Today and every day, I have three needs…
The wisdom of Solomon
The faith of Mary
and the patience of Job.
God, grant me the patience to develop the faith to recognize the wisdom. Amen
Tag Archives: Faith
As I Understand It
Understanding is the sum total of both knowledge and wisdom.
The mortality rate of mankind is the same the world over…one death per person.
Faith is the supernatural ability to trust God.
Don’t waste $1,000 worth of emotion on a 5 cent irritation.
Apple pie without the cheese is like a kiss without the squeeze.
These are other people’s quotes and I love what others have to say about life. It helps me to understand it.
Grieve Not for Me
Back in 1981 a husband and wife were hurriedly putting the finishing touches on their life’s affairs. She had just been diagnosed with a brain tumor, and had days to live. He was devastated, but intent on carrying out his wife’s last wishes. I was in the middle of typing month-end financial statements when the following poem imploded my mind. I replaced the columnar paper with fresh, white, 8 1/2 by 11, and filled the page with the words that that brave woman inspired.
GRIEVE NOT FOR ME
Grieve not for me though I am gone
For I am with you still.
God grant you strength to carry on
And understand His will.
A soft tear shed from time to time
Will ease your sorrowed mind,
But live your life as fully
As you helped me live mine.
Time will heal the hurting heart,
Faith will see you through;
There’s still a life for you to live,
With courage I leave you.
Remember me with thoughts of peace,
Live each day with your heart;
Grieve not for me for though I’m gone…
We’re never far apart.
©1981
The untimely and tragic death of Robin Williams triggered the memory of this poem. May it bring comfort to someone now as it did to that bereaved husband in 1981.
My Heart is Touched
As most of you know, I have been busy promoting my newly published book My Precious Life. The sales are steady and a book launch this September 6th at my church, St. Andrew’s Presbyterian, Scarborough, should see a significant increase.
The feedback on the book is most encouraging and today I’d like to share some of those comments with you because they really touched my heart.
This memoir is a must read. I picked it up and read it cover to cover in a single night – I simply could not put it down! The author takes us on a life-long journey that reveals her trials and tribulations of growing up in and around the Greater Toronto Area. From the Great Depression to the 21st Century, we get a fantastic insight into Patricia’s wonderful life experiences. It is full of inspiring stories of making cherished friends, the delights of motherhood, and travelling the world. Mixed in with these anecdotes are some harrowing experiences that challenged the author – such as a difficult separation, working as a single mother, and overcoming her smoking habit. Yet through them all, her faith, family, and friends enabled her to not only persevere, but to thrive. This is a story about enjoying life to the fullest.
The book is very well written and structured, which enables the reader to get engrossed with the content. The chapters are clear and concise, but at the same time it left me wanting to know more. I sincerely hope that Patricia writes a follow up to provide more in-depth details about her Precious Life. A.B.
I just finished reading your book. It has touched my heart and encouraged me to keep running the race. God uses many tools to help all our trials and your book is one of those for me. You can definitely see his hand in your past. I loved reading your testimony of life. E.R.
I have just finished your wonderful book. I couldn’t put it down!! I admire you for writing it but more than that I was touched, saddened and encouraged by all that your life represents. Your very firm faith shines through each chapter. I know this book will have a positive influence on many readers and will point them to God. Much more is in my heart that words cannot express. B.D.
I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. Wonderfully uplifting and a ‘makes you feel good’ life story. Thanks for sharing this with us. B.S.
There are more, but this will give you an idea why my heart is touched.
Again, My Precious Life is available in Hardcover, Softcover and Ebook at Amazon.ca, Amazon.com, Amazon.uk, Barnes and Noble, Westbow Press and countless other online and local bookstores.
I’m a Believer
I believe I was born a believer, but it took the better part of my life for me to realize this as a fact. It’s only in looking back, as I have in writing this book, that I can see God’s hand in my life from the day I first poked my head into this world.
Chapter Forty – I’m A Believer
The old, white, clapboard church sat on an angle of land in Pottageville, Ontario. I was four years old when its tolling bell beckoned me. Pottageville is a small hamlet between Schomberg to the west, and Kettleby to the east, along the Aurora Road, north-west of Toronto. My grandma’s small, tar paper house was set back from the road with lots of yard space for my sister, Mary, and me to play. Every Sunday I hung over the barnwood fence, gazing longingly as people streamed up the road towards the church, and disappeared through the wide open door. As I watched, I wondered what went on in there. I begged my grandmother to let me go to church, and one hot, summer morning she dressed me in a pretty white, cotton dress with tiny pink buttons down the front. Pink ankle socks and white shoes completed my outfit. Grandma pulled my long hair tautly into a thick braid that bounced on my back as I skipped happily along the country road. I was greeted at the church door by a pretty lady. “Are you by yourself?” she asked……. “Everything is possible for him who believes.” (Mark 9:23) Tomorrow: An excerpt from Hal Bennett’s book, Writing From the Heart; one of the many inspirations that led to the writing of My Precious Life.
I’m Still Here
Surrendering to a grave illness is not the same thing as surrendering to God. I had the wonderful opportunity to push my trust in Him to the limit in 2005, when I was diagnosed with lung cancer.
