Scattered, Smothered, and Yet Covered by the Grace of God

By Lisa J. Heyer

This story of Scattered, Smothered, and Yet Covered by the Grace of God tells the unknown, the unbelievable, and the hurt and heartache that scattered my life in 2010 with my son Nathan's dive into addiction. His addictions from pot to pills would scatter and smother me for the next eight-plus years. This isn't only a raw look into addiction and the destruction it causes, but more importantly, it is a look into a story of God's love, hope, mercy, and grace that covered me and Nathan during these years in addition to being covered by friendships and prayers when we couldn't cover ourselves.

I learned in 2019-2020 while writing this story that there is an obvious thread woven within this story--that is, God was there in every detail along the way. I was scattered into pieces, broken beyond what I could have imagined, smothered to the point of true breathlessness, and yet covered by the grace of God each and every day.

But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body. For we who are alive are always being given over to death for Jesus' sake, so that his life may also be revealed in our mortal body. So then, death is at work in us, but life is at work in you.

I am thankful, Lord, for the refining and redemption lived within this story. I have been covered by the grace of God!

9

• Language: English
• Publisher: Christian Faith Publishing, Inc.
• Release date: Mar 24, 2022
• ISBN: 9781639610679

Lisa J. Heyer

Lisa is a wife, mother, grandmother, sister, owner/broker of BHGRE Jackson Realty and soon will be entering the retirement years of life. These are roles she plays, but mostly, she is a child of God and a woman of faith that has grown tremendously through her endurance race of life and her son's endurance race of addiction. Lisa's joy comes from serving her family, friends, church and community with programs and events that encourage faith, fitness and fun. Lisa enjoys running, cycling, and playing in the outdoors, but also loves to sit with her 4 legged family members and read a good book.

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Scattered, Smothered, and Yet Covered by the Grace of God

Lisa J. Heyer

Copyright © 2021 by Lisa J. Heyer

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. For permission requests, solicit the publisher via the address below.

Christian Faith Publishing

832 Park Avenue

Meadville, PA 16335

www.christianfaithpublishing.com

Printed in the United States of America

Table of Contents

Chapter 2010, Year 1

Chapter 2011, Year 2

Chapter 2012, Year 3

The Emotional Roller Coaster of a Century Bike Ride

Chapter 2014, Year 5

Chapter 2015, Year 6

Chapter 2016, Year 7

Chapter 2017, Year 8

Chapter 2018, Year 9

Chapter 10—But God!

Chapter 2019 Bookend Theme Songs

Chapter 2020, Year 11

I dedicate this book to the dear God-fearing girlfriends that we call FROGS (Friends Relying on God’s Salvation) who stayed close to me during this journey. You do not want to go through life without a few close friends that will stick with you, love and pray with you in your hard times. I especially want to dedicate this book to my dear friend Sherin Gottlieb who not only believed in me but believed in Nathan. Sherin sacrificed her time in this journey with me and supported and loved our family throughout. Sherin is also one of the biggest reasons that this book and the previous one was written. I have always written, but Sherin believed in me and my writing enough to encourage me to make it into a book. God used her throughout this journey to tell me the things He wanted me to hear trust and believe in. Sherin has been my biggest supporter and cheerleader during the darkest and brightest times of my life.

My Stories, His Timing, and the Hell and Hallelujahs

Psalm 107 (NIV)

Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good;

His love endures forever.

Let the redeemed of the Lord tell their story—

those he redeemed from the hand of the foe,

those he gathered from the lands,

from east and west, from north and south.

Some wandered in desert wastelands,

finding no way to a city where they could settle.

They were hungry and thirsty,

and their lives ebbed away.

Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble,

and He delivered them from their distress.

He led them by a straight way

to a city where they could settle.

Let them give thanks to the Lord for his unfailing love

and his wonderful deeds for mankind,

for He satisfies the thirsty

and fills the hungry with good things.

Some sat in darkness, in utter darkness,

prisoners suffering in iron chains,

because they rebelled against God’s commands

and despised the plans of the Most High.

So he subjected them to bitter labor;

they stumbled, and there was no one to help.

Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble,

and He saved them from their distress.

He brought them out of darkness, the utter darkness,

and broke away their chains.

