Ice Breakers
      1. Most of us have stressful times in our lives. One such time, I was singing a solo in front of several hundred people. While taking a much needed deep breath, I inhaled and swallowed a fly!

      2. A stressful time for my daughter Carol was when a woman ran up to her calling me name. "Dee, Dee, it's so good to see you again after all these years! You look wo-onderful, really great!" Realizing that she was being mistaken for yours truly *ahem* her aging mother, Carol gasped and before she could identify herself as Dee's daughter, the woman hurried away, leaving Carol demoralized.

I suspect I saw that same woman a few years later when someone said to me, "Dee, what has happened to you? You lok terrible, really terrible!"

      3. Some entirely different frustrations of life presented themselves when I was hospitalized for a lumpectomy. I had told the surgeon I would refuse a general anesthetic because of allergic manifestations I had previously had; the surgeon had agreed to use a specific local analgesic instead. Laying on the operating table with the skin cleansed, shaved and disinfected, the doctor called for carbocaine to numb the area. The nurse replied, "Uh, doctor, there is no carbocaine here."

"Well," said the surgeon, "We'll just give her a little gas."

Calmly, I countered. "Doctor, on the operative permit, I signed permission only for carbocaine."

Realizing that he could be in legal trouble if he used gas, the surgeon stood with his sterile gloved hands folded together and cursed as a nurse tracked down the appropriate pain killer. The tumor was sent off to the labratory and word came back to the operating room that it was benign -- no cancer *Thank you, God*

Meat

      1. Seriously now, I'm going to open the family closet and let some skeletons fall out. It's not hard for me to look back on those troubled waters, because I've found a way to pick up the pieces and go on. Besides, the years have taught me that I am not alone. Most everyone has storms at some time in their life. How about you? Have you had almost unsurmountable hurdles in your life?

Back in the era of the Depression, I was one of 7 children in the family when our father's business folded. We had one set of school clothes which Mother washed out each night so that we might have clean clothes for school the next day. Much of the time all we had to eat was bread and skim milk. Today, there are still many things which can devastate one's finances, like when my husband had to drop out of college for a year following an auto accident that I was in.

The doctor tried to prepare Harv, my husband, and my parents for my probable demise. Being a registered nurse, I realized without being told that my death could be eminent. BUt I surprised the doctors by living. After a long recuperation, I tried going back to nursing part time, but I no longer had sufficient physical stamina and had to give up the career that I had spent years preparing for, a profession that I loved. Through the years since then, I have continued to struggle with poor health and frequent pain.

      2. I'm not telling you these things because I need sympathy, nor do I continue to grieve over them. I don't. The blessings that life has given me are many. I am so fortunate in so many ways. But sometimes it is helpful to know that we are not alone in the battles that life tosses our way. There is comfort and healing available to sustain us, whatever the storms in our life.

With peer pressure and the availability of drugs, our son started doing drugs in his teen years. We feared he might do irreparable harm to himself. When he left the drugs behind and was no longer socializing with that group, his former sweetheart and 2 of her male companions took him by gunpoint from his place of business to a lonely country spot. The fellows beat him viciously while she declared her love for him. They then left him, a swollen, bloody and unrecognizable heap, in the middle of a road. We were told that this was not surprising behavior for someone on drugs who felt they had a grudge against another person.

Unfailing love saw him through this phase of his life, and our hearts are warmed as we admiringly observe his life today.

      3. Our daughter married an intelligent young man who seemed to have a good future ahead of him. After six years of marriage, she came back home. She had been beaten and their two children had also been abused by him. We cared for the children while she went back to college to prepare to be the breadwinner.

Is it possible not to hate those who inflict so much pain on your loved ones?
Yes, there is a way!

Different people deal with their problems in different ways. Some become bitter and hateful. Some turn to liquor or drugs. Some withdraw. Some seek counseling or medication. Some draw from another source, not yet mentioned.

For instance, I saw the depression and other problems in my parents' lives -- these made my Dad somewhat cynical and bitter, while at the same time Mother was living through those same situations and still maintained a positive attitude towards others and life in general.

What is that main source of strength that sustained m mother and has also sustained me?
My source is the Lord!

I've experienced strength, direction, peace and contentment beyond what is natural for me, throughout the good and the bad times. This has been achieved by asking Christ into my life; by learning what God has to say to me (and others) through His Word, the Bible; by talking to Him about all that is important to me. Let me share some of His words with you that have helped me over and over again. Philipians 4:4-9, 11 and 13. To paraphrase, Don't worry. Tell God about it, thank Him for your blessings, praise Him for help and His miraculous peace even in the midst of strife.

God has another gift-- eternal life through Jesus, where there are no more tears or sorrows. The Bible says that all have sinned, and that means me and you, too. Jesus says, "Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If any man opens the door, I will come in." We must each open the door to our heart. He will not force His way into our lives. But when we do make Him our own personal Lord; when we tune in to what He says to us each individually through His Word the Bible; when we allow Him to direct our desires, attitudes and life in general -- then we can sense His presence, His comfort, His peace and even joy as we walk through troubled waters.