The Journey - Summer 2020

Journey The

Summer 2020

Fathers & Sons Finding Faith.

How this father and son each learned that a relationship with God is a lifelong commitment.

“[God] will turn the hearts of the fathers to their children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers;” ~ Malachi 4:6a

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SONS AND FATHERS

A fatherless son find’s God’s love and learns to impart that love to others

By David Davis with Ben Cox

WALKING INTO FREEDOM

How God guided the owner of Local Lion out of darkness and into faith

By Ben Cox and Josiah Davis

IN GOD SHE TRUSTS

Reflecting on Billie Baldwin’s remarkable faith and lifelong relationship with Christ

By Rebecca Jan Turner and Paul Turner

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MY PURPOSE IS TO SERVE

Learning to answer when God is calling

By Ben Cox with Edward Graham

STRENGTH FOR TODAY

One woman’s struggle with Lyme disease leads her to greater trust in the Lord

By Zachary Hoffman

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This magazine is intended to present people’s stories about their personal relationships with God from their point of view. We endeavor to have a diversity of perspectives from people who identify themselves as followers of Christ. However, we cannot personally endorse all that is said. What we can endorse is that people who share their testimonies have experienced God’s love in real ways, and our encouragement for you, is that you also can experience His love wherever your journey takes you.

Cover Photo: (Front) Breaking Bread: Father and son David Davis (left) and Josiah Davis (right) in Local Lion, the popular Boone establishment that Josiah owns and where David bakes donuts. (photo courtesy of We Are The Hoffmans Photography). (Back) Serving The Lord And The Community: Army veteran Edward Graham with his father Franklin, helps his grandfather Billy Graham at his 95th birthday celebration (Photo courtesy of Samaritan’s Purse).

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Journey The

Owner & Publisher Ben Cox Editor Camryn Whaley | Art & Design Director Zachary Hoffman Contributing Writers Ben Cox | David Davis | Edward Graham | Josiah Davis

Paul Turner | Rebecca Jan Turner | Sharon Stacy | Zachary Hoffman Contributing Photographers Samaritan’s Purse | We Are The Hoffmans Social Media & Marketing Director Danielle Carter Distribution Manager Connie Cox | Accounts Manager Heather Cotten © 2020 High Country 365

Online flip-through version and other inspirational content available at: JOURNEYNC.COM 828.263.0095 | info@journeync.com 324 HWY 105 Ext. Suite 14 • Boone, NC 28607

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FROM THE

“The LORD loves righteousness and justice; the earth is full of His unfailing love. By the word of the LORD the heavens were made, their starry host by the breath of His mouth... Let all the earth fear the LORD; let all the people of the world revere Him. . .

The LORD foils the plans of the nations; He thwarts the purposes of the peoples. But the plans of the LORD stand firm forever, the purposes of His heart through all generations. Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD, the people He chose for his inheritance.” (Psalm 33:5-6, 8, 10-12) At a time when many words are being spoken about the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic and the epidemic of racism that has plagued our nation for centuries, I want my words to be few and the words of the Lord to have preeminence.

By Ben Cox

Furthermore, I want my words to be relevant to the Church in this region because I believe we have a unique window of opportunity to be a beacon of hope in the troubled waters of our nation IF we will have ears to hear and obey what the Spirit of God has to say to us.

According to the prophet Isaiah, God says, “This is the one I esteem: he who is humble and contrite and trembles at my word” (Isaiah 66:2). That attitude is one we all would be wise to embrace for such a time as this.

Again Church, hear the word of the Lord!

“Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. . .

Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. Because of these, the wrath of God is coming. You used to walk in these ways, in the life you once lived. But now you must also rid yourselves of

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all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips. Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator. . .

Woe be unto those of us who love and fear the LORD, both here and throughout our nation, if we don’t take practical steps to raise the unified and strategic prayer level among ourselves.

I BELIEVE “ WE HAVE A UNIQUE

In Luke 18:7-8 Jesus asked these three rhetorical questions that the church would do well to consider in these days; “Will not God bring about justice for His chosen ones, who cry out to Him day and night? Will He keep putting them off?

I tell you, He will see that they get justice, and quickly.

However, when the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on the earth?”

WINDOW OF OPPORTUNITY TO BE A BEACON OF HOPE IN THE TROUBLED WATERS OF OUR NATION

One thing I have actually appreciated and taken advantage of in this time when we can’t gather in our church buildings is the opportunity to visit many different kinds of churches online. What I’ve seen has made me greatly encouraged about the strength of the Church in the High Country.

Though I’m encouraged, I’m also discouraged because our unity level among the different parts of the Body of Christ here is not nearly as strong as it needs to be for the unprecedented times in which we live.

WATSONATTA WESTERN WORLD

“

Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone.

Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.” (Colossians 3:1-2, 5-10, 12-14)

In light of these sobering questions from Christ Himself, let us humble ourselves! And let us pray!

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THE JOURNEY | Summer 2020

A Strong Bond: Father and son David and Josiah Davis proudly stand outside Local Lion, the famous Boone business owned by Josiah.

THE JOURNEY | Summer 2020

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Partners in Christ: David and Freida Davis enjoying each other’s company at a Thanksgiving outing. The two have been married and strengthening their relationship in the Lord since 1981.

By David Davis with Ben Cox

B

Malachi 4:5-6 “See, I will send you the prophet Elijah before that great and dreadful day of the Lord comes.

He will turn the hearts of the fathers to their children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers; or else I will come and strike the land with a curse.”

orn in 1955, I grew up believing the definition of manhood included strength, dependability, courage, and authority, as focused on the purpose of opposing the unjust. Fatherhood was such a man governing the family. I saw this defined by stories on TV and the big screen, in a patriarchal tradition reaching back to the colonies, and of course, the Judeo-Christian experience of church-going folks.

WWII both substantiated and shook these traditions. This definition was carried by many men who were veterans of that war and who controlled that dominant culture. Yet, the

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veteran fathers were often emotionally scarred by the war or living out false assumptions embedded in these traditions. My dad was such a man. He was alcoholic, abusive, coarse, and at one time, he selfishly abandoned our family for three months to be with another woman.

Though Mom took him back, he remained a painful picture of manhood who did little to no actual fathering.

Mom finally divorced my dad when I was twelve and remarried soon after. My step-dad was gentle, but he married my mom and had no other children. I was a bit of an add on for him, and we never connected.

decided all world religions carried a common theme—the Golden Rule. I looked in my still sinful heart and decided Christianity’s teaching was too narrow. I needed to be a kind person, but I was otherwise free to do as I pleased.

By my second year at college, I hung out regularly with my drama department friends and took devil’s advocate positions in classroom discussions, picking at my Christian classmates’ values. Near the end of that second year, I couldn’t pay tuition for another quarter.

TURN ON, TUNE IN, DROP OUT

As a result of that marriage, I turned thirteen and entered high school in a new community.

Within a year, I followed a few friends to church and within another year, I committed to Christ at a summer church camp. It was a mountain top experience as is said, but no effort toward direct discipleship followed.

I finished high school without any secret explorations of alcohol, marijuana or sexuality. I identified with the “good kids” and envied their home lives, especially their dads, who appeared markedly different from my biological dad. I now know, my experience of being essentially fatherless was more common than I knew then.

As a high school senior, I won a drama scholarship competition that paid for the first year of college at a private, Christian college in north Georgia. Attending there, I spent time with Christians at a nightly event called Vespers, and I took a world religion course which examined Judaism, Buddhism, Islam and Christianity​. I

With my grades showing the effect of not caring about much of anything, I dropped out of school and took off for Wyoming. Three months there, then on to San Francisco; and five months later, I moved again, this time to New York City. From dropping out early in 1975 through half of 1979, I never stayed any one place longer than a few months. I would get a job, get a few hundred dollars ahead, then move on. There wasn’t an answer to my snarling questions anywhere I went. I started reading the Bible again in January of 1979 in the midst of a growing fear and anxiety over life. I sought solace. I had tried escaping and it wasn’t working.

A friend along the way had mentioned once that Boone was a beautiful place. Nearly out of money again and not working, I looked at a map to find Boone. I liked the location and bought a bus ticket to North Carolina. The Greyhound bus stop was the parking lot of the Long Vue Motel in June of 1979 (about where the Holiday Inn is located.) I stepped off the bus and noticed a huge windmill on top of a nearby mountain. I started walking in the direction of that windmill. Everything I owned in life was in a backpack, and my wallet held $65.00. I told myself if I didn’t get a job within a week, I would head to Asheville since it was a bigger town. I found work my first full day in Boone, in a restaurant kitchen.

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Big things ahead: A young David in front of the Golden Gate Bridge with his mother. San Francisco would become one of the places David turned to as he searched for answers after dropping out of college.

I did, because a young man picked me up as he headed there for worship! The building where the church met back then is located where the Seventh Day Adventist building is now on Old Hwy 421.

I hung out for the summer not sure I would stay in Boone. In August, I ended up going to a Christian concert held in I. G. Greer at ASU, put on by a small independent, non-denominational church. The first person greeting me on the steps as I entered the concert met my eyes and something in my heart stirred. I could not remember ever seeing such stability and peace in a person’s eyes. The songs these people sang awoke inside me a desire to be with God.

That first time I walked in, I was amazed! This church proved to be a passionate, dedicated, and lively group of about 25 young married couples, some with small children, a smattering of middle-aged couples, and a bunch of college students. When they worshiped, the radiance on their up-turned faces competed with the sun streaming in through the big, plate glass windows of the converted pool hall.

PROCESS “OFTHEOVERCOMING

IS THE PROCESS OF LEARNING HOW TO ABIDE IN THE SPIRIT OF JESUS.

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“

An altar call at the end created a huge conflict in my heart; and I resisted the call to the front strongly.

However, I did not want to resist my curiosity about this group. A deep feeling that God was my only hope and these people knew the way to Him pushed me to meet them on their turf and experience more of what I had seen and heard at ASU. A week later on Sunday morning, I hitch-hiked 421 East toward Winston-Salem. I decided that was the correct direction and figured, I’d find it.

They called the church Watauga Christian Center back in that day. When they moved locations, they changed the name of the church to Living Water Christian Fellowship. In 2014 the church beside the bowling alley in Boone changed its name to Harvest House.

BEGINNING AGAIN IN GOD

For two weeks after I found this church in 1979, I attended every meeting these people had, and totally immersed myself in the culture. On my third Sunday when the pastor gave the altar call, I faced my first quandary. Was I saved in that Methodist church at fifteen? Did I need to respond to the altar call?

The music played softly; the pastor beckoned for decisions for Christ, and my thoughts deepened into a theological musing over what “salvation” is. He moved on to an invitation to be water baptized. My hand shot up! “This is where I start again,” I thought to myself, little realizing how this simple step of obedience would be my first step in my journey of walking out life in submission to the loving Spirit of God. Once that decision was made, I was ready to consider a future with Jesus Christ as the Lord of my life. As a 24 year old I began to ponder the idea of the possibility of marriage and family. Through my study of Scripture, I began to consider living a celibate life so that I could devote my life more fully to the Lord’s service. 1​st Corinthians 7:1-7 ​ p rescribes that as a possibility for whom God has given the grace to remain single. However, as I grew in my relationship with my Heavenly Father, I realized marriage was an option I should consider.

A year later in August of 1980 I met Freida Evans and shortly thereafter, before we even dated, we both felt the Lord had led us to one another. Seven months later we married and my life as part of a family began. I had a goal and faith that I would be a better husband and father than I had known.

The Lord is faithful, so very faithful. He redeems, guides and comforts. Yet, we are responsible to process our overcoming of the natural, sinful man in rebellion against God. This rebellion is written on our souls by both birth as that natural, sinful human and the marks of our upbringing. The birth in the Spirit, which occurs at the moment of our moving in faith to accept the atonement of Jesus, is the beginning of the process.

As I walked through the deepening of my love for my wife, as we had children—five in seven years!—I did as most do, I suppose. I loved them, but I sometimes reacted from my old nature instead of my new nature in Christ.

A LIFELONG JOURNEY WITH JESUS I would ask forgiveness for my impatience, my anger, my lack of understanding, and so on, then move on. I couldn’t put my finger on why I behaved as I did. I just understood it as my sinful nature. T ​ he process of overcoming is the process of learning how to abide in the Spirit of Jesus over and above and beyond what our natural feelings are. Maturing at this takes a lifetime.

I enjoyed being a dad and was more than my dad had been. I never cussed, never sought intimacy outside of marriage, never abandoned the family. Nor did I smash furniture in drunken rages or degrade my wife in front of our children as modeled for me.

I did trip over stumbling blocks though, and one in particular I didn’t see. I wrapped myself up in church work and assumed my children would mature into adults who loved God and served Him as long as I continually pointed to

New priorities: David’s five children on the first day of school in 1994, from left to right: (back) Emma Beth, Jesse, Josiah, (front) Jacob, and Anna.

Him in all things, exposed them to much talk over the scripture, and prayed for them and with them. All these things I did. However, I didn’t do what I might have to strengthen them emotionally. That is, I did not actively develop a deep heart to heart relationship with each one.

Did I love them deeply? Yes. Did they know I was always for them? No, because I so frequently made the issue of why and how I parented them by addressing whether or not their actions were obedience. I made their sinful nature the rationale for my interaction with them often. I did not often seek to equip them through love to love others sacrificially.

it was a wakeup call to me, as I realized, with God’s help, some of the impact of my parenting style: I was distant emotionally but close by with correction. ​T he Lord guided me clearly to an understanding that I had not helped win Josiah’s heart, nor any of his siblings’ hearts, into a submission and dedication to loving God and others. Though, I had taught this verbally as the essence of the Gospel.

