Wandering With Grace: Guest Writer: Author Janet Chester Bly

Thursday, October 10, 2024

Guest Writer: Author Janet Chester Bly

Guest Writer: Author Janet Chester Bly
Subject: Daily Graces

Dawn experienced no problems with her pregnancy. But a few minutes before her first child’s birth, the heart monitor suddenly showed the baby’s tiny heart stopped beating.

When her son was born, the doctors worked furiously to get his breathing started. They later told Dawn they couldn’t be sure whether to keep trying or not. They flew baby Lane by helicopter to a bigger hospital. The doctors warned he might not survive the trip, but he did. However, the hospital staff reported Lane may have suffered brain damage or loss of kidney function.

Dawn recalls, I remember the peace God gave me about the whole thing. Of course, we prayed God would work a miracle. But God also gave me that peace.” God did work a miracle. Lane survived to be a healthy adult. And Dawn grew in perseverance and spiritual trust from that experience.

Growing faith is sometimes a learned trait, a process of deliberation, line upon line, precept upon precept. Here a little and there a bunch, you practice your faith. When you buckle down on your troubles, you tighten your assurance God will help somehow.

Somewhere along the line, everyone encounters a severe personal crisis in which the whole idea of God’s goodness gets tested. That happened to me when my husband was diagnosed with a rare form of prostate cancer that eluded the usual treatment.

One of the toughest things I faced when I lost him centered on answering the why God didn’t heal him when so many people in multiple places prayed for him. One person even expressed anger towards God because he just knew Steve would be cancer-free. I feared he’d turn from his faith altogether. He couldn’t understand why I seemed so accepting of Steve’s fate.

But by that point, I had witnessed so much of God’s hand in our lives. “You don’t know,” I tried to tell him, “All the many daily miracles of grace we experienced along the way, through all the ups and downs. Not the least, God granted us five full, mostly active years together, when the doctors said it could be much less.”

And after he passed away, God kept working when he allowed my three sons and me to finish Stephen’s last novel together, when he had only one chapter completed: Stuart Brannon’s Final Shot. Truly, finishing that task within the four-month deadline provided an unexpected, surprise wonder for my whole family.

Every round of circumstances and challenges we face will include unique details and sometimes unexpected or creative results.

Life’s uglies, such as devastating disease and loss of loved ones, cause us to wrestle with monumental questions. We may confront God with our whys and doubts. But we do have the immense privilege of direct access and dialogue with our Creator. When we’re pressed down on our knees with no pretenses, we cry out to Him and dare ask for understanding and miracles. He may grant life, insight, or release . . . or not. One hope may be dashed, but watch for it, another always remains. For every mystery, every loss, there is a gain. For instance, God reigns beyond the grave.

Over the years, I’ve learned to stay alert for God’s gracious mercies mixed in with every big challenge I face. I’m more sensitive to notice what’s the over-arching Plan that will make me marvel at His wisdom. Since I’ve witnessed His works myself, in Him alone, I hope.

Hope keeps us buoyant with fire and energy, looking to the future. Patience grounds us in calm endurance to the present sometimes stark reality. And trust keeps us still and quiet, to pay attention to what God is doing in our world. He’s always busy—answering prayers, doing good, or suddenly springing a surprise.

To develop spiritual journey skills like that takes practice, with drills and repetitions. It’s a process of cultivation. We’re even toughened through our own wilderness jaunts, like the Israelites (Deuteronomy 29:5), and also like Jesus (Matthew 4:1ff).

Getting to know God personally means walking through life’s stuff with Him. We find out for ourselves that He is with us. We become pilgrims with a purpose, travelers with an assignment: to trust Him, to even enjoy Him, and to serve Him forever.

"We know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit.” - Romans 5:3-5 NIV

Guest Writer: Author Janet Chester Bly

About the Guest Writer: Janet Chester Bly is the widow of award-winning western author Stephen Bly. She has published fifteen nonfiction and fiction books of her own and also co-authored twenty others with Stephen. She once lived in the town of Winchester managing Bly Books. She now lives in Lewiston closer to her family. You can find her books on Amazon, as well as some of them at ...And Books, Too! (andbookstooonline.com)

Her Books: