– Terri Fornear
This is the first in a series of excerpts from Terri Fornear’s new book, Abiding Through the Shadows, A Caretaker’s Struggle with God’s Goodness.
I should have been able to have an encouraging word for those in trouble. I wish I could have been a person that always handled life right. The way people do on “Oprah”—the ones who do not even bring God into their situation. They live in the moment. They love everyone around them. They eat right, and have no regrets.- I hope my journey helps those who deal with negativity — the people who have a difficult time seeing the positive. I hope my journey will help them come to know the grace God offers.
- I hope my journey gives courage to the fearful so that they might be real with God and allow their weaknesses to be the very tool He uses to reveal His greatness.
- I hope His unconditional love speaks loud and clear to hearts that ache to know Him without pretense.
My story is different from my husband’s. He was the one who bore the physical wounds of Stage IV cancer. I am not good at relating specific details, but I will share events which left an impression on me; events that shook my relationship with God, who He is and what He is like; events which showed me the smallness of my faith. If you read both of our stories the specifics might seem a bit different. Joe and I have had a few squabbles about what happened and the timeline of events. Oh, the gift of marriage! How I love him and am so blessed he is alive so that we even get to have squabbles.
Cancer was used differently for me than for Joe. I tend to face unpleasant things with questions and anger and with a please-leave-now attitude. I tried to shoo cancer out of our home. Yet God had His timing and His purpose for each of us, which I’m still learning.
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*Terri Fornear has published her caretaker side of the story of the Fornear cancer battle. Abiding Through the Shadows, A Caretaker’s Struggle with God’s Goodness, is not about her courage and strength, but rather how God met her at her weakest points. She pulls back the curtain to transparently reveal her false concepts of God, which created extra turbulence during that hard time. She shares how the Lord graciously and gently walked her through it all, setting her free from lies about Him.
If you are, or have been, a caretaker of a cancer patient or someone who is in crisis, we believe you will benefit from this book! Stronghold Ministry has joined with Terri and I to offer this book to you free. Simply reply to this email with your full name and address and we’ll send it to you. If you insist, you can make a donation to Stronghold Ministry here. Or you can purchase the book here.
We invite you to acquire this book and abide in our tremendously good God together with Terri.
For my wife, who is my caretaker.