Ticktock to Triumph: A Legacy of Hope and Comfort

By Betty Wyatt

Ticktock to Triumph presents a unique collection of prose and poetry written by author Betty Wyatt over the course of fifty years. It is her legacy of soul songs that offers her homespun wisdom captured in God moments, the love of nature and personal insights. She hopes her writing may comfort and give hope to people who are living with lifes daunting challenges, found in the pain of sorrow and loneliness.

• Language: English
• Publisher: iUniverse
• Release date: Aug 29, 2014
• ISBN: 9781491733325

Betty Wyatt

Journaling for spiritual growth is the process Betty Wyatt engages to capture new insights for life’s journey of faith. She enjoys her country home in northeastern Wisconsin with her dog Tucker and cats – Scamp and Tuffy Two. She continues to serve as a lay minister for a small rural Lutheran congregation while a student at Wartburg Theological Seminary in Dubuque, IA. She believes her greatest legacy is found in her children and grandchildren. They are reflective of all that is good in life. Email: [e-mail]

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Copyright © 2014 Betty Wyatt.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

Scripture verses, unless otherwise noted, are from the King James Version of the Bible.

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Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

ISBN: 978-1-4917-3331-8 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4917-3333-2 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-4917-3332-5 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2014907783

iUniverse rev. date: 8/25/2014

Contents

Preface

Acknowledgments

I. Trust

Ticktock to Triumph

Those Hills

Dare to Open Doors

Come Meet Our Savior

Turn Around—Take a Chance

Trust

Questions and Answers

Rumble, Tumble Down

Fear Not

Take the Wheel, Lord

The Journey of Trust

Once

God in the Center

Message of Trust

II. Prayer

Pull Down Those Walls, Lord

Change Me, Lord

Come, Jesus, Come

Faith’s Prayer

Prayer in Time of Struggle

Searching—Changing

Lord of My Moments

Hope, Promise, Renewal

Precious Love

Willows

The Three Es

Perception

Joshua

III. Love

The Carpenter’s Plan

The Softer Side

Thank You, Lord

Change in Seasons

Cardinal Friends in Winter

Two Flowers

Oh, But to Know

The Work before Us

I’d Rather Have Been a Lost Sheep!

Lord, How Great You Are!

Risk

For Today

Friendship’s Circle

A Firm Foundation

Mother and Daughter: Like Flowers

IV. Faith

Wait

His Best Way

Each Day with You, God

Be My Shepherd

The Call

Shadows in Time

Pieces Together

Weeds and Wheat

Having Patience

Live Life

Don’t Squash My Butterfly

Winter’s Song

Above All, You Are the Holy One

Room for Gems

Butterfly

V. Grace

Catch the Spirit

Like Peter

Misty Morning

Sister Memories

Reflections

Happiness Is Like a Butterfly

Hope from a Passing Friend

Message to a Hurting Friend

If

The Gift of Life

The Wintertime of Life

You, Lord

Jesus, Jesus, Jesus

Hidden Treasure

Grandpa

VI. Promise

Legacy

God’s Early Morning Message

Ours to Hold, Ours to Share

Lent and Easter

Ah… the Moment!

He’s Our Rainbow in the Storm

New Beginnings in His Word

Willows and Buttercups

Old Town Out West

Wispy Thoughts

The Shadow of Christ’s Presence

A Glow of His Holiness

The Mirror

Lucky

VII. Endurance

The Quest: Husband and Wife

To Your Glory

That C Word: A Journey with Cancer

CTs

Treatment

It

We Trust

Alone

Remember the Washing

Without You

Focus

Hope

Shalom Blessings

Life and All Its Corners

Living the Hills and Valleys

VIII. Hope

I’m Home

In the Forest of Grief

When You Walk through a Loss

The Victor

Seeking Widow Wholeness

How Am I?

I Sense Its Wonder

I Couldn’t Have Known

Comfort as a Friend

A Prayer for God’s Presence

Capture Each Day with Newness

Dance On

Impressions in the Sand

Cross in the Sky

Peace

Jesus Cares

Epilogue

All glory and honor to God, who gave me the inspiration to pen these poems and stories, which are dedicated to my family—Paul, Brenda and David, Jackie and Daniel, and Shelby and Wesley—and to all who find inspiration through this work.

The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters. He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me. Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.

—Psalm 23

Preface

Leaving a Legacy

As I began my final revisions in preparation of publishing Ticktock to Triumph, my husband, Paul, was battling stage 4 lung cancer. We had cancer! When we first heard the diagnosis, I tried to journal about the journey, but ultimately I just threw aside my yellow tablet. I wondered why I could not write about this time in our lives, as I had in the past recorded our daily life—no matter the struggles or accomplishments. My hands seemed frozen—unable to write of what we were living.

So many times I told friends that I wanted to publish my stories and poems, a collection penned through the years as I wrote out my prayers and as I had God moments, which awakened thoughts I simply had to put down on paper.

Of late, it seemed an urgent mission that I should gather all of these lines of experience and awakenings and share them with others—especially with those who are living with loss, grief, change, and uncertainty. Reviewing my written work helped carry Paul and me through our grief, especially during the times when I made corrections and Paul read over my collection yet again for clarity.

I had been performing pastoral duties at St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in Aniwa, Wisconsin, while simultaneously taking classes at Wartburg Theological Seminary. Cancer was a huge interruption to our lives. We were numb and angry at God, yet each of us had no other choice but to move forward. Numb—the word cancer can make people feel that way. Angry? Most certainly! Cancer didn’t figure into