Denton County Living Well Magazine July/August 2017 | Page 18

Beyond
Understanding
Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer
and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And
the peace of God,  which transcends all understanding,  will guard
your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:6, 7, NIV
Kristie was only 26 when she lost her mother. Suddenly, without ex-
planation, her healthy 50-year-old mother passed away. Kristie had
come from a long line of Believers—her grandfather was a preacher
and she remembers communing with God at a very young age. Nev-
ertheless, the unexpected death of her mother made her question the
goodness of God. How could a good and loving God cause, or even
allow something so painful? She was just beginning her own life as
a wife and mother, experiencing a difficult time in her marriage and
rearing a 2-year old daughter; she needed her mother as much as
ever, a desire that would never again be fulfilled.
Kristie was devastated. She had received the call about her mother
around lunchtime on a weekday and by the time she arrived at the
hospital, her mother was gone. She had been robbed of her moth-
er, her daughter robbed of her grandmother, and now she’d been
robbed of the chance to say goodbye. Her anger and disappoint-
ment hardened her heart and sent her on a 20 year estrangement
from God.
She tearfully recalled a dream she had of her mother just shortly after
her passing: “She knocked on my door and I opened it. I asked her
to come in. She said she couldn’t, that she was only here to tell me
she loved me. I asked her if she was in heaven and she said yes.”
Kristie was deeply touched by the dream as it seemed to bring some
closure. Years later, through counseling she learned healing could
not begin until she forgave God for the death of her mother. She did,
but still did not trust Him, so she continued life without God and life
without church.
A few years ago, her sister bought land in Lavon and Kristie felt she
was to build next door. She and her husband put their house on the
market, both sure they were to move. Their house sat without interest,
and even when a contract came, it fell through. Kristie was angry
and ripped the for sale sign out of the yard. She was both frustrated
and disappointed feeling like God was once more standing in the
way of her happiness.
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DENTON COUNTY Living Well Magazine | JULY/AUGUST 2017