Every Reason to Praise E-Book

Sonya McNair

• Herausgeber: BroadStreet Publishing Group, LLC
• Kategorie: Religion und Spiritualität
• Sprache: Englisch
• Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2017

Seitenzahl: 133

Beschreibung

What is your reason to praise? If there is anyone who has reason to praise, it is Sonya McNair. She's survived life-threatening medical conditions, serious injuries, chronic ailments, major surgeries, and cancer. God's peace and faithfulness has been her strength during these dark valleys, and her life has been filled with remarkable experiences.   Each of us can go through and grow through the darkest valleys we encounter. There are shortcuts to healing and restoration during those bleakest, loneliest, most challenging moments in our lives. Sonya will help you: - Recover better than you ever imagined. - Be surprised by God's greater purpose. - Get out of your valley and into the light. - Encounter love that's been there all along. - Find your reason to praise and make the most of every breath. Be encouraged by these stories of grace, and discover how much you are loved and blessed by God.  

Leseprobe

BroadStreet Publishing Group, LLC

Racine, Wisconsin, USA

BroadStreetPublishing.com

Every Reason to Praise

Healing, Wisdom, and Strength for Your Life

Copyright © 2017 Sonya McNair

ISBN-13: 978-1-4245-5384-6 (softcover)

ISBN-13: 978-1-4245-5385-3 (e-book)

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form, except for brief quotations in printed reviews, without permission in writing from the publisher.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Stock or custom editions of BroadStreet Publishing titles may be purchased in bulk for educational, business, ministry, fundraising, or sales promotional use. For information, please e-mail [email protected].

Cover design by Chris Garborg at garborgdesign.com

Typesetting by Katherine Lloyd at theDESKonline.com

Printed in the United States of America

17 18 19 20 5 4 3 2 1

Contents

Introduction

Chapter 1: Something beyond Me

During my childhood, I experienced a number of traumatic events, some of which were life threatening. All were life changing. From an early age, I was taught that God loved the world. I thought that meant He was focused on global issues that impacted the masses. My experiences revealed that God isn’t just an entity I will meet after death. He is love and ever present, always available to us personally. Amid the chaos around me, God’s peace and presence helped me face my circumstances.

Chapter 2: Grace Because God Loves You

While my cousin was using a broom handle to remove a toy that became stuck in a light fixture, the fixture’s glass shattered and rained down onto my face. At the hospital, the doctors were amazed that the glass hadn’t fallen into my eyes and I didn’t need plastic surgery. Even before I knew how to ask for God’s help, His grace saved me from tragedy.

Chapter 3: God’s Shortcut to Healing

Painful moments are easier to bear when God is trusted. With God’s love, life moves on. Embracing forgiveness in trauma allows healing to begin. Only by God’s grace can we forgive, and forgiveness results in the ability to love, trust, and enjoy life again. While it is easier to stay angry, forgiveness and God’s grace expedite the healing process. Anger is a normal emotion, but how we recover from hurt determines our growth and future.

Chapter 4: Love that Has Been There All Along

There are many obstacles to divine appointments—life-changing moments to give and receive love. God cares about even the smallest fish in the ocean, and he has even more love for us. He’s been in charge throughout our entire life.

Chapter 5: God in Our Storms

Praise and prayer in the midst of chaos removes panic and prepares us to walk in peace through present and future storms. God’s insight and strength allows us to overcome our trials and then be an encouragement to others as they hear the testimony of God’s faithfulness.

Chapter 6: God Mends the Pieces

While I was out jogging one morning, a hairline fracture resulted in one of my ankle bones being crushed. Doctors insisted that I have reconstructive surgery, and I experienced unexplainable excruciating pain because my nerves hadn’t healed properly after radiation therapy ten years before. I walked through this storm, not knowing the root of the pain, and as a result considered people who deal with intense pain daily. I wore a cast and a boot for about a year as my ankle healed, which resulted in God teaching me to slow down, reflect, and realize what He wanted to change and heal in my chaotic life.

Chapter 7: God’s Unexpected Purpose

We often pursue a personal dream only to have God surprise us with a greater purpose that we never expected. We need to be willing to be used for God’s glory and to listen to the prompting of the Holy Spirit. An unexpected calling from God may manifest itself at any time, and we must embrace God’s purpose when it’s revealed.

