On the quest to cover stories about the fruits of the Holy Spirit, I discovered this one about Joy. HERE IS A RECENT POST THAT I THOUGHT DESCRIBED LOVE.
The plan is to go through all of the fruits of the Holy Spirit and then start over again.
Time after time, I have seen God bring good out of something bad. This story is a good example.
The story (true by BTW):
By Norma Becker
We have been married for 53 years. Ed and I met while going to university and were married at age 21 – that makes us 74 years old. We now have two children and four grandchildren.
The early years of our marriage were not happy years, but were filled with stresses and strains. We really had nothing in common. Our likes and dislikes were totally different. Our ways of spending money were different. Our ideas of an enjoyable vacation were different. I even lived with the fear that he was going to leave me.
How it all Changed
We moved to Canada from the United States 38 years ago and I started to attend a Bible study. I had always believed in God and knew the Bible was true, but I really didn’t know what it said. I believed I would go to heaven just because I was a morally good person and tried to be kind and helpful to my family and friends.
It was through studying the Bible that I learned I could have a personal relationship with God through His Son Jesus Christ. It was this personal relationship that gave me the peace and direction I needed to carry on with life and making the right decisions in raising my family.
I’m not talking about a specific church or religion, but a personal relationship with Jesus. I prayed and asked His forgiveness for the sin of wanting to control my own life, and I asked God to take charge of my life. That decision didn’t mean that my life was going to be trouble free; it meant He was always there to help me through the hard times that came, because I now had a new foundation based on the solid rock of God.
Ed was not interested in spiritual things, so I continued to go to my Bible study but the rest of the time I followed the life Ed wanted to lead; however, I continued to pray for Ed and asked the Lord to do anything that it would take to bring him to know God as I did – even if that meant taking my life – but God had a different plan.
Tragedy Strikes
After I had been a Christian for about ten years, we went through a time of severe testing when our son was in the hospital undergoing many operations to correct the proper drainage of fluid in his brain.
READ THE REST OF THE STORY HERE.
Photo by rubenvike
Wings of the Wind 
I had a Christian patient under severe stress this week. The sad thing was that the stress of the surgery and anxiety surrounding it brought out a very un-Christ like character in this patient. Foul language, senseless questions, unkindness to the medical personnel, etc revealed much about this person. The patient’s spouse was sitting there with a well-worn Bible in their lap not saying much.
I have a feeling that Norma’s experience and attitude during their testing was exactly opposite.
How unfortunate to hear of a Christian having such an experience, Delight.
My Mom is going through a very stressful time and is in a great deal of pain. I won’t get specific, but she has always been a great example to me. I have seen her cry over her pain. However, she shows none of the characteristics of your patient.
Your last sentence couldn’t be more true.
I wish you and your family a blessed day and weekend.
Great post Chris, it takes a strong Christian to walk as she describes it. A very encouraging post.
Thanks, Manny.
Norma is, indeed, a strong Christian who has turned a negative experience into a positive one (with the help of the Holy Spirit, of course). I’ve have seen the same thing happen in my daughter’s life, among others. These are wonderful examples of the fruit of Joy.
I hope you and your family have a blessed day and weekend!
BTW…after I answer Delight’s comment, I’m off to your blog where I see you have a new post.