Let them give thanks to the Lord for his unfailing love

and his wonderful deeds for mankind,

for He breaks down gates of bronze

and cuts through bars of iron.

Some became fools through their rebellious ways

and suffered affliction because of their iniquities.

They loathed all food

and drew near the gates of death.

Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble,

and He saved them from their distress.

He sent out his word and healed them;

He rescued them from the grave.

Let them give thanks to the Lord for his unfailing love

and his wonderful deeds for mankind.

Let them sacrifice thank offerings

and tell of his works with songs of joy.

Some went out on the sea in ships;

they were merchants on the mighty waters.

They saw the works of the Lord,

His wonderful deeds in the deep.

For He spoke and stirred up a tempest

that lifted high the waves.

They mounted up to the heavens and went down to the depths;

in their peril their courage melted away.

They reeled and staggered like drunkards;

they were at their wits’ end.

Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble,

and He brought them out of their distress.

He stilled the storm to a whisper;

the waves of the sea were hushed.

They were glad when it grew calm,

and He guided them to their desired haven.

Let them give thanks to the Lord for His unfailing love

and His wonderful deeds for mankind.

Let them exalt Him in the assembly of the people

and praise Him in the council of the elders.

He turned rivers into a desert,

flowing springs into thirsty ground,

and fruitful land into a salt waste,

because of the wickedness of those who lived there.

He turned the desert into pools of water

and the parched ground into flowing springs;

there He brought the hungry to live,

and they founded a city where they could settle.

They sowed fields and planted vineyards

that yielded a fruitful harvest;

He blessed them, and their numbers greatly increased,

and He did not let their herds diminish.

Then their numbers decreased, and they were humbled

by oppression, calamity and sorrow;

He who pours contempt on nobles

made them wander in a trackless waste.

But He lifted the needy out of their affliction

and increased their families like flocks.

The upright see and rejoice,

but all the wicked shut their mouths.

Let the one who is wise heed these things

and ponder the loving deeds of the Lord.

My Stories, His Timing, and the Hell and Hallelujahs

Foreword

What do you do when your longtime best friend asks you to write the foreword for her new book? What? Me? I cannot write! Panic Moment! Once you settle down, you pray and trust!

I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. (Philippians 4:13)

Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to Him, and He will make your paths straight. (Proverbs 3:5–6)

God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. (Psalm 46:1)

Yes, God, I am listening.

You see, Lisa and I have been longtime friends, since around the ages of three and four. I am a year older and was a grade ahead of her in school, but that didn’t matter; we still remained close friends. We attended the same church, First Baptist of La Fayette, all through our childhood. We were always in the same activities—Mission Friends, GAs (Girls in Action), Acteens, youth choir (until Lisa got kicked out, but that is different story), and many other activities.

Lisa’s mother, Marilyn Jackson, is such a special and loving lady. She is the sweetest, most caring person you will ever meet. She loved each of us girls, and still does, as her own. She had her hands full all the time with Lisa growing up. Lisa was always up to some mischievous actions. As a small child, she could not just sit at a kid’s table and color; she had to dance on the top and then fall, breaking her arm. As she got older, she was caught stealing her dad’s truck at thirteen and driving across town to the recreation center because she was certain she could drive. There was the time she ran away to her babysitter’s house, then called a taxi to take her to another town to a friend of the family’s home to stay… I think you get the picture of just how mischievous she was. But the one thing Marilyn, this special sweet lady, did not tolerate at all was talking or misbehaving in church. During church services, you better be sitting still and listening, or she would lean over and pinch the fire out of you. It happened Every Sunday for us. It is a wonder we did not disrupt the whole church service crying out.

As we have gotten older, we still attend Christian activities together such as Thursday morning Bible study, The Grove at Passion City Church in Atlanta, Georgia, Beth Moore and David Jeremiah events and many other events.

We share Bible studies, books, podcast, songs, and prayer requests with each other regularly. We also share birthdays, only three days apart. My birthday is March 10, and Lisa’s is March 13. We always had parties together growing up, whether it was a skating party, a movie day, shopping day, or spend-the-night parties. Even to this day, we celebrate our birthdays together by usually heading to the beach for a few days with our current book, the Bible, and Bible study.