The remaining three years of his high school years were difficult. Much happened. At one point, I came home from work, and Josiah had packed a bag and planned on leaving home. The following year, I suggested that maybe his moving out was needed since he could not honor our restrictions on some of his behavior. We had long talks about how rules were limits on him for his overall safety, not simply a need he perceived I had to be controlling. I had helped build that perception, and I had to help deconstruct it.

“WITHI REALIZED, GOD’S HELP,

That may not seem like a big issue to some, but by reducing the Gospel to obedience first, as proof of love, the point is missed that a developed love motivates a person to obedience as a choice.

Obedience chosen out of authentic love is the goal.

Obedience simply expected or demanded based on fear of consequences is not really obedience at all. It is perfunctory performance in front of the authority figure which is easily abandoned when one desires and thinks authority can be deceived or ignored.

SOME OF THE IMPACT OF MY PARENTING STYLE: I WAS DISTANT EMOTIONALLY BUT CLOSE

BY WITH CORRECTION.

In February of 1997, I had this point driven home to me when my oldest son, Josiah, was 14 years old. Freida and I agreed to let him stay home alone while we attended a Christian School conference. We saw this as an opportunity for Josiah to demonstrate responsibility. He saw it as an opportunity to have a party at our house, which, long story short, landed him in jail.

I would like to report that this was a wakeup call for Josiah, but it wasn’t. It was just the beginning of a 4 year rebellion against God. But​

“

A RUDE, BUT MUCH NEEDED AWAKENING

Of course, the most beneficial thing I did was pray and wait on God. In the summer after graduating high school, he came to me one day with tears in his eyes, “Dad,” he said, “I get it.”

“Get what, Son? “God gets joy out of giving to His children.”

I rejoiced, and he has never turned from the course of love and obedience he chose that summer. I will never turn from praising God and blessing His name for His redemption of us fallen humans and for the opportunity to be a father to my wonderful son and his siblings. I will continue to turn and look for ever increasing maturity in the spirit of Christ.

I believe, so will Josiah.

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Donuts, coffee, and community: Husband and wife Josiah and Meredith Davis, the proud owners of Local Lion, stand in front of a mural inside the business.

Local Lion has been a community favorite for the eight years since its doors first opened.

By Ben Cox and Josiah Davis

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J

osiah and Meredith Davis are the owners of a popular donut and coffee shop in Boone called Local Lion. David and Freida Davis are Josiah’s parents and long time (41 years) friends of myself and my wife Connie. The reason I have chosen to feature the testimonies of David and his son together in this issue is because their stories both highlight how crucial it is for each one of us to have our own personal “come to Jesus” moments, where we surrender to God’s will and purpose for our lives.

such thing as perfect parents or children, we all experience growing pains, whether we’re the child or the parent.

As he reflected on his personal relationship with God, Josiah remembered with fondness the time when he first made a decision to follow Christ at nine years old. “My dad baptized me when I was a kid,” he said. “I remember that. It was like a light was turned on in my heart when I came out of the water, and people were singing and clapping and praising God.” Wouldn’t it be great if our children’s innocence could be protected from that point on?

TO “ ISEESEEMED THAT HE

WAS COVERED IN DARKNESS AND THAT SAME DARKNESS COVERED ME. I WAS ON THAT SAME PATH OF RUIN.

As I listened to these two men tell their stories, I was amazed again at God’s amazing grace!

One way this grace is evidenced is by the Lord’s relentless pursuit of us even when we’re trying to run away from Him. Though raised in a strong Christian home by parents who were immersed in the Church life of a strong Christian community, Josiah chose to run, until God’s love broke through.

Josiah is no different than many of us who were raised in Christian homes. He had a normal, well-adjusted childhood, raised by a loving mom and dad, who sincerely endeavored to provide for their children mentally, physically, emotionally and spiritually. But since there’s no

I’ve been grateful to observe and share the strong testimonies in this magazine of those who made early decisions for Christ and have stayed true to and matured in their faith through the years! However, there are far too many who stray from the faith, sometimes never to return. In Josiah’s case, his slide began when he began to look up to and be influenced by the wrong kind of people. Here’s how Josiah explains that process:

“

Besides that, each of these men’s lives illustrate that coming into a relationship with God is just the first step in a journey where we’re meant to experience an on-going, ever-deepening relationship with God. “Growing in the wisdom and the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” means that we are continually transformed until that day when our “faith is made sight” at our death or at Jesus’ return.

“I remember this group came into a church lockin from a different school, probably 8th grade or 7th grade. And there were all these different kinds of kids that I’d never been around before.

I guess in a Christian school you grow up like, the world is out there and we’re in here, right?

So, when I hit about 8th grade, I started to be like, what is this world out there? As a result of those types of experiences and my own independent nature, when I left the Christian school where my dad was the Principal and where I attended until the 8th grade, I didn’t want to hang out with Christians.

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Full house: Josiah at Topsail Island with his parents and four siblings, from left to right: David, Emma Beth, Jacob, Anna, Josiah, Freida, and Jesse.

I wanted to hang out with a certain crew in high school, and I wanted to experience the world. I guess I’m saying my rebellion wasn’t rooted in anger towards my dad or toward the Church as much as it was the desire to experience the world.

I wanted to get high due to selfish curiosity, and the allure of the world driven temptation. And once I kind of got on that path then I was on that path. I don’t know that I started out wanting to get high, but after I got high the first time it became a lifestyle I got ensnared in, which led to full scale rebellion.

I was not listening. I shut my ears and eyes to everything that my dad and mom said and what the rules had to say. I just didn’t care.

Essentially, as I got further into stuff, I started to reap the rewards of that, and to see the shallowness of relationships that are forged around getting high and partying all the time.

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It was in this time period that I was covered in darkness and that got into a conversation with my same darkness covered me. I was dad about my future plans, which on that same path of ruin. In that did not include college or a career moment, I saw a seed of light, path. I told him that I just wanted literal light. It reminded me of the to experience adventure. Rather light I experienced as a 9-year-old than challenge me that I needed at my baptism. I simply knew it to be responsible or tell me I was was Jesus. unrealistic like my teachers in high school were doing, he gave From that point on, I guess my ears me a copy of Madam Guyon’s​ really started to open. Who knows ‘Experiencing the Depths of Jesus how much God said to me before, Christ’. I put the book in my when I was just hard-hearted and backpack and began reading it at wasn’t listening? But my ears school.” started to open. At some point I just went and confessed all my As he grew more and more crap to my parents, and confession disillusioned with the party started helping me get free.” lifestyle, Josiah slowly began to find his way back to the Lord, Josiah’s father, David, is widely when his relationship with God known in our community as Mr. suddenly turned a corner.