Chapter 8: I’ll See You in My Prayers

The first time I heard the word intercessor, I had no idea what it meant. What I now know is that every emotion is a cause for prayer. When I’m excited, I offer a prayer of gratitude; when I’m concerned, I lift a prayer for peace; and when I’m sad, I pray for the joy of the Lord.

Chapter 9: I Thought I Had More Time

When the Holy Spirit puts something on our heart, we don’t know how much time we have to capitalize on that opportunity. We mustn’t take time for granted. I’m not sure how much time I have left, but my ability to speak has been threatened on five occasions. That’s enough reason to use my voice boldly for the kingdom and to maximize each moment I have breath.

Chapter 10: An Excuse to Eat French Fries

My cancer and radiation treatment slowed my metabolism and I gained weight. I now have to be careful what foods I eat, and everything is an excuse to eat french fries. I tried to deal with weight issues—I’d do well for a while but then stop eating healthily. When I fasted and asked God how to handle this issue, He showed me I was eating someone else’s portion. I realized that with difficult issues to overcome, we must let the Holy Spirit work with us; if not, we stand in the way of our own progress. I now understand that my body is God’s temple and should be treated accordingly.

Conclusion

About the Author

Introduction

We have every reason to praise God. Giving Him glory is the one thing that provides constant joy. God is sovereign. Even during the most difficult circumstances, we can persevere—and grow in faith—as we praise Him in the roughest storm or lowest valley.

If anyone has reason to praise, it’s me. I’ve walked through dark valleys all throughout my life. Even so, incredible blessings and remarkable experiences, both personally and professionally, have encouraged me.

Personally, I was born with a clubbed foot, and for the first three years of my life, I wore a cast on my leg to correct it. I’ve also survived life-threatening medical conditions, serious injuries, chronic ailments, major surgeries, and cancer. I praise God for His peace and faithfulness throughout the extensive times of difficulty in my life.

Professionally, I’ve worked for many of the most prominent names in journalism—Roone Arledge, Leslie Moonves, David Brinkley, Cokie Roberts, Sam Donaldson, Diane Sawyer, Charles Gibson, Peter Jennings, David Remnick, Katie Couric, Charlie Rose, Gayle King, and many others. I’ve worked for three of the four broadcast television networks and within numerous industries, including news, entertainment, publishing, and film. I’ve also served as the head of communications for preeminent mainstream and African American magazines. I’ve traveled extensively and experienced various cultures.

Along the way, I’ve learned that the remedy during our darkest, loneliest, and most challenging moments is praise. In fact, giving God praise and worship while deep in the valleys of life will help us through the most painful, debilitating circumstances and allow us to recover in ways we never imagined.

It may seem counterintuitive to suggest that merriment has the ability to relieve great misery, but praise defies logic and has immense impact. At times, God calls us to bypass our reasoning and trust Him. An act of praise led Moses to take the Israelites to the edge of the Red Sea and cross it on dry land, and an act of praise inspired David to face and slay Goliath with a simple sling and stones. “But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty” (1 Corinthians 1:27).

In the ultimate act of praise (and love), Jesus lived, died, and resurrected on our behalf. Many people accept only what they can see as truth. But some things are true whether we see them—or believe them—or not. The Bible says “the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned” (1 Corinthians 2:14). I pray that you will be able to discern what only spiritual eyes can see as you read this book.

At the end of each chapter you will find a few extras to help you reflect on the story I’ve shared. “Out of the Valley” provides a summary and key takeaways from the story. I suggest a few points of action in “Into the Light.” There is a “Prayer” to help you start a conversation with God, along with “Scriptures” and “Songs” for additional inspiration.

I’m always encouraged by stories of God’s grace, and writing about my own experiences with it has reminded me how much I’m loved and blessed by God. I pray that this book will bless you and confirm for you just how much God loves you too.

Let everything that has breath

praise the LORD.

Praise the LORD!

(Psalm 150:6)

Chapter 1

Something beyond Me

I watched through the small round window of my hospital room door as the doctor discussed my health status with my parents. Unbeknownst to them, the door was slightly ajar, which allowed me to hear their conversation. My father rubbed my mother’s back when she began to cry. The doctor had informed them that, at only thirteen years old, I had only days left to live and they should contact any family members who would want to come say goodbye to me.

I’d been admitted this to the hospital after several days with an extremely high temperature, chills, and dizziness, as well as the inability to keep down any food for nearly a week prior to the symptoms’ start. The doctors treated me for everything that seemed probable—from the flu to leukemia to sickle cell anemia. Nothing had worked, and they were prepared to give up. They allowed a cot to be brought into my room so my mother could sleep next to me for the precious few nights I had left.

