The Odds of Grace: The Lynde Doup Story

By Lynde Doup

You never really know when your ‘time’ is going to come.

You never really know when

God is going to shake you and give you a violent wake- up call.

And you never really know when

What it’s going to be like when you’re hanging onto your life

By a tiny, frayed

• Language: English
• Publisher: LitFire Publishing
• Release date: Dec 20, 2019
• ISBN: 9781641511018

Book preview

The Odds of Grace

Copyright © 2018 by Lynde Doup

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher or author, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law.

Although every precaution has been taken to verify the accuracy of the information contained herein, the author and publisher assume no responsibility for any errors or omissions. No liability is assumed for damages that may result from the use of information contained within.

ISBN: 978-1-64151-101-8

Printed in the United States of America

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The Odds of Grace

by Lynde Doup

Ghost written

by

T. Jane Palmer

With God, all things are possible.

Matthew 19:26

Prologue

The truth is, you never really know when your time is going to come.

You never really know when you may take your last breath, give your last kiss to your spouse, or hug your children for the very last time.

You never really know when you might make that last phone call or see your best friend for the last time.

You never really know when God is going to shake you and give you a violent wake- up call; reminding you of how precious life is- and how you must never take it for granted.

And you never really know what it’s going to be like when you’re hanging onto your life by a tiny, frayed thread, begging God to show you His mercy as everyone around you prepares to say their goodbyes.

But I know what it’s like.

I’ve been so close to death that I saw and heard things that were otherwise imaginable. And in that stage of the ‘in between’, I could sense that my time on earth was drawing to a fast close.

My body has been broken into what once felt like a million pieces and I have heard the doctors attempt to console my family and prepare them for the worst; telling them that these broken pieces will likely never come together again. I have been so close to leaving my family behind me, with just a fleeting memory of what I used to be.

I have been alive, but unable to move or speak. Unable to reassure my family that I was indeed still there. I had, inside of me- a strong will to survive; but everyone around me had been told otherwise. My mind and my heart were still there; but my damaged body suggested that I was no longer capable of being.

But throughout all of this, in my final moments of pain and desperation, my life was spared.

……twice.

My name is Lynde Doup.

And this is my story.

I know that many people who have unexplainably escaped death give all the credit to God or whatever higher power they believe in for giving them a second chance at life. It takes such an event like this for some people to finally believe in someone (or something) far more powerful than themselves.

The story I tell today is not much different.

But before my personal experiences, I’m not sure if I would have been one of those people. I’m not sure I would have praised God for His mercy that He had given me. I have a feeling I would have been upset with Him- or even stopped believing in Him all together for allowing such struggle. I doubt I would have done anything but place the blame on Him for my misfortunes.

But today, I can be totally honest when I say that there is no one else responsible for saving my life. It wasn’t karma. It wasn’t luck. And it wasn’t a mystery.

It was simply the never-ending grace of God.

I’m not sure why I felt compelled to write this story; but I do believe that God has been quietly urging me to do so for

some time now. My hope truly is that others who are doubting their faith after times of darkness or doubt like mine, will come to the same realization: that there is still hope and a that there is still a perfect plan for their lives. There is a purpose behind their pain.

My genuine prayer for those of you reading this is that you will somehow be affected by my testimony and can apply its relevance to your life.