right.
Since then, God has proved she was right. And so, three years ago today I started writing this blog because I knew then and I still know now---He'll do the same for you. I can say with confidence to each widow reading this, With God, you're going to make it.
♥ ferree
Lovely post and it's good to know that you have made and are making it, one day at a time.
ReplyDeleteFlowerLady
Beautiful, beautiful post, Ferree! What a beautiful testimony to the beauty of God's work in your life and the awesome good the Lord can bring out of the deepest trials.
ReplyDeleteWhat a blessing to call you friend, and join in your passion to give hope to those who hurt. I love you, Ferree!
ReplyDeleteElaine W. Miller
Thank you Ferree for your compassion in thinking of helping others who have walked your path. I see Brian Bowman in your Bruces face! Love your family!
ReplyDeleteYou are an amazing woman Ferree and a wonderful testimony to what GOD can do in life surrendered to Him. I do not know intimately the many, many dark days you have passed through to bring you where you are. I have uttered many prayers on your behalf and know that God heard them. Thank you for sharing Bruce with us - it was a privilege to minister along side of you guys. Thanks for posting that particular picture - it is one of my favorites! Love you dear sister!
ReplyDeleteYour beautiful post made me cry today. I love how you share your testimony of God's faithfulness in your darkest days and on into your present. I too, have seen His Hand throughout my journey.
ReplyDeleteThank you for all you invest in us. God is using you to be a LIGHT in our darkness. Your friend's simple message to you on that first day is one that I like to share as well, because it is truth.
Thank you for your voice of encouragement. It is much needed. And I LOVED your book and shared it with a new widow friend of mine. She loved it too! God has blessed you with a beautiful writer's gift. You use it in such a perfect way and glorify God in so doing! Thank you for that!
<3
ReplyDeletelove you ferree.
Thank you so much, Ferree, for sharing your story with us and reminding us that,"With God, we're going to make it". I believe that! Blessings!
ReplyDeleteThank you so much Ferree for sharing this day with us and for your lovely and heartwarming post. I thank God for His amazing grace in your life. Reading your post brought tears to my eyes and HOPE to my heart. It's so encouraging to know you had such a wonderful husband and marriage and when the Lord took him home your life didn't end instead the same God who is so faithful brought beauty out of your ashes and gave you a new life. You have been a great inspiration to me and I know with God I will also make it! Halima
ReplyDeleteFerree, God has used you to bless so many. I'm so glad you started this blog when you did. I found it shortly after Michael passed in March 2010. It was a daily read for me in the first year. :)
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