D, because that’s the nickname that stuck from his years as a “Soon after, I was drinking at a beloved principal and teacher at party and saw a character across Appalachian Christian School and the room who was known to have then as a middle school teacher ruined his mind and life with at Parkway Elementary. David drugs. It was as if my eyes were worked hard to warm his son’s opened, I seemed to see that he heart to God, admitting his own

Growing together in God: Josiah and his father David smile inside Local Lion. David now works for Josiah, baking some of the delicious donuts that the shop is famous for.

shortcomings along the way. “We had long talks about how rules were limits on him for his overall safety, not simply a need he perceived I had to be controlling,” David said. “I had helped build that perception, and I had to help deconstruct it.”

of His love and then it helps me.

Essentially, God’s love is what gets me through. It’s what will renew me. I don’t know that there’s this conversion moment as much as the confession of freedom and then endeavoring to walk that out.

“So,” Josiah said, “​ I started confessing, and I was also simultaneously being awakened to loving the Lord. It’s like I just started walking into freedom.

Essentially, I told the Lord that Your love is more important to me than getting high, that I don’t have the strength to do this by myself, and that walking in communion with You is way more important to me than getting high.

I guess I’ve always had this desire for experience. And my dad helped me to see and connected with me to see that could be fulfilled in God. I started to realize that there was fulfillment for me for who I was as a person in God. So that was also that part that became one of the driving forces in my life. God’s love and experiencing God’s love became what I was living for. I started to experience God, and the fruit was good.”

To this day, the importance of not doing things that adversely affect my love relationship with Him is still what guides my way. For example, I’ll get a bad attitude or hard-hearted about something, and then God will remind me

As a close friend of the Davis family who pastored the church where Josiah grew up, it’s gratifying for me to behold how Josiah’s journey has led him back to ASU, to a Master ’s of Theology (MTh) in Church History from

Wales Lampeter University, and now into ownership of Local Lion.

Another cool twist to this story is that Josiah’s dad, who retired from Parkway Elementary School after years of teaching the middle school students there, now works for him, baking those delicious donuts that are served at Local Lion.

In the uncertain times that we business owners are currently facing, Josiah has served as a shining example to both myself and the community of how to stay positive and to keep trusting in the Lord, no matter what our uncertain futures hold. Both of these men have continually had their lives shaped by the Lord, and they continue to live their lives by His guidance each and every day. Thank you, Mr. D and Josiah D, for what you and your contributions mean to the older and younger generations here in the High Country.

THE JOURNEY | Summer 2020

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By Rebecca Jan Turner and Paul Turner

A

t age 96, Billie Alice Edwards Watts Baldwin is no longer that sparkling, vivacious woman who spent her days filling the world around her with the joys of living for The Lord.

The toll of years has taken so many things from her, in so many ways. There is something, though, that remains intact: the foundation of her strength, of her joy, and of her very existence. That foundation is her absolute faith in God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

Billie was born on April 11, 1924 in the tiny community of Baldwin, North Carolina to Jim and Margaret Edwards; staunch Christians

who brought all their children up in faith and obedience to The Word.

In those hard days before and during the Great Depression, community churches were the focus of social and spiritual life in these mountains.

Living off the land was necessary for survival; church offered both a respite for the body and food for the soul.

While attending revival services at the old Beaver Creek Christian Church, 10 year-old Billie accepted Christ and was baptized in the nearby creek. She never imagined then that she would later spend many years as the Minister ’s Wife of that same church.

THE JOURNEY | Summer 2020

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She never imagined then the triumphs and challenges that her life would offer, nor could she foresee how much her growing faith would sustain, support, strengthen and protect her.

Her first real test of that faith was the failure of her marriage to John Watts.

Marriage is a holy sacrament of the church, a sacred promise, a life-long commitment. Billie believed all those things completely. The utter collapse of the life that she thought she was building was devastating.

Fearing that divorce would lead to eternal damnation, still she took their 2-year-old son Johnny and left. While the rest of the world reeled from the horrors of World War II, Billie endured long days of pain and prayer as she sought for and eventually found her solace, and her own absolution, in the Holy Scriptures: God has made us human; humans make mistakes; and He promises forgiveness.

Billie would later say that only three good things came out of that awful time: her son, the five year diary that John had given her on New Year ’s Day, 1941, and her first steps onto the path that the Will of God had begun to lay out for her.

Those early entries are the beginnings of a daily ritual that would continue, day after day, year after year until failing eyesight forced her to stop writing at age 90. The sixteen journals recount a faith in God, a life lived expressing that faith, and teaching, by word and example, the power of God’s infinite love and care. As one of her favorite songs says: “No, no it is not an easy road. But Jesus walks beside me, brightens my journey and lightens every heavy load.”

That first diary—today a worn leather-bound book held together with ribbon, the words now

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THE JOURNEY | Summer 2020

fading on yellowed pages—chronicles not just her efforts to become closer to God but also the mundane, day-to-day events of her life during that time. And not always the mundane. Here is the entry for December 7, 1941: “Wash day today. War was declared”.

May 16, 1944: “Rode to town with Bob and Lucy. Picked up sugar with ration stamps.”

Here is the one for May 1, 1945: “They say Hitler died today. Made muffins for us and took some to Mom.” And for August 14, 1945: “V-J Day. THE WAR IS OVER!” No matter what else happened in the outside world, daily life in Ashe County continued much as it always had.

Some entries were very personal, reflecting her sorrow and pain. On November 19, 1944, she wrote: “It’s Sunday late. I hear snowflakes hitting the window. Our first snow of the winter and it’s kind of a lonely sound. Maybe my grandchildren will read all this one day. This is my hope and prayer, that I would not have lived my life in vain.”

And May 13, 1946: “John is in Florida. I don’t know what to do.

Guess I’ll get a divorce. There are just some things that you can’t know until it’s too late.

Anyway, I’ve got Little Johnny, and he is something to be proud of. I’ll get by. I have to.”

Billie took a job at The City Café in West

A nine-year-old Billie and her younger brother Jimmie perch on a wagon, accompanied by a dog and a baby doll.

A little blessing: Billie sits for a photo with her infant son, Johnny, in 1943.

Jefferson. There she met the man who would change her life, and his - John Baldwin. They would share 56 years of love and laughter, tears and sorrow.

BILLIE NEVER “ DOUBTED THAT GOD WOULD PROVIDE...

NEVER DOUBTED THAT GOD IS IN CONTROL.

John would often accompany Billie and the children to services at Beaver Creek Christian Church.

One evening during a revival service Billie watched as John stepped out during the Invitation hymn and knelt down at the altar. She followed, and re-dedicated her life to Christ. Neither of them ever looked back.

John became more and more interested in the Word of God. He spent hours reading his Bible.

Soon he began to teach a Sunday School class at Beaver Creek. In 1957 he felt his call to preach.

