Finding A Life of Joy and Peace

The last several years have been hard on Debbie’s health. Before she was diagnosed with invasive breast cancer in February, she was already experiencing ataxia (poor muscle control that causes clumsy movements. It has caused her difficulty with walking and balance), and she was also experiencing MCI (Minor Cognitive Impairment). Since having undergone chemotherapy, both the ataxia and MCI have gotten worse.

Now she is living with me in a 30-foot travel trailer as we are on a grand adventure around the country to visit friends and alumni. Living in a travel trailer with two large dogs is challenging. There isn’t a lot of room, our location and  routines are always changing.  Doing this with ataxia and MCI makes it particularly challenging. 

When we are with friends, they quickly notice the ataxia, and it isn’t long before they detect the cognitive loss as she repeats herself and often is unsure what day of the week it is, or what is happening next. 

EARLY EXPOSURE TO CHRIST

However, what is most obvious to everyone is how cheerful she is. She is not in denial about her condition and talks openly about it. And she NEVER complains about the ataxia, the cognitive loss, or about living with me in the trailer. This lack of complaining is not a front; she doesn’t complain behind closed doors either.  

Where does this cheerfulness come from? Part of it comes from her temperament. There is no doubt that from birth she was cheerful, optimistic, and accepting of the life that God had given her.

But that is only part of the story. The other part of the story is how she developed and navigated her spiritual life. Starting from when she was only three years old, her parents took her to a Bible believing church, and she was there every Sunday for church and Sunday school. She came back to church on Wednesday nights and participated in other programs that the church had for boys and girls. When she was young, she went to Vacation Bible School. When she got older, she volunteered to help the younger kids in Vacation Bible school and day camp.  

DAILY DECISION TO MEDITATE ON THE WORD

After her second year in college, she accepted the challenge to spend the summer in Central America on a mission trip. She joined seven other college students in a small van that traveled from Phoenix, AZ to Costa Rica and back. Soon after that experience she was married and living in Japan, where she joined a couple of other radical Christian wives as they memorized scripture together. She was successful in memorizing, perfectly, the 60 verses of the Topical Memory System. One of the verses that she memorized was Psalm 119:9,11, “Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? by taking heed thereto according to thy word. Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.” 

Since being in Japan (1976-1977) she has continued to hide God’s Word in her heart. In Bible School, while mother to two preschool children, she completed a Bible certificate course, and we graduated together in 1982. Since then, she has read, studied, and taught the Bible. Every morning we read and pray together.

DAILY DECISION TO LIVE OUT THE WORD

Debbie NEVER brags about how much she knows about the Bible, but there isn’t a Bible story that is unknown to her. However, what makes her walk with the Lord exceptional is not how much she knows, but how what she knows has sunk deep into her heart to make her life truly remarkable. Every day, and it doesn’t matter whether she is enduring chemotherapy, or a long day in an old truck with a husband who always has a new idea which will require everything she can give, she is grateful, full of hope and optimism. 

Isaiah 26:3 says, “Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee.” Trust in the Lord is a daily decision. It isn’t just studying the Bible or memorizing scripture, rather it is meditating on the scripture every day until it is deep in your heart and impacts the way you think, the decisions you make and the way you feel. It is understanding that knowing the Bible is not the end, but only a means to cultivating a life of love for others, and a peace which transcends understanding (Philippians 4:7).

BASE HITS, NOT HOME RUNS

God honors long obedience. Our culture honors speed and quick results, but real and deep spiritual maturity takes years of deciding daily to meditate on scripture and making a million small decisions to put others first. 

Debbie’s life is a testimony of the peace and joy that is available to anyone who will take the time to put God’s word in their heart and allow the Spirit of God to control their life.

I pray that if you are not meditating on scripture, that you begin today. I pray that if you have done it in the past but have gotten away from it, you would take it up again. I pray that you would know the joy and peace that is found in allowing the Word of God to transform your heart.

Note: The scripture references are in the King James Version. Not because that is our favorite, it isn’t. It is because in 1976 when we began memorizing scripture it was the standard before the New International Version was released. We believe that all scripture is inspired by God and is profitable (II Timonthy 3:16), so we don’t fight about different translations and feel they are all inspired by God. Today we read and memorize from the New International Version, not because it is the best, but because it is the most familiar to us.