A Walk by Faith

By Lynne Maurer

Life happens to us all, and during the bad times, it’s hard to feel God’s presence when we need him the most.

This story describes how I connected with the Holy Spirit and the Holy Spirit connected with me in some of the weakest moments of my life.

God was there at all these times even when I thought he wasn’t there or prayed he would answer me when I reached out at my weakest moments.

They say faith can move mountains and if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, good things can happen in bad times.

In this story, my faith grew, and my heart and eyes opened to witness God’s presence in my life. My career changed, my life uprooted, and my mother was diagnosed with brain cancer.

At what level does it stop? I prayed for guidance and received guidance more than what I knew because God had his plans for me in my future, plans that I would not have imagined possible. This story walks the reader through my faith journey and offers my view of assisting those challenged in life, to fight for them when they can’t fight for themselves any longer, to praise God at the end of that journey, and to listen and see as God moves our lives and how to press forward to see his plans transpire into the most wonderful endings.

This is my walk by faith—a family bonding together in one of their toughest moments in life as we offer help and love the only way we know how to love.

God breaks barriers and softens hearts and provides strength when we need it the most. My journey takes me to listen to his callings, to build, to bring, to care, and to write—an unbelievable walk by faith by trusting my heart.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Christian Faith Publishing, Inc.
• Release date: Feb 27, 2024
• ISBN: 9798890436993

Book preview

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A Walk by Faith

Lynne Maurer

ISBN 979-8-89043-697-9 (paperback)

ISBN 979-8-89043-698-6 (hardcover)

ISBN 979-8-89043-699-3 (digital)

Copyright © 2024 by Lynne Maurer

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

God's Words

Family

The Phone Call

Changes in My Mother

The Diagnosis

The Hard Decision

A Brief Memory of Mine

I Should Have Stayed

The Day of Surgery

The Waiting Rooms

From the Darkness to the Light,

I Will Witness to Them

My Moment of Extreme

Heartbreak

Just Another Step in the

Journey of my Faith

Therapist/Daughter

The Emotions Erupted

The Room Move before Home

The Return Doctor Appointment

The Day of Weakness, the Sign

that the End Is Coming

The Communion

The Hospice Decision

Twice by Others, Once by Me

The Decision to Stop All

Treatments and Provide Dignity

and Comfort Was Made

The Lessons from a Care Nurse

Strength to Move Mountains

Hospice at Home

Back to Mom

Roles

Respect for Her Religion

The Voice of Angels,

the Touch from God

The Days Passed, and

We Did Our Best

Our Presence Was Everything

The Signs

The Feeling of Fear

The Sense of the End Is Near

The Unforgettable Words

The Pamphlet

The Touch, the Kiss,

the Last Breath

Preparing Mom to

Leave Her Home

The Slow Ride in a Hearse

(Brooks and Dunn)

The Gift

Three Angels Sent to Me

Build a Hospice (The Second

Time God Spoke to Me)

Then the Third

Message from God

Bring Them to Me

Hospice, Build the Hospice

When Passion Becomes a Plan,

Incredible Things Happen!

About the Author

How do I say thank you to someone who is no longer with me?

Mom, thank you for loving us the best way that you knew how to love and for being there in life for each of us at different moments in your life. You showed me how special it is to make the holidays, with your endless baking of nut rolls, horns, and, yes, fruitcake. You taught me to work hard and be the best I could be, whatever it was that I was doing in life. You taught me to swim through summer lessons in the coldest of waters; we all learned, and we all did it because of you and your guidance. You were our role model who kept pursuing us to be the best and to make it through the struggles in life. Church was important to you as we grew older as it was when we were younger but different in the end. We felt how God moved us to him through you.

This book I dedicate to you, my mother, Theresa Swansegar. You have finished your journey in Christ, and I continue mine because of you. This book is the end of your journey and the beginning of God's greater ways in my life and others around me. Love does move mountains, and God moved us to move mountains.

Thank you, Mom, for being the best mom and loving me in your own way!

This is a story of a journey of a woman who hears God calling in her life, not once, twice, thrice but four times, the act of listening to God's words when he speaks and following his path as he leads in directions that you may never think possible and, at the end of the journey, witnessing his magnificent power in fulfilling his calling.

When hit with hardships or with life tragedies, it is difficult at times to make decisions or move on in life. But when we make ourselves quiet and just allow ourselves to listen, we can then hear God speak to us when we least expect it.

This book will tell the story of a walk by faith. The journey was long, and I did not realize I was having my calling by God until the pieces started fitting together. I started to hear God's words spoken more frequently, and I was doing things that I would normally not be doing. God was leading me where he wanted me to go without hesitation but pure conviction.

You see, I was quiet in times of questioning my position and purpose in life. It was in these times when I was alone and desperate for guidance that I heard God speak to me.

I hope and pray that those who read this book can find their way in life by listening as I did, listening to the one God who is guiding us all for what he wants us to do for him on this earth.

I have learned that people are placed in our lives at certain times, at the perfect moments in time, and in the situations when we need them the most. Their time may be brief with us, but they are there to push us forward, slow us down, or make us sit still and listen. They are God's movers, his living angels on this earth, our family, our friends, or strangers that move us toward our calling by God.

Life may be short for some of us, and it may be longer for others. Some may not even think of God or feel his presence, but for those of us who do, it changes our views on life. We begin to feel others around us, we can feel his guidance through them, and your world begins to change without too much control of life any longer.

Change happens over time, situations arise, and problems are solved without too much say in it or compromise from others. Strength will come for us in our weakest moments, and fulfillment will come at the end of the journey.

God's Words

The First Words That I Heard from God

During a time in my midlife, during a job change, and the move from my home where I had spent years raising my children, I heard the words in my heart for the first time ever. I am divorced now and really working a lot of long hours and performing multiple duties at multiple locations as a therapist.

I was exhausted most of the time, but I rarely showed my exhaustion to others. I would run three miles a day and would also work out at home and go to the gym, which was located near my home. This was my positive outlet, my quiet time, and my rebuilding time of myself.

As a single mother of two young children, I tried to provide a positive role model for my son and daughter in teaching them the importance of strong work ethics and strong fitness mentality. I would run or bike through our small town, and at other times I