That September he enrolled in Milligan College in Johnson City, Tennessee to begin studying for the ministry. Billie’s life as a Minister ’s Wife had begun.

Financially, things were tough. His first year at Milligan John commuted the sixty miles to Johnson City and back every day. Billie was working at a department store in West Jefferson; the only income that the family had.

In 1958 John, Billie and the children moved to Johnson City. Billie again found work in a department store there, and John was able to spend more time on his studies by not having

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THE JOURNEY | Summer 2020

Though finances were hardly any better than before, Billie never doubted that God would always provide. And through the kindness of friends, the little bit of money that the Beaver Creek Church paid John to preach on Sundays, and Billie’s job, God did.

The following August, John was hired as parttime minister at Liberty Church in Mountain City, Tennessee. By 1959, the Dewey Christian Church, also in Mountain City, had hired him to preach there on the two Sundays that he wasn’t preaching at Liberty. Full-time ministry at Dewey soon followed. After once again commuting each Sunday, this time from Johnson City, the family moved to Mountain City in May, 1959.

“

John Baldwin was not yet a Christian when he and Billie married on August 16, 1946.

In April 1947 they moved to Dayton, Ohio to find work.

They returned to Ashe County only a few months later for Billie to give birth to their daughter Rebecca Jan.

to drive three hours a day.

The next move came in 1961, to Stone Memorial Christian Church in Collinsville, Virginia. They would remain there until 1973.

At Stone Memorial, Billie blossomed. She was accustomed to small church buildings and small congregations. Stone Memorial boasted an impressive sanctuary and a large, active congregation. Although initially apprehensive, Billie once again enthusiastically embraced the role of “Minister ’s Wife”. Teaching Sunday school, singing in the choir, participating in church activities, Billie soon made life-long friends that remained close no matter which church she and John were serving.

She has said the sad, final good-byes to most of them in the years since. There is comfort in the assurance that they will all meet again.

An even larger, grander church was waiting for John and Billie in Virginia Beach, Virginia.

The Kempsville Christian Church hired John immediately, and with full 100% acceptance, after his trial sermon in June, 1973. A move to Virginia Beach soon followed.

By late 1976, Billie had become anxious to return to Ashe County to help care for her mother.

Never doubting that God is in control, Billie and John were delighted to find that the little church at Beaver Creek, now in a larger building and with a growing congregation, was in need of a minister.

Back now at where it all began, they served Beaver Creek Christian Church until John’s retirement in 1994. Both remained active members—Billie as Sunday school teacher, John designated Pastor Emeritus—until his health began to fail. Billie continued her teaching as long as she was able to do so.

Local advertising, invitations to churches far and wide, and word-of-mouth eventually brought women of all denominations, all ages, and all races to Beaver Creek Christian Church each April to enjoy a day of songs, inspirational messages from noted women speakers and writers, the solemn Prayer Walk, and the loving fellowship among sisters in Christ.

Billie was the featured speaker that first year and several times after, resulting in her being asked to speak at other retreats over the years, from Virginia to Texas.

The final Retreat was held in April, 2012. Billie spoke. She was 88 years old. There were 238 ladies in attendance.

From all of Billie’s many accomplishments during those years; all the traveling, the teaching, the fellowship that a church-centered life brings, two signature achievements stand out.

The first is “Walking With Our Wonderful Lord”, a play Billie wrote and subsequently produced several times while at Kempsville. It tells the story of Jesus, from Bethlehem to Calvary. The play has also been presented at Beaver Creek.

She will tell you now, however, that her proudest moments are those from the Ladies Prayer Retreat, a yearly event that she and the other members of the Beaver Creek Ladies Circle initiated in 1982.

Happy times: Billie and her husband John smile for the camera, not long after returning to Beaver Creek Christian Church in Ashe County.

The written story of a life well-lived is mostly just a factual re-telling of events, strung together like beads on a string. The missing elements are the warmth of a smile, the light in an eye, the joyful ring of a laugh, the visible ache of tears.

Left unwritten here are the private struggles of illnesses, the pain of losses, the sadness of goodbyes, the fears of change. Celebrations, gatherings, and happy times are bright memories. Unwritten too are the joys and heartaches surrounding children, grandchildren, family, friends, and the church families as well.

All of it remains hidden in her diaries. And all of it forged in service to, and with strength from, the Lord. As she once said: “Facts are just facts. The miracle is in the living them.”

Even today, nearly blind, deaf, and seeming as frail as a newborn, Billie still wakes each morning with joy in her heart and a smile on her face.

She can still quote, although not quite verbatim these days, the story of the Nativity from the Book of Luke. She maintains a lengthy prayer list. She says Grace at the table before every meal.

THE JOURNEY | Summer 2020

She published a memoir in 2006, “The Road is Mine”, that has proved an inspiration to all who have read it.

Most of her friends and nearly all of her immediate family have passed on. She recently joked that her funeral would be a short one because all of the preachers that she would have wanted to speak were already dead, except for one! “And I pray for his continued good health all the time.” she says with a laugh.

A warm smile and heart: Billie beams and waves, a familiar accompaniment to all of her greetings and goodbyes.

Unable to read even her Bible, she passes the time by choosing a letter from the alphabet, and then trying to remember as many Bible verses, or the names of hymns, as she can that begin with that letter. “F” is a hard one, she says.

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Although she is no longer able to attend services she remains interested in the activities and members of Beaver Creek Church.

Billie lives every day as she has for more than 80 years: praising God, obeying The Commandments, drawing strength from the promises written in the Scriptures and kept in her heart. The depth of her faith is almost unfathomable. She offers no advice except for this, taken from the last lines of her book:

“If reading my story has touched someone who has not met Christ, then my humble prayer is that they will read Acts 2:38, obey it, live for Him, and meet me at the end of my road”.

“Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.”

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Welcome back to Boone!

That’s what I want to say to Edward Graham and his family, on behalf of the High Country. Edward and his wife Kristy, along with their four children, have answered the call of the Holy Spirit to come back to fulfill God’s purpose for the next phase of his life here at Samaritan’s Purse (SP), where his father, Franklin Graham has served as CEO for 43 years.

I would venture to say that there’s no one in the High Country that doesn’t know something about Samaritan’s Purse. It began small in the late 1970s at office space above Watauga Surgical Center. At that time, Dr. Richard Furman and his brother, Dr. Lowell Furman, had donated the space to Franklin Graham so he could operate SP and work with them on its medical arm, World Medical Mission. From those small beginnings Samaritan’s Purse has now grown into a wellknown, worldwide ministry with campuses here in Watauga and also Wilkes County.

When you couple the impact of SP with the ministries of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association that has headquarters in Charlotte and Asheville, NC, it’s truly astounding!!

However, it’s important to keep in mind that this is only one testimony, among many, of how the Lord can enable His people to work together in miraculous ways to bring people to the Lord Jesus Christ who alone is the hope of the world.

