God loves you and me so let us
sing and shout joyfully to the living God. When I was dating Marilyn, I gave her a 1974 watercolor by James Curt
Bergwall. In the painting a small, cartoonish character, dressed in blue pants and a yellow shirt is standing with
his head craned back, eyes directed to the heavens and his arms are fully extended upward, palms open. All manner
of whirling, dashed lines cover the top three-quarters of the watercolor suggesting a
cresendo of sound is emanating from his wide-open mouth. The caption on the watercolor
reads, 'Someday I want to sing very loud.' Well, today is a good day for us to join Bergwall's
character and do some major shouting and singing of our own to the one true living God!
A Prayer begins . . .
Our Father in heaven, may your name be honored forever. Marilyn and I are not
interested in worshipping gods made by human hands or human minds. We choose instead to serve you
the living God. The one without beginning or ending. With our whole beings, bodies and
souls, we will shout and sing our praises to you with joyful hearts.
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"How she tormented herself wondering if she could have done things differently, worrying
that she had failed those she loved so much.
'Oh why didn't I teach Killon and Mahlon the importance of the Law? I should have been a
better mother. I should have made them sit down and listen. I should have worried less
about losing their love and more about losing their souls. And now I've lost them
forever. I've lost my sons . . . oh, my sons, my sons . . .'
She didn't speak the words aloud, but she was scourged with self-recriminations day after
day and night after night.
'Father, forgive me. I was weak. I was foolish. I took the easy way and followed
Elimelech because I wanted peace in our family. I didn't want to be a contentious wife.
I wanted to support him in his endaavors. I wanted to be his helpmate. But You warned us
of the cursings to come if we were unfaithful. Oh, Father, I wanted to be faithful. I
tried to be faithful. Every day, I felt torn, my husband on one side and You on the other.
I didn't know what else to do but pray in silence and hope in secret and walk alongside
Elimelech and then my sons. I hoped and prayed every day they would come to their senses
and we'd go home to the land You gave us. Oh, God, I've prayed and prayed all these years,
and not one prayer has been answered. My husband is dead. My sons are dead! You have
stripped me bare! You have poured me out! Who is left but You, Father? What do I have to
cling to now but You?'
Ruth rose and put her arms around her. 'Mother, I'll take care of you.' The girl's
tenderness broke Naomi's heart. She wept in her daugher-in-laws arms, allowing herself to
be held and rocked like a baby. But it was no comfort, for other thoughts rushed into her
tortured mind and made her cry all the harder.
There would not be children to carry on the names of her sons. It would be as though they
never lived at all. Their names will go down into the dust along with them. No
children . . . there will be no children . . . .
SoAmazing Review: Unshaken is a
fictionalized account of the life of Ruth. The nonfictionalized account is found in the
ninth book of the Bible. To write historical fiction well requires rigorous research and
great skill, and Francine Rivers utilizes both in dramatizing Ruth's intriguing story.
Category: Christian Living, Spiritual Life
ISBN: 0829409556
Keywords: radiation, radiation treatments, woman, Labor Day, Cardinal, die, death, Loyola Press,
Bernardin, Joseph Cardinal Bernardin
"During my radiation treatments I met a woman named Lottie, who was undergoing the same
treatment I was. She was quite ill, and I was not sure how much longer she was going to
live. We finished our treatments about the same time in early August. During that month
I stayed in touch with her and could tell that she was worsening. And finally, on the day
before Labor Day, her daughter, Chris, called and said,
'Cardinal, my mother
is sinking very, very fast. I don't think she can live much longer.' I immediately said
that I would visit Lottie, who, along with her husband was staying with her daugher.
When I arrived, Chris said, 'My mother is very fitful, full of anxiety, she's only
semiconscious.' I went in to talk with Lottie. I don't know whether she really recognized
me, but I spoke to her and anointed her. Then when I came out of the room, Chris said, 'You
know, I think one of the problems is that my father keeps going in there and telling her,
'Lottie, you can't go, I need you, you can't die.' She then asked me, 'Would you talk to
my father?' I spoke with Lottie's husmand and suggested to him that maybe the time had
come to let his wife go. Chris called me that night to tell me that only a few minutes
after I left she saw her father go into the bedroom and then heard him say, 'Lottie, it's
okay for you to go now.' Chris said that her mother immediately became tranquil, and two
days later she died peacefully."
SoAmazing Review:The Gift of Peace
will touch you just as Josesph Cardinal Bernardin touched this family in their time of need.
You are invited to become a participating member of SoAmazing.com and enjoy, as one terrific member benefit,
our award winning, free-by-email SoAmazing Letter! Clickle the Signup button below!
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