A Resilient Life: Empowered by the Word of God.

By Marion Heard

It would be nice if things always went well and our lives consisted only of celebrating great blessings. But more times than not, we find our lives in need of help and guidance from God.

Seasoned pastor and evangelist Marion Heard shares scripture, biblical lessons, and divine wisdom to uplift and remind believers to rely on and trust God and His direction, in both joyful and challenging times. While leading believers on a spiritual journey to renew their faith, Marion offers encouragement that God is always with us, even when our spirit is broken, that God wants to make our lives over anew if we let him, that our character is developed during our greatest trials, that faith enlarges the possibilities of life, and that God is the great supplier who has everything His followers need to fulfill Kingdom work.

On My Journey Empowered by the Word of God is a spiritual guide that offers scripture, biblical lessons, and divine wisdom to remind Christians to be joyful in hope and always know there is a great God above us.

• Language: English
• Publisher: WestBow Press
• Release date: Apr 16, 2024
• ISBN: 9798385021611

Marion Heard

Marion Heard is an evangelist who was born in Trinidad, West Indies. After moving to the Pacific Northwest, she accepted Jesus Christ as her personal savior and received the Baptism of the Holy Ghost. She and her husband, Willie, are pastor and co-pastor of the Witness for Jesus Christian Church in Bothell. Marion holds a diploma in practical ministry, a BA in education, and a master’s degree in Christian counseling.

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Copyright © 2024 Marion Heard.

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 author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

This book is a work of non-fiction. Unless otherwise noted, the author and the publisher make no explicit guarantees as to the accuracy of the information contained in this book and in some cases, names of people and places have been altered to protect their privacy.

WestBow Press

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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.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models,

and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.

Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, King James Version.

ISBN: 979-8-3850-2164-2 (sc)

ISBN: 979-8-3850-2165-9 (hc)

ISBN: 979-8-3850-2161-1 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2024905242

WestBow Press rev. date: 04/08/2024

Contents

1The Journey Begins

2Life’s Broken Places

3God’s Extreme Makeover

4Stand in the Midst of Your Crisis

5Storms of Life

6Character Is Developed in Our Deepest Trials

7Guard Your Heart

8Endure to the End

9Mustard Seed Faith Can Move Mountains

10Make up Your Mind

11We Need a Fresh Breath

12Miracles Happen at Midnight

13A Changed Life

14Abiding in the Secret Place

15None of These Things Move Me

16Give Yourself to the Lord So He Can Use You

17God Chooses to Use People Who Are Not Good Enough

18Sow in Tears

19Stay in the Race

20Stay Committed to God until He Moves in Your Situation

21God Will Finish What He Started

22Doing a Great Work and Can’t Stop Now

One

THE JOURNEY BEGINS

Every one of us will experience some type of crisis. If we are not careful, these will shake our very foundations and cause us to go under while we are on our journeys. Growing up in Trinidad, West Indies, I would say I had everything a little girl would desire: a nice home, my mother and father, my three brothers, and many friends. I attended one of the best schools in the area and remember my daily rides to and from school with my mother. I often thought about what a beautiful woman she was and how blessed I was to have her as a mother. She loved me and was always there making sure that I was well taken care of. One thing about my mother was she would never leave me alone. When you saw her, you pretty much knew I was right there.

When I was very young, we would travel every summer from the West Indies to New York and Boston to visit my aunt and uncle, who had migrated to the United States for a better quality of life. My father worked as an accountant for one of the major airlines in Trinidad, so we were able to use his travel discount to go just about anywhere. The one trip we always took in the summer was to the United States. Oh, how I looked forward to those days to be able to get on an airplane and travel to America to be with my cousins and have a fun summer, especially when we stayed in Boston. I considered Boston to be my home away from home; it was a different environment from that of the West Indies, but I grew to love life there.

My mother was instrumental in exposing me to the arts at a very young age. When I was four, it was discovered that I was blessed with the gift of music. She quickly started looking around for a music teacher who would help to develop the gift God had blessed me with. I enjoyed playing the piano. As I devoted many hours of practice time on a daily basis, it was noticeable that God was developing me in such a way that my gift would make room for me later on in life (Proverbs 18:16). The teacher encouraged me to enter many music festivals, where I usually came in first place and was awarded the trophy for the age category that I’d entered. Needless to say, I received many awards. At a young age, I was beginning to see what it meant to use your gifts and talents to glorify God.

I attended the local Catholic church growing up, and my mother was very active in the choir. Little did I know it was the Catholic church that opened the door for me to use my musical gift to glorify God. A musician was needed to play the organ for the choir, and I knew nothing about how to play the organ. As an excellent sight reader, I was able to learn the songs and teach myself the basic steps in playing the organ for the choir. We were all learning together, and because of being of one accord, it was definitely a move of God in my life. I felt such a sense of fulfillment playing the organ for the choir. The experience was filled with so much of the Holy Spirit. At that time, I did not know about the relationship we could have with Jesus and the Holy Spirit, but I knew that there was something different happening my life. I was only around the age of nine. What an experience it was, but I could not explain it.

As I entered into another phase in my relationship with my mother and God, we both attended church. She sang in the choir, and I played the organ. My dad missed out on that relationship because he did not attend church with us. He would