Samaritan’s Purse is not the hope of the world; our different churches and ministries are not the hope of the world; Jesus alone is the One who can save our souls and supernaturally change our lives from the inside out to enable us to be so much more than we could ever be on our own. As British evangelist Henry Varley once preached in 1873, “The world has yet to see what God can do with, and for, and through, and in a man who is fully and wholly consecrated to Him.” So, we extend our High Country welcome to Edward and Kristy Graham and family, and we are going to discover through Edward’s testimony that he comes as a simple servant.

He’s not just coming to his earthly father’s ministry at SP, but also as one among many here in the High Country who have consecrated themselves to their heavenly Father’s will and purpose for their lives in and through their employment at Samaritan’s Purse.

It’s hard to fully appreciate how much impact our little mountain town has made on the world, without getting to know some of the wonderful people that the Lord has called here to serve His Kingdom’s cause and purpose through the ministries of SP.

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And as I concluded my interview with Edward that day, I was moved to tears to hear Edward’s testimony and see in him his passion to be a servant leader like our Saviour was.

We rejoice together at the thought of one day having our ultimate purpose being fulfilled by hearing these words from our Lord when we enter into eternity with Him: “Well done, good and faithful servant, Enter into the joy of your Lord” Matt. 25;23 (NKJV) THE JOURNEY | Summer 2020

A servant’s heart: Edward Graham speaks at a chapel service at West Point Academy, where he began his many years of military service.

By Ben Cox with Edward Graham of Samaritan’s Purse

E

dward Graham was born in Boone, NC as one of Franklin and Jane Graham’s four children. There were three boys and then Cissie, their little sister, came along. Will is the oldest and the only one born outside of Boone.

But Roy, Edward, and Cissie were all born at the Watauga County hospital. And Boone is where they all consider to be home.

Even so, Edward never expected to come back to live in the High Country; and he was pretty adamant about NOT doing so until the Lord intervened in unmistakable ways.

As Edward tells it, he had been asked numerous times if he ever saw himself coming back to Boone to work at SP and his answer was always an emphatic NO! His wife asked him, his dad asked him, the General he was working for when his Grandfather died asked him and he had always said no. As far as he was concerned he was called to a full time career in the military.

He might consider retiring in Boone after he had achieved his goal of commanding a ranger battalion, but not until then. But, before telling the story of how he changed his mind about moving back to Boone, let’s consider how he came into the type of relationship with God where he learned how to discover God’s specific will for his life.

Besides being immersed in a culture where he was constantly exposed to the gospel message through his Grandfather ’s evangelistic ministry and his dad’s ministry, his family always emphasized the importance for each of their children to make their own personal decision to follow Christ.

Edward remembers the first time he asked what it meant to be a Christian when he was 5 years old. He remembers vividly his mother explaining to him what a Christian was and praying with him. But it was in high school as a part of the youth group at Mount Vernon Baptist Church when he made his own decision to follow Christ.

Then, as Edward explains it, “When I went to the United States Military Academy is where my relationship with Jesus Christ really became front and center and the rock that I sat on and relied on.”

It was in that context that Edward realized more fully the importance of living a life of intimate fellowship and full surrender to the Lord.

As Edward was learning, at an early age, of the importance of having this kind of relationship with Christ, he also had a strong desire to be an Army ranger.

THE JOURNEY | Summer 2020

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“I had two posters on my wall growing up. One was an army ranger, the other was a West Point poster. I always wanted to go into the military and serve in special operations. So, when you have those two posters and you graduate Watauga High School, what do you do? Well, I went to Liberty University and I played soccer but, after being there for a year, I realized I wasn’t living my dream,” said Edward.

So Edward decided to talk with a high school friend, Greg Cooper, who went straight from High School to West Point Military Academy. Through Greg’s influence, Edward would transfer to West Point.

Edward said, “At his retirement ceremony I watched him get in the car. And his wife came up [to me], kissed me on the cheek and said, ‘Edward, it’s all yours.’ And as they drove away I asked myself, Is that me in 15 years? Is that how I walk away? And the answer came back as a clear no and it hurt.”

In that same time frame, Edward remembers going to speak at the Billy Graham Library for a veteran’s event. Dr. Richard Furman was at the event and asked Edward if he could speak with him.

“FELTI DEFINITELY FRUSTRATED, HURT, AND BROKEN AT TIMES; BUT I WAS NEVER ALONE.

Edward joined the Army to lead men and to lead men into combat. He was surrounded by men of great character and moral fiber. There were even many believers in special operations. And the Lord blessed Edward, but there were some horrible times as well.

“The Lord always delivered me and was always beside me. I never felt alone,” said Edward. ”I definitely felt frustrated, hurt, and broken at times; but I was never alone. And I finally just got to the point where I knew that maybe I was meant for more, and that’s when I did some heavy praying.”

As it turns out, Edward’s prayers began to be answered even as his dream of becoming a commander began to unfold. In our interview he tells the story of working as a personal assistant to a three-star general and then being there as he retired.

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THE JOURNEY | Summer 2020

“

Edward said, “It was there that I ended up living my dream of joining the ranger regiment. That’s what I always wanted to do, and I ended up doing that pretty much for the next 16 years of my military career.”

Here’s the way Edward described that meeting as a pivotal point in his decision to come back to Boone: “Dr. Richard Furman, whom many of you know in this community, was the equivalent to me of a godfather, if we’d had such a thing. He was also one of my mentors. He always prayed for me, and prayed for me my whole career in the military. But he wanted to meet up and talk.

And we talked about the future of Samaritan’s Purse, where it was headed, where I was headed. And he asked if I would be interested in coming back to Samaritan’s Purse.”

Years earlier, Edward’s father, Franklin, had asked if he would be willing to leave the rangers and come to work for him; and Edward said no.

Edward said, “I did not want to work for my father. I never wanted to be in the ministry. To be honest, I think it never looks good when a lot of family is working together in the same ministry.”

But after his conversation with Dick Furman, he committed to coming if something happened to his father. He drove home that day, called his wife and told her what he had committed to.

Happy to help: Edward and wife Kristy volunteer by helping pass out shoeboxes for Operation Christmas Child at a church in Ecuador.

“You should never commit to something like that without talking to your spouse first,” Edward said.

His wife, Kristy, knew he had been struggling.

They talked and they prayed and still Edward was restless. He didn’t sleep for a couple days, until finally he called his dad and told him, “If you want me, I’m yours. I’ll come.”

“Boy that hurt,” said Edward. “It’s not what I wanted to say. But I knew I had to say it.”

About two days later, in continuing the conversation, his father said, “Edward, I want you to stay in the military until retirement.”

Edward was only four years away from the earliest time he could retire.

Edward’s wife was so relieved when he told her.

She loved the Army, it’s all she’s ever known.

She grew up as a military brat being born and raised in the Army. And she loved what Edward did. And she wanted him to command in the rangers maybe more than he did.

