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  Patricia Hammell Kashtock

Aka: Pat Kashtock. Mother of three, wife of one. BA in Social Work and Biblical Studies. Graduate work at Virginia Tech interrupted, then derailed by oldest child’s brain tumor...

My life has not followed the course I planned. But I am not complaining. Pain is to be expected in a world broken apart from its Creator.

The miracle resides in the ability to find joy when least expected...

 

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Blessings,

Pat

For What It's Worth

Each life is a journey. The voices of many guides try to direct us, saying, “This is the path – walk in it!” Yet each one leads in a different direction.

I believe only one Voice can be true. That Voice will lead us in ways most unexpected, into worlds yet undiscovered. It will lead us up the hill, around the river and through the forest. And sometimes, it will lead without mercy.

Or so it seems.

I have made listening for that Voice and following it, my life’s quest. I will share some of what I have heard that Voice say with you. But I am not in the business of telling people how to think or what to believe. Each has to decide for himself. Only you can decide if you find the truth of the Voice in these words. And only you can decide how much it is worth to know the Voice, and follow.

But for me, it is worth the whole world.

And then some…

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Thursday
Jan082009

Dancing Feet (from the Upper Room)

DateThursday, January 8, 2009 at 04:40PM

 


Tuesday, November 18, 2008


Dancing Feet

Read Psalm 34:1-18

[The Lord] will swallow up death forever. The Sovereign Lord will wipe away the tears from all faces.

-Isaiah 25:8 (NIV)

TODAY dawns bright and cold, and I think of my daughter who died not long ago. Heidi leapt, jumped, and danced her way through life. The Christmas before her eighth birthday, she performed the whole Nutcracker Suite for us, complete with a paper crown and wearing my too-long nightgown, which tripped her feet. Before her next birthday arrived, doctors found a tumor in her brain. She never danced again.

But the story does not end there. For nearly 19 years, Heidi lived with the cancer. Although she could not dance, she always smiled and said, "I know that when I get to heaven, I will be able to dance."

Now, her new, strong feet move gracefully in the warmth of God's presence. In heaven, my daughter dances with joy again, without fear or pain, in light that will never fade. She is with God who is love and who will not let her go. Her joy will never end.

Patricia Hammell Kashtock (Virginia, USA)

Prayer Thank you, God, that even in grief you can remind us of the joy we will have with you forever. Amen.

Thought for the Day
Those we love are always held within God's love.

Prayer Focus

Parents whose child has died

| November 17, 2008 | November 18, 2008 | November 19, 2008 |

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Reader Comments (4)

Heidi must have been an amazing girl! I wish I could have known her, but I look forward to meeting her in heaven. It is an amazing child who can look past the boundary of this life and the present sufferings to a time when there will be no pain and no tears, but only joy and dancing!

January 15, 2009 | Unregistered CommenterBeverly

Thanks, Beverly. Things sometimes get hard on this end. This Christmas season was tough.

January 15, 2009 | Registered Commenter[Pat Kashtock]

Thank you for sharing Heidi with us. I read through much of this part of the site ... what amazing strength you all have through Jesus Christ. I know that I sometimes wonder why I am not just crumpled in a heap of grief ... and I know it has to be god's work in my broken heart. I pray that He continues his wonderful work in your hearts. God bless you richly.

January 25, 2009 | Unregistered CommenterJohn Dobbs

Oh, John -- you are so right. The only way to keep living is to rest in His hands. That you can still stand is a testament to His life in you. Otherwise you would have - and we would have - collapsed under a grief too heavy. Your son sounds like a magnificent young man. I can't say "was" because that is not true. He is, and will always be.

May the Lord bring His comfort to you fully. May you know His joy in the midst of pain. May His people be to you like a healing balm that renews with the seasons..

In Jesus Name,
Amen

January 25, 2009 | Registered Commenter[Pat Kashtock]

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