Chapter Thirty-Nine – I’m Still Here
“I have the results of your chest x-ray,” my doctor said, when I answered the phone that 24th of May, 2005. “There’s something growing in your lungs.”
My heart plummeted like a skydiver without a parachute. It was 5:10 pm and I had just had the x-ray at two o’clock that same afternoon.
“Your doctor will have the results in a week,” the technician had said as I left the lab.
“I’ve set up an appointment with a specialist for Friday, May 27th,” the doctor continued now. “You need a CT scan, and he can order it quicker than I can.”
My body tingled as I replaced the receiver. Things like specialist appointments and CT scans take longer than that in the real world.
In a daze, I walked back to the kitchen, where the supper I was enjoying sat half eaten on the table. With shaking hands, I cleaned my plate into the garbage. The only hunger I felt now was for peace of mind, which could only come from God.
“Oh, God, please relieve me of this dread, and let your peace flood my soul,” I prayed.
….may you live to see your children’s children. (Psalm 128:6)
Tomorrow – I’m a Believer – A Lesson in Knowing
It Happened in an Instant
It is a total tragedy when a simple mistake can lead to an unfinished life. I heard this very sad story on my travels.
Chapter Thirty-Eight – It Happened in an Instant
I heard this tragic story while on one of my visits with Lynn and her family in the Channel Islands.
Sebastian’s mother was forty-three years old when she died in a freak accident.
While squeezing over to give way to cyclists on a green lane in the parish of Trinity, Jersey, the side mirror of her silver Citroen scraped a granite wall and fell off.
A green lane is barely wide enough for one vehicle, and the speed limit is fifteen miles per hour.
Dora Cole, a pretty, petite brunette, stopped the Citroen and got out to collect her mirror which lay underneath the car, behind the left front tire. She had stopped on a grade, and failed to engage the hand brake. As Dora reached under the car it began to roll, pinning her underneath, and within seconds her life was ended…..
….let me know how fleeting is my life. (Psalm 39:4)
Tomorrow – I’m Still Here – A Lesson in Surrendering
A Lesson in Perseverance
We can’t get through life without problems. They come in many forms: illnesses, relationships, financial, to name just a few of the most common ones. My life ran pretty smoothly for the most part, but when the problems loomed, I can see now how they served to give me inner strength.
Trials and Tribulations – A Lesson in Perseverance
Some of the traumatic events of my life stand out more than others, and I won’t write about them chronologically, or include them all.
One, in particular, happened after the birth of my fifth child, Kelly, in 1967. It was a relatively easy birth considering it had been seven years since I had last pushed a baby into this world. We were home from hospital an hour when I felt an uncontrollable itch on my back. Nothing would soothe it. Within a few days my entire body was covered in angry looking welts, which gradually turned into blisters. Doctors were baffled, and even biopsied a blister, to no avail. They treated me with a drug used for leprosy, and later, Cortisone shots left me with a moon face, and no relief…..
Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance (James 1:2,3)
Tomorrow – About Job and Me – A Lesson in Relating
Writing Through the Rage
When stress is mismanaged it can be a catalyst for disease, disfunction and depression. There were times when I didn’t handle stress too well and it did take its toll on my health.
Chapter Thirty – Writing Through the Rage
I felt a wave of nausea in the pit of my stomach, and realized just how stressed I really was. I wished I could admit myself to a hospital, get a private room, and cry until there wasn’t a tear left in my body. I must write through this, I thought frantically, knowing how close I was to losing it altogether. I drove to a nearby mall, bought a notebook and pen, and sat down with the hot chocolate and tea biscuit.
As I began to write, I noticed the people strolling the mall. An elderly couple walked hand in hand, arms entwined, accentuating their togetherness. It touched my heart. Jerry hardly knew who I was anymore. A teenage boy and girl jostled each other affectionately. Their easy banter reminded me of the many times we had laughed and joked together in the comfort of our relationship. A little boy, about two years old, gave me a twinkling smile as he toddled past, his mother close behind. Jerry and I had raised separate families, but enjoyed the thrill of watching our many grandchildren meld into our lives over the years. Three times I smiled at what I saw, and that was good. I realized in that moment that I always managed to smile through my tears and heartache— that was God……
The Lord is my shepherd…he restores my soul. (Psalm 23:1,3)
Tomorrow – Minding God’s Own Business – A Lesson in Service
The Gift of Faith
Our Faith can be likened to a muscle; if it isn’t exercised, it will atrophy. While exercising my muscles does not necessarily bring me pleasure, exercising my faith brings me not only pleasure, but great joy.
Chapter Twenty-Three – The Gift of Faith
In 1977, a banner heralding the message, I’ve found it! You can find it too! had been hanging in my eldest son’s room for several weeks.
Dann had left the poster behind when he went to live with his dad. I often wondered what it meant, but didn’t give it too much thought until one evening, Kelly, who was ten, and had taken over his brother’s room asked, “Mom, what does that sign mean?”
“I don’t know,” I said, “but somehow I’ll find out.”
Just then the phone rang. It was a soft-spoken woman who asked me a question.
“Have you seen a sign around with the message, ‘I’ve found it, you can find it too’?”
The hairs stood up on my arms……..
If you believe you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer. (Matthew 21:22)
Tomorrow – Dancing on a Prayer – A Lesson in Carelessness
My Precious Life 