When I was young, my mom’s best friend Pearl and her family were a big part of our lives. We celebrated birthdays, holidays, and picnics together and whatever came up, we were there for each other.  Great people, great friends!

Pearl was such a fun, loving and wonderful Christian woman.  She always had a smile on her face, a joke on her lips and a hug in her heart and arms. As the years went by and one misfortune after another befell her, I could not figure out how she was able to have such a sunny disposition. 

She had lost a brother in a horrible car accident when they were in high school.  Both of her parents had died by the time she was 14, and her first husband died of a heart attack on a hunting trip with my dad and their friends. He left her with three young children. Another brother was killed in a trucking accident. A few years later her fiancé was killed in a car accident and five years after that, her second husband died from cancer.  One of those tragedies would have been bad enough in anyone’s life, but all of that heartache would be too hard for anyone to bare, yet Pearl did. But how?

It was her never wavering faith in the Lord.  She told my parents that several times and shared the same message with me when I became an adult.

This is what God did for Pearl. God turned her messes into a message. He opened doors no one could shut. God made a way when there seemed to be no way. He helped to heal what was broken in her heart. God gave Pearl the strength for the journey ahead and he brought her peace in the midst of the storms in her life.  God showed Pearl His unconditional love for her as he does for all of us and gave her everything she needed when she needed it. 

I still marvel at her strength in and conviction to the Lord. In the middle of all of these heartbreaks, Pearl raised three wonderful children. God can do more for us than we can ever imagine and certainly more than we can do for ourselves. We need to believe and trust in Him and ask him to carry us on our journey.  Thanks be to God.

Patty