While I’d only been hospitalized for a short time, each day had been grueling. My body temperature hovered around 104 degrees, and my IV pole accompanied me everywhere I went. The sweat-drenched sheets on my bed were changed several times a day and throughout the night, and my nose often bled so heavily that the duty nurse had to cauterize it, which was terribly painful. The only food or drink I could keep down were cherries and Pepsi—no kidding.

As the doctors suggested, my mother contacted relatives, many of whom came from near and far to visit. I loved it. Seeing everyone was wonderful—and a welcome distraction. We laughed at each other’s jokes and relived family antics, and then they would leave the room and break down in tears. Even so, I remained focused on all the happy memories despite the reality of my circumstances.

But as the days passed, the steady stream of relatives dwindled and I found myself alone more and more. In the quiet moments, I reflected on my past, and as I did, I realized just how much I wanted to see the future; I wanted to live. I hadn’t given that much thought while the room was filled with people and joyful conversations, but with them gone, the gravity of what I faced hit me hard.

The quiet reflection also made me aware that the moments of happiness had been orchestrated for my benefit. That compelled me to thank God for providing joy during this difficult time. I also asked Him to allow me to devote whatever time I had left to encouraging others, whether they were sick or well, so they might experience the kind of comfort I felt when my room was filled with family and friends. I didn’t know how that would play out, but the thought of helping others made me feel much better.

Finally, after days of struggling to eat, feeling weak, and watching the walls of my hospital room while constantly being pricked and prodded, moments of melancholy came. On one of those occasions, I decided to escape the confinement of my room. An IV gave me constant fluids, but fortunately its pole had wheels. Holding onto the pole, I slowly placed one slipper in front of the other and made my way into the hallway. The nurses, pleased by my desire to venture out, cheered me on. Even so, I could only make it about ten feet from my room due to my greatly weakened state.

As I shuffled my feet to make the U-turn, I waved to the patients I encountered along my short journey. They looked surprised to see me, probably because I was the only child in the ward; most children were treated at the children’s hospital across the street. I would have been treated there as well, but no beds were available at the time of my arrival. Nevertheless, they welcomed my greetings, and the smiles I received in return lifted my spirits. My maiden voyage was a great success—exhausting yet exhilarating.

The next time I needed a change in mood, I ventured all the way to the maternity ward. It was quite a trek but truly worth the effort. Observing the newborns brought me extraordinary comfort. They emanated life, beauty, and innocence. As I peered through the glass, all I could think about was how precious they were. I prayed for a life of love, support, and protection for each one.

I determined then that if I could love a little baby I’d never met and had only seen through glass, surely God loved me and cared about my situation. I also realized that the more time I spent visiting the maternity ward and other patients, the less attention I gave my own circumstances. I began to appreciate how helping others is far more gratifying than remaining self-focused.

Soon, my doctors decided to make one last effort to save my life. A specialist was brought in to retrieve my bone marrow for testing. The procedure involved a deep cut into my thigh, an excruciatingly painful process. For the very first time since my medical mystery started, emotion overwhelmed me and I started to cry. As the tears fell, I recalled the only other time I had ever felt such unbearable pain.

I was seven years old. On a sweltering hot summer day, my brothers and I were inside, where it was almost just as hot as it was outside. I am the youngest child and the only girl in the family. With four biological brothers and one male cousin who spent so much time with us that he was considered a brother, I had grown into a tomboy. On this particular afternoon, I was playing “horsey” with my brothers David and Dexter, who were six and three years older than I. David carried us on his back as he crawled around the floor on his hands and knees.

Dexter and I took turns riding, and it was great fun. I noticed how David would raise his hands in the air to imitate a rearing horse while Dexter was on his back, and asked him to do the same with me.

“I’m sorry, Baby Girl,” David said. “I don’t think you’re strong enough to hold on.”

Indignant, I insisted, “I can hold on!”

He shook his head. “Not yet. I’ll take you on that type of ride when you’re older.”

How unfair. The mere injustice was cause for debate. I pleaded with him and promised I could handle it. Finally, David agreed. Whee! Up we went and down we came. I loved it! Whee! Again, up we went and down we came.

“One more time!” I begged. “Please! Please! Just once more. Please!”