Laurie and I met in Mrs. Johnson’s fifth grade class at Lincoln Elementary and we have been friends ever since. After we were both married, our husbands became friends and, along with another couple, the six of us have remained dear friends these many years, weathering many changes together and supporting one another through various trials. But none of us could have ever imagined the drastic and sad change that was coming our way in the year of 2024.
Walking through this journey with Rob and Laurie (and now just Laurie since Rob has gone on to be with the Lord) has been a growing experience for my husband and me. Rob was a good friend to us and the world just isn’t the same without him. And so we mourn with Laurie and we mourn for Laurie. But, even in the midst of the deep, deep waters, this journey has also been such a confirmation of God’s very intentional love and care for those who seek Him. Watching Rob and Laurie take this journey has been faith-building, to say the least.
I am so grateful for Laurie’s willingness to share her journey over the past year. It has been awesome to see God’s great grace and mercy in the midst of the devastation and tremendous pain. Her testimony is also a great reminder of why we need to be developing deep roots of faith through prayer and Bible Study right now. Today. For none of us knows what lies ahead.
Here is Laurie’s story–
I was brought up in a great home, with parents that loved each other and one older sister. We didn’t attend church on a regular basis, but would occasionally “try out” this or that church. I wouldn’t say any attendance became regular until I was in about 7th grade. We then started attending a Presbyterian church – my mother grew up attending a Methodist church in Georgia and my father a Presbyterian church in Lancaster County. I attended their “confirmation classes” and became baptized around age 14 or so. This was nothing personal to me, just what was done at that time.
Fast forward to my senior year of high school when I met my future husband, Rob, during that time while working together at a grocery store. He was raised by his mother and a stepfather that entered his life around age 6. His stepfather became a born-again Christian in his 30’s or 40’s I believe. He was presented the gospel by a fellow truck driver and was saved from a life of smoking, swearing, and drug use. This all happened before he met my husband’s mother. Needless to say, I attribute my true faith to Rob and his parents, who faithfully attended a local Nazarene church. I was not allowed to see Rob on Sundays unless I attended church with them. Something I was happy to do, not knowing it would lead to the most important decision of my life. As my teenage years, along with my love for Rob, progressed, I kept feeling Christ’s call for me to accept Him. During one altar call at the Nazarene church, I went forward and accepted that call. I’m sure Rob’s parents were thrilled, as we were engaged to be married at that point.
Fast forward many years – years of college, marriage, and the birth of our four children. Rob and I were both believers, but decided to have a believer’s baptism. We were now attending a Church of God, as it was closer to our house. So one Sunday, after the birth of our first child, Rob and I experienced full immersion baptism and began to grow in our faith. But it was probably another 15-20 years that saw my desire to know Christ on a deeper level begin to take root. A dear friend and I began studying the Word together under another dear friend, Leslie’s, guidance. Little did I know where that studying would lead me and how it would sustain me in a very hard trial to come.
Fast forward to May 2, 2024, just shy of our 36th wedding anniversary – this was the day we received Rob’s diagnosis of stage 4 pancreatic cancer. Oh how we needed to lean into His Word and promises when we learned that diagnosis! Devastating to say the least – but we both began to rely much more heavily on our faith and the faith of our family, close friends, and our church family. God was on this new journey with us – all the time. Right away, we both acknowledged God’s sovereignty over our lives. Did this make it all wonderful and pleasant? Absolutely not. But did it make the journey smoother and give us hope? Yes.
Both Rob and I saw God smoothing out the upcoming paths on at least a weekly basis, if not daily. From the moment Rob finally decided to pursue the reason behind his continuous stomach discomfort, God was preparing things. Appointments that happened at specialists within days rather than weeks, getting our first appointment with an oncologist that ended up being a Christian (I flat out asked her after one of her comments. It’s amazing how a life altering diagnosis removes your desire to be cautious.), to hearing about a more holistic approach to cancer treatment one day and being actually in the program within a week, having amazing support by other believers, well I could go on and on. If you’d like to read more about our journey and all the amazing ways God supported us, please go ahead and visit my CaringBridge link to read more:
https://www.caringbridge.org/site/23d88756-16c8-11ef-856d-c58a3fe1c886
My high school sweetheart passed away on August 16 of this year – three and half months following his diagnosis. God was again answering prayers – from the very beginning, my prayer was that God would not allow Rob to suffer long or to linger. We were at OCNJ for a family vacation – our family now included four in-laws and nine grandchildren. Rob was definitely declining as the week went on, but God blessed us with good moments with Rob in that week, which all of us appreciated and soaked up.
However, we had to leave right away Thursday morning per Rob’s request. I believe he knew his time was coming. Long story short, we made it home and Rob was admitted to Hospice Inpatient facility, where they were able to make him comfortable and he passed within 9 hours of being there. The Lord did not let him linger, for which we are all thankful, even though it’s still terribly hard.
Where does this leave me today? God is still showing up and sustaining me in countless ways. If He wasn’t, I fear it would be harder to go about my daily life. Life does continue on – chores need done, bills need paid, and birthdays still happen. Has all of this challenged my faith? No. Yes, I question God’s timing of taking Rob before his 58th birthday, but to this day I still do not question his sovereignty. He has numbered our days before we were even formed – this is one thing Rob and I both believe in. It is still very challenging adjusting to life without a man who was a huge part of my life for 40 years, but the prayers of many, the Christian love of many, and the faith of our children have shown me the love of Christ. Oh to see how God prepares us before we even know what we will face. If I had not begun to study the Bible in more depth, I would not have been prepared to let go of Rob and face these challenges – of that I am convinced. I know His promises, and those are what I cling to. It’s not an easy task at times, to go through the days and nights without my earthly husband, but knowing Rob was saved and that his faith grew deeper in the three months we had with the knowledge of the end of his story, and resting in my salvation that no one can take away from me- this is what gives me comfort.
Some days are harder to “walk the talk” of knowing God is in control, but I also know God gives me grace in that, and each day or hour is a new one to try again. I know Rob is now pain free and in the arms of Jesus – and that is what I try to focus on as I grieve his loss. As I look back upon my life story, it is just so apparent to me that God is always preparing us and most often we don’t even realize it. Just as losing my dad to brain cancer at the age of 63, then my mother to colon cancer almost exactly 20 years later, helped me “navigate” the world of cancer for my husband, having knowledge of the Word has helped me navigate this world and deepen my faith. No, not everyone who studies His Word is being prepared for a great trial, but the thing is – we don’t know what is coming our way. Only God does. So wouldn’t it be so helpful to be prepared if you are to go through a trial by truly studying the Bible? You just never know when/how/or if you will need it.
(Quick note— I was so surprised to read that Laurie was studying the scripture “under my guidance” when she started actually studying the Bible, because that’s the exact same time I started really studying the Bible. I probably “knew more” because of growing up in a vibrant Christian home and spending time at a Christian college, learning the “facts”. But it wasn’t until that time, with Laurie and our other dear friend, that I started actually studying the Bible for myself, as well. And what a joy and help this has been in my life! God has given us His Word to us as a gift. I am ashamed and disappointed I didn’t recognize this sooner in my life but am so grateful that God finally opened my eyes to the value of His Word. As many of you know, this is my “why” for the blog–to encourage my readers to know God through His Word sooner rather than later. Laurie has reminded us today of just one reason why this is so important.)
You can read other stories of God’s awesome work in the lives of those who love and trust Him here at this page.