The Spirit Lives Ministries Newsletter: Patrick- In the midst of grief and fear...hope arose through Christ

February 15, 2003
Patrick- In the midst of grief and fear...hope arose through Christ
My name is Patrick. I grew up in a Christian family in Texas and thank my parents for a perfect childhood. As a young teen I quit going to church and did many things that could have destroyed my life. I became a father and got married at age 17. We struggled financially as my wife and I raised our little family while learning to be adults, parents and partners. We had our second child within a few years. My wife always attended church with our children while I did other things.

We eventually came to Georgia. A few months after my son’s high school graduation, he was driving a car after drinking “a few beers” and had a late-night accident that killed his best friend. I immediately began to pray which I had not done since childhood. Our family was consumed with grief, sorrow, shock and fear. We were not members of a church, had no relatives in Georgia and few close friends. I turned to God for guidance, started attending services at a local church and prayed constantly. As I came to know Christ, things changed. In the midst of grief over the lost life and fear for my son, a new feeling arose in me ... hope. Through the loving Christians around me, God had brought the kind of hope and thankfulness, which comes only from knowing that Jesus Christ died for our sins so we could have eternal life in heaven. I began to realize that throughout my life, God has used each circumstance to prepare me for the next. I placed my trust in Him where it should have been all along.

I wanted so badly for my son to share my experience of newfound faith but he turned away. For months I would come home telling of what I had learned in the Bible and was frustrated with his lack of interest. I knew of no other way to help him as I prayed for patience. My son went to prison and the only item he was allowed to take with him was a Bible. He began reading it for the first time in his life. We would discuss it during our short visits and I would send him Scripture. He is still in prison, but has turned his life over to Christ. My faith was rewarded and at least two souls were saved as a result of a tragedy. God has blessed me beyond imagination and the more I give in His name, the more I am blessed.

JOHN 16:33
Jesus said, “ In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.”

Amen
[PRINTER FRIENDLY VERSION]

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