When Joy Came to Stay (45 page)

Maggie glanced down at Amanda and caught the love in her daughter’s eyes as she looked from her to Ben and back again, squeezing their hands.

Maggie focused her attention on what the minister was saying. “Is it your desire to raise this child in a Christian home, in the love and knowledge of Jesus Christ?”

I’ve never known any greater desire, Lord.
Ben and Maggie nodded in unison. They had planned ahead that Ben would speak at this point, so the worship leader handed him the microphone.

“Some of you know what Maggie and I have been through these past few months.” He scanned the people before him. “I just want to tell you that whatever you’re going through, whatever thing you’re up against today, give it to God. Seek Him with all your heart, because the Scripture we heard a few moments ago is a promise straight from heaven.” He looked from Maggie to Amanda and smiled. “The three of us are here today as living proof.”

Maggie watched him with a full heart, amazed at how totally and completely she had fallen in love with him since returning home.
I never would have believed it, Lord…
He was wonderful with Amanda, and Maggie knew he loved her
unconditionally, the way she had only dreamed of being loved.

The worship leader took the microphone back. “Why don’t some of you come up and surround this family as we pray for them.”

Led by Laura Thompson, people—many of whom were now familiar with their story—came and circled them in a wreath of support that brought tears to Maggie’s eyes. Laura laid her hand on Maggie’s shoulder and bowed her head, eyes closed. While the worship leader prayed aloud, the overwhelming presence of the Holy Spirit surrounded them and Maggie was washed in the light of God’s love and kindness. Suddenly she had the strangest sensation that Laura was sick, sicker than any of them knew. And that praying for her these past months had been her last earthly task.

No, Lord, don’t let it be so…

Lean not on your own understanding, but in all your ways acknowledge Him…

Maggie felt her eyes sting with the beginning of tears. Whatever Laura’s future, she would forever be part of the Stovall family, and if it would soon be Maggie’s turn to pray for a season, she would welcome the task.
The way a family should.

The music started again, and Maggie recognized the tune: “Great Is Thy Faithfulness.”

They huddled close, with Ben’s arms around Maggie and Amanda, and Laura praying beside them. Together they sang as one.

“Great is Thy faithfulness, O God my Father. There is no shadow of turning with Thee…”

Maggie felt the tears fall onto her face as she clung to her husband and daughter. This was a hymn that had brought pains of conviction in the past, conviction because she, herself, had lived in the shadows far too long, blind to the faithfulness of her God. But the conviction was gone now, and in its place was unspeakable joy. Their three voices rang together and it was the sweetest sound Maggie could remember hearing.

“Morning by morning new mercies I see. All I have needed Thy hand hath provided…”

With Amanda snuggled closely between them, Maggie and Ben looked at each other. Their eyes met and held for the remainder of the song, and what she saw there was a love she knew would last through the years. God had given her real, lasting joy and along with it, an understanding that in Christ alone there is victory over the darkness—whatever trials might come.

They held tight to each other and finished the song together as if they were the only three people on earth.

“Great is Thy faithfulness, great is Thy faithfulness, great is Thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me.”

Dear Reader,

I believe with all my heart that God gave me this story for such a time as this. Around us, throughout our country, the spiritual battle is heating up in more ways than we know Scripture tells us the enemy comes to steal, kill, and destroy. To that end, I’ve seen him try two common tactics: distraction and discouragement.

Distraction often happens first. We start off meaning well, reading our Bibles and viewing life with spiritual eyes. But over time complacency veils our enthusiasm until we wake up and lie down with thoughts that have nothing to do with our Savior. We opt for a cup of coffee instead of a chapter of Scripture to get us going, and we become so caught up in the here and now we forget that our focus, that our entire lives must be directed at the ever-after if we are to live free, effective, joyful godly lives.

When we are fully distracted, we no longer tap into the greatest resource given mankind—the Holy Spirit. Instead we walk by a compass of our own design, and in very little time end up lost and confused. This is when discouragement hits.

Depression, then, is the combination of the two: distraction and discouragement, multiplied to whatever degree the enemy is seeking to destroy us.

Although I have never personally dealt with clinical depression, I know what it is to be buried in discouragement. I remember driving to Northern California on a family vacation and taking in the beauty of the Lake Shasta area. The trip followed a lengthy period of warfare and spiritual attack—a season of discouragement. As my husband drove through the mountains that day, tears fell from my eyes as though a dam had broken in my heart.

The Lord, in all His lovingkindness, reminded me of some basic truths as we made our way through the pines. First, He is bigger than any problem I have. Second, everything in this
life—absolutely everything—is temporary. And God’s Word says we are to fix our eyes not on the temporary but the eternal. Finally He adjusted my perspective so that I no longer hurt for things that had taken place that past year. Instead, I knew that somehow they would work to the Lord’s glory My eternal perspective was back in place.

Now I know that a season of discouragement pales in comparison to depression, but over the past year, God let me understand pain in this area. Pain that is being buried, masked by thousands, perhaps even millions of women today—both in and outside the church.

If you are one who is suffering this way, please seek professional help without shame, and know that God loves you just as you are. He is beckoning you even now to come into the sunshine of His grace and truth. Come in honesty and never look back.

Some of you have no idea what it means to have a relationship with the Lord. To you I pray that you please make a decision to accept God’s gift of salvation. Tell Him you can’t live any longer without Him. Buy a Bible, find a Bible-believing, Christ-centered church near your home, and get connected.

If you’re already there and are silently suffering, it’s time to be honest with your church family. If news of your depression isn’t received well, continue to seek those who will listen with an open heart, and pray for your church. I believe the time has come for all of us to recognize the enemy’s hand in this pervasive illness and come together the way Christ would have us do.

If you have never dealt with serious depression, thank God sincerely and ask Him to make you compassionate. Someone—probably someone closer than you think—may be hiding in the darkness even now. Ask Him to show you how you can help, how you can care for others and be a light in the darkness.

Thank you for journeying these pages with me. I look forward to hearing from you, especially from those of you who
have faithfully read each of my novels. You can still write me at my e-mail address:
[email protected].

Blessings abundant to you and yours and grace as you seek to walk in His light.

Sincerely

O
THER
N
OVELS BY
K
AREN
K
INGSBURY

W
HERE
Y
ESTERDAY
L
IVES
In the wake of her fathers sudden death, Ellen Barrett must journey back to the small town where she grew up and spend a week with antagonistic siblings. In the process, she must reckon with a man who once meant everything to her.

W
HEN
J
OY
C
AME TO
S
TAY
Maggie Stovall is trapped inside a person she’s spent years carefully crafting. Now the truth about who she is—and what she’s done—is revealed, sending Maggie into a spiral of despair. Will Maggie walk away from her marriage and her foster child in her desperation to escape the mantle of depression cloaking her? Or will she allow God to take her to a place of ultimate honesty before it’s too late?

O
N
E
VERY
S
IDE
Jordan Riley, an embittered lawyer, sues his hometown to have a public statue of Jesus removed. The conflict causes him to cross paths with a spirited young newscaster named Faith, who opposes Jordan’s suit in surprising ways. Perhaps most amazing of all is how Faith begins to disassemble the walls around Jordan’s heart. Will love be enough when the battle rages on every side?

THE
F
OREVER
F
AITHFUL
S
ERIES

W
AITING FOR
M
ORNING
—
Book One
A drunk driver…a deadly accident…a dream destroyed. When Hannah Ryan loses her husband and oldest daughter to a drunk driver, she is consumed with hate and revenge. Ultimately, it is a kind prosecutor, a wise widow, and her husband’s dying words that bring her the peace that will set her free and let her live again.