Then, yet again, Edward didn’t sleep. He called his brother Will and he called his brother Roy. And Will shared the story of leaving the ninetynine to go after the one.

Will was the pastor of a church in Raleigh when their father had asked him to come and help at the Billy Graham Association. And Will said no for years. Edward had never asked Will why he eventually went. Will shared his story and he broke down crying. He was cutting grass one day when it hit him. And he left, because he felt that calling.

When Edward talked to his brother Roy he asked him if he should stay until retirement.

Roy told him the disciples left their nets in the water, and they followed—they didn’t go and sell the fish, and they didn’t go and tell their mother goodbye. They left and followed Jesus.

“So, I called dad back and said, ‘Dad I’m getting out.’ I got out four years shy of retirement,” said Edward.

THE JOURNEY | Summer 2020

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Military Service: Edward Graham has been deployed eight times during his career with the Army. Between Afghanistan and Iraq, he spent most of his time in Afghanistan. Six of his deployments were there. “Edward said, I know that country well. I know combat in that country well. And there were some hard times.”

Edward didn’t return to Boone because he expected to run Samaritan’s Purse some day.

His only commitment is to the Lord who told him to come.

Edward said, “God called me to come and serve alongside my father and under him, to learn from him, to help him finish strong and to help transition Samaritan’s Purse to whoever he or she is in the future, that God ordains to run this organization.”

That’s his calling. To help that transition. But Samaritan’s Purse is a lot larger than it was when he left. Edward’s last job at SP was pulling weeds in high school.

Since coming to SP in January of 2019, Edward’s job description has been to work in all the major departments so as to get a big picture grasp of things. So he has been spending about six months with each Vice President in the company.

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THE JOURNEY | Summer 2020

Edward started out going after storms and tornadoes and hurricanes with Luther Harrison in North American Ministries. Luther was a local cop whom everyone knew. He too retired early to work there. The Samaritan’s Purse campus in Boone is built on Luther ’s old family farm and he still lives across the street. So they tease that when SP came here and bought the land, Luther came with it. Edward has learned a lot from Luther and his heart to serve.

Then Edward moved on to Operation Christmas Child (OCC).

Edward said, “Jim Harrelson and the Lord have taken that ministry to incredible places. I was here when we first collected, it was about 7,000 shoe boxes that first season. This year was over 10 million. [It’s] unbelievable how God’s using that as an instrument to share the gospel around the world. It’s not just a box full of toys. They’re gospel opportunities and the gospel is presented at each passing out of

gifts. Then there’s discipleship training and mentorship training that goes on with these children and it’s working. And Jim’s just doing an unbelievable job.”

After OCC, Edward had just switched to projects with Kenny Isaacs when the pandemic hit.

“So I’ve been drinking from the fire hose,” said Edward.

Kenny’s is another family that everyone knows.

He was drilling wells for Dewey Wright Well and Pump company and then he went to go work for SP in Ethiopia. Edward calls him the godfather because so many different parts of the ministry have spawned from Kenny’s leadership.

Coming from a special operations community, Edward has high expectations of what talent is, and he’s seeing it all around him. He has been overwhelmed to see how the Lord has blessed SP and entrusted them with such talented people.

“So my purpose is to serve, said Edward. “I was a servant as a leader. I believe in servant leadership. In the military I served. Here I serve as well. And I serve my Lord and Savior.”

IDENTITY “- I MY SURRENDERED, I GAVE IT UP. I’M THE LORD’S SERVANT

“I never want to be that guy that holds on to that one bag and comes back and says here’s your one bag back,” said Edward. “The Lord has entrusted us with talent, with people here.

And the Lord expects us to go out there with His resources and serve aggressively and boldly in the name of Jesus Christ.”

And the staff at SP, whether it’s with Luther, with Jim in Operation Christmas Child, with Kenny’s team, or the other many wonderful departments - the staff is willing to go out there and partner with the local church to bring people to Christ.

Edward said, “We’re not the church. We’re not the church. But we partner with the local church. Because one day Samaritan’s Purse will

“

Edward has learned from Scripture in his life and in his short time at SP to be a good steward of what you have, whether God entrusts you with five bags of gold, two bags of gold, or one bag of gold.

leave the storm, when the work is done it’ll be time for us to move on. But we want that church to be more equipped, more emboldened, more placed into the community... And that’s what I love seeing the staff do.”

Edward has learned from life and combat that there are things that happen that are much bigger than him and he can’t control them. He has had to learn to surrender them and give them up.

“My identity — I surrendered, I gave it up. I’m the Lord’s servant,” said Edward.

So Edward is serving wherever the Lord takes him. For now the Lord has him here in Boone to help lead SP to always be a ministry that is committed to the Lord and to Scripture, to serve in the name of Jesus Christ wherever they go, and to be bold and never back down.

So, as Edward said, “When we get there everyone will know that we’re there to serve and love in the name of Jesus Christ.” *Visit www.JourneyNC.com to watch our full video interview with Edward Graham at Samaritan’s Purse.

THE JOURNEY | Summer 2020

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A life-changing diagnosis: Sharon Stacy, at Arborcrest Gardens in Boone. For months, Sharon struggled with a debilitating mystery illness, before being diagnosed with Lyme disease in early 2017.

In October 2016, Sharon and her family all came down with a routine winter sickness, the kind nearly every family with small children has experienced. Her husband and children quickly recovered, but Sharon just kept getting worse.

By Zachary Hoffman “The only true freedom and peace I’ve ever experienced is in resting in God’s sovereignty and knowing that He is in control over everything.

Every tick bite,

every illness,

every storm.

There is nothing that happens without His authority; and while I wouldn’t have chosen illness, I know that if I’m never healed God is using it for good,” said Sharon Stacy.

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THE JOURNEY | Summer 2020

Sharon said, “In addition to losing 25 pounds in the span of two months I also lost my ability to read and drive. I experienced tremors, extreme nausea and fatigue. I became extremely sensory sensitive to smells, sounds and lights. I would forget where I was and forget words and names.

I couldn’t handle temperature changes. I became intolerant to foods I had eaten my whole life. My bones felt like they were burning and I had the sensation that my whole body was constantly vibrating. I had trouble sleeping and would often wake up soaking in sweat and gasping for air. I couldn’t move my head without becoming really disoriented so I moved my body when I had to look at something or talk to someone. I had nerve pain in my face that hurt all the time.

It was behind my eyes, on my forehead, down my nose and into my teeth.”

Sharon went to an Ear Nose and Throat doctor (ENT), convinced it was an awful sinus infection. Unable to find anything, the ENT referred her to a neurologist, who ordered an MRI, which again showed nothing wrong.

Test after test gave no answers or new insights.

The only thing that showed up in testing was a low white blood cell count and a stomach virus that is usually only seen in nursing home patients.

“I don’t remember a tick bite, or a rash. Most of my friends with Lyme don’t either.” Sharon said, “I don’t look sick so it’s hard for people to understand just by looking at me how debilitating this disease really is on a day to day basis.”

“WASSOMETHING ATTACKING

MY BODY, MY NERVOUS SYSTEM, I COULD FEEL IT, AND NO ONE BELIEVED ME.

On a good day, when her vision isn’t blurry and when her nervous system isn’t acting up, she can be active and it doesn’t give her a fever.

“

“Why couldn’t they find anything? I felt like I was the lead character in a thriller,” said Sharon. “Something was attacking my body, my nervous system, I could feel it, and no one believed me.

In fact, they looked at me with pity, like I was crazy.

Was I crazy? I was starting to doubt myself.”

Lyme disease is a multi-systemic, tick-borne illness with a multitude of symptoms from mild to severe. Those who have lyme disease may suffer anything from joint pain, fever and nausea to light sensitivity, confusion, even hallucinations in some cases, and so much more. And Sharon has experienced just about every symptom along the spectrum.

During an eye appointment with Dr. Sutton, in Boone; he checked her eyes and after hearing about her symptoms told her that she had something multi-systemic going on and needed to keep looking until she got answers.

On bad days Sharon feels like she has the flu. She can’t swallow, read or drive.

She’s really dizzy and has a lot of head pressure. If she can, she just lays down and rests because she just can’t push through it.

She also had a friend at the time, Elizabeth Weigl, who had been through her own health issues and told her the same thing. “If a doctor won’t listen, thank them and find another doctor.”

It was encouragement she had desperately needed.

“I’ve had to grieve the loss of who I had been before this illness,” said Sharon. “I couldn’t be the same mom, wife, friend etc. My life changed profoundly and I gave myself and still give myself permission to grieve that.”

Finally, in April 2017, seven months after first getting sick, and even after two previous tests had come back negative, specialized testing confirmed that Sharon was suffering from Lyme disease and a host of other co-infections.

For Sharon, perhaps the biggest obstacle she has faced on this journey has been feeling scared, alone and misunderstood.

“When I first got sick I felt very hurt by the church. Being homebound for months I couldn’t understand how I could so easily be forgotten or dismissed.”

THE JOURNEY | Summer 2020

44

Three years ago, Sharon began meeting with a Christian counselor to help her overcome these feelings. Now, when she begins to feel them, she replaces these feelings with God’s truth.

“I am never alone and I am known,” she says.

Sharon has started to see the beauty of God’s hand in what she once only saw as hurt and pain. She has started to see how joy and sorrow can be felt simultaneously.

“I was never guaranteed healing in this life, or comfort, or health,” said Sharon. “But knowing that God was aware of what I was going through and He chose to show me how much He loves me, in tangible ways, was such an achingly beautiful gift.”

When she was living very dark days, she cried out on her knees—desperate, hurting, raw, honest. God opened her eyes to the little miracles He was already working around her and through her.

Into these dark nights of the soul God brought encouragement by way of unexpected friendships.

“I have felt God’s love so much through fellow believers who were willing to sit quietly with me in the dark.” Sharon said, “As Christians we should be willing to get uncomfortable in order to meet people where they are.”

Sharon would come to learn that most of these people had been through deserts themselves.

Deserts God had given them and now through them God was giving her good gifts, in order to be able to empathize better with others and to open their eyes to the needs right in front of them.

For a long time she thought it was her job to help others understand what she was going through,

45

THE JOURNEY | Summer 2020

Still searching: Sharon receives IV treatment while her young sons keep her company. Sharon has tried countless different treatments for her Lyme disease, ranging from traditional to holistic and experimental.

but then she realized that God had been putting people in her life who did understand without having to explain. It was a beautiful gift. She started to see how personal God was in showing His love and grace to her.

“He won’t leave you where you are,” Sharon said. “Be open and honest to yourself and God about how you feel. Don’t be afraid to share with those you trust.”

For Sharon, her new normal has been—try a treatment, get better, get worse, try a new treatment. She has tried conventional medicine and treatments as well as experimental and holistic treatments.

“In the chronic illness community there is a saying that ‘healing isn’t linear ’ and it’s true.

Family time: Sharon and her family enjoy a beautiful day on the Blue Ridge Parkway. Lyme disease can cause severe, life-disrupting symptoms. On good days, she’s able to be active and spend time with her family, but on bad days, she can barely move.

You take two steps forward and ten steps back a lot of times,” said Sharon.

if the treatment doesn’t work or if I don’t know what to do next.”

She has inhaled iodine mixtures, had ozone IV’s, UV light therapy, massage therapy, acupuncture, chiropractic medicine and functional neurology. Currently she is looking into a new treatment that has shown a lot of promise in the Lyme community.

There have also been two recurring themes God has seemed to be using to teach Sharon over the last several years. The first is in comparing herself to others, to not fix her eyes on them.

In the beginning when a treatment would start making her feel better, Sharon would get super excited and hopeful. Then she would be devastated when the symptoms came back. But now she has learned not to hope in treatments.

Sharon said, “I’ve learned to embrace holding onto hope for healing with my palms open and outstretched. I know that God can heal me even

Sharon said, “When I was struggling with infertility years ago I got caught up in ‘why or why not me?’ It was so easy to look at others and not understand how God could bless them when my arms were empty.”

Now, with health issues, Sharon has to be careful not to compare herself to her former healthy life or the healthy moms around her. She cannot look to the things around her for comfort and security in this life but only to God.

THE JOURNEY | Summer 2020

46

Unwavering faith: Sharon gives a thumbs up as she’s forced to rest on the couch. Despite her exhausting struggle with Lyme disease, Sharon continually finds faith, comfort, and security in God.

“Where do I end and let Him begin?” Sharon asks. “I do have responsibility but it is not my job to figure it all out or to try to control outcomes. I don’t need to look behind the curtain to prepare myself for what is to come because I’m only promised strength for today.”

Sharon has been encouraged through Jesus’ teachings in John 21:22; “If it is My will that he remain until I come, what is that to you? You follow Me!” She also has seen God’s instructions reflected in a quote from C.S. Lewis in the book The Horse And His Boy, “’Child,’ said the Lion. ‘I am telling you your story, not hers. No one is told any story but their own.’”

“I don’t need to worry,” Sharon said. “My job is to follow Him.” Another recurring theme in Sharon’s life is the need for true spiritual rest and not trying to be the one in control.

That line, “strength for today”, from the hymn Great Is Thy Faithfulness is a line that she has truly come to love.

Sharon said, “When I truly rest in Christ and let him guide my path there is always strength for today and hope for tomorrow.” *If you are suffering from a chronic illness and in need of support, you can visit the

support group, More Than, which will begin meeting again this Fall at Alliance Bible Fellowship.

For more information or to be put on a mailing list please contact: Cottrellag@gmail.com

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