In all these things we are more
than conquerors through him who loved us. Romans 8:37
From a distance, it looked like a victim of last
year’s hurricane. My friend Susan, pointed. “Look at that!”, she exclaimed. I
followed her finger, and saw the huge tree where half of it had been ripped off.
Literally. The jagged place showed just where the wind force lopped off a giant
part of the tree.
We walked closer to it and noticed a dark area in the
trunk. Upon closer examination, we found, what appeared to be, the heart of the
tree all blackened and dead looking. How could the tree be alive if it were dead
on the inside?
I thought of Robin. Radiation treatments had claimed
her dark, curly hair. On the outside, her body was failing. On the inside, her
spirit was more vibrant than ever. Her sunken eyes were closed, breathing
shallow. But oh my, the peaceful expression on her face said it all. Talk about
shekinah; the glory of the Lord shone from within her. Her spirit was very much
alive, even though, on the outside, her body was wracked by disease
Last week I was at the home of a neighbor. Tina looked
great on the outside, acted fine too. She welcomed us, chatted animatedly,
graciously offered a snack her husband had laid out on the kitchen table. We
were there to pray with Terry, whose diagnosis was stage 4 , metastasized
cancer. She was thin, and her body clearly showed signs of battling a disease.
On this inside, though, her spirit was vigorous, as was clearly evident as we
prayed together.
Looks are deceiving, and things are not always what
they seem. Some people are alive on the outside, yet dead on the inside, in
their spirit. Still others look sick on the outside, yet are very much alive in
their soul, on the inside.
At Tina’s home, I found this note taped to the
bathroom mirror :
Cancer is so limited.
It cannot Cripple love
Shatter hope C
orrode faith D
estroy peace
Kill friendship
Suppress memories
Silence courage
Invade the soul
Steal eternal life
It cannot Conquer the Spirit.
The bible tells us we are “more than conquerors
through Jesus Christ. (Romans 8:37). That is very good news.
Sally Kennedy sallyikennedy@bellsouth.net
The Illustrator: This daily newsletter is dedicated to encouraging
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