In high school, we were both active in the same sports and interests, including cross-country, basketball, and boys. I think you can see how special our friendship has always been. We like a lot of the same things, but we are different in a lot of ways too. We had different plans after high school graduation. She went off to college, and I stayed home and went to a technical school. We started our families years apart, and our work plans took us in different directions as well, but we have always stayed close, in touch, and been there for one another in the good and the bad times.

Lisa and I both love Jesus! We have always been involved in church, some type of Bible study, even when we lived in different cities. I was so happy the day she called me and said she was moving back home from Atlanta. I thought, yes, more time together. That time together has been a true blessing. We love studying the Bible and praying together. We have different personalities. I love to work quietly within the church…but Lisa, oh, she must be up-front and involved in Everything. I mean Everything. I have always worried she was taking on too much, but the more she says yes, the happier she becomes.

Lisa loves teaching Run for God (she loves to run), working on a 9/11 ceremony honoring and remembering those from 9/11, working with the community to establish a community bike ride, designing shirts, planning events and, at the same time, running a real estate company where she is owner and broker. In addition, she has such a will to help other people in need. She is always collecting items for the local women’s crisis center or boy’s home, taking food or books to chemo patients and the elderly as well as providing food, clothes, and accessories to those in need. She has such a loving, giving heart and Lots of energy. Whew! I am tired just thinking and telling you about it all.

I am really excited for you to read her story. It is filled with so much love, family devotion, faith, and Jesus. Jesus—oh, what a wonderful name it is. Jesus speaks to Lisa through Bible verses, beautiful songs, or podcasts she listens to as she runs or bikes. We wonder often how people ever survive without knowing of God’s love and devotion. Well, this story will show you exactly how a family survives with Jesus supporting them as their personal Savior. Imagine all your life, you work, study, and pray so hard to build your faith and knowledge of Christ, to make your prayers strong and your life shine for family and others not so fortunate…then Bam, just like that, you are stopped in your tracks by your own child’s drug addiction, and your whole world changes at that moment. All the things you were doing at that time had to immediately be changed for you to focus all your attention on your family and to figure out how to save your child. This story will show you all the love Jesus has for His children. Also, what you will definitely find is how a grieving mother survived a horrible season of life with her child’s addiction and at the same time, how her faith grew more and more than ever and how she saw how Jesus supported and showed her the way through all these years. Now in this new season, her focus is telling this story to everyone so they can learn to have a personal relationship with Jesus and have the same love and support she found.

If you do not know Jesus as your personal Savior, let this book guide you into the best decision you will ever make in your entire life. I have decided to follow Jesus. Amen!

I love you, Lisa.

Kathy Keith

Lifetime friend, Jesus study buddy, Prayer buddy, Beach buddy forever!

*****

I met the lady from church in early 2003. She and my husband had just turned forty! Our children were literally stair steps (Tanner, 1992; Sam, 1993; Nathan, 1994; and Joe, 1995). Every time I saw Lady in town or at the ballfield, I told my husband, There is the lady from church. I finally learned that her name was Lisa. I won her true friendship when I asked her to attend a Vince Gill concert. As the old saying goes…and the rest is history. Our friendship flourished quickly and is still strong after seventeen years.

When I read this book, my heart would sink and then soar. Having lived through some of this with Lisa and Oliver, I remember having no words except I am sorry, and I am praying. You cannot miss one thread that weaves itself all through this book…Prayer! There were people from all walks of life praying for and With this family.

You will see the prodigal, parents, persistence, power in prayer, and praise in the end, but not without a struggle, stamina, and submission.

Dig in! You will identify with many of the things in this heartfelt, honest book.

Andrea Clayton

Friend and fan

Introduction

My prayer in starting this writing was a prayer that was taught in the FlourishWriters: The Power of Story Course Workbook by Melinda Kiker and Jennifer Kochert in 2019. I just added my personal verses and writing details within it.

Dear heavenly Father,

I toss all my cares, concerns, and busyness on You as You said in Psalm 55:22, Cast your cares on the Lord and He will sustain you.

Lord, I ask You to sustain me as I focus on the verse Romans 12:2 that You recently reminded me of. Lord, I pray You take captive all the chaos that might try to interfere.

Lord, I ask for clarity of mind and thought so that I can focus on all You want me to receive, whether for me to take hold of or for me to write about.

Lord, if there is any one or thing that I have closed my heart to, please make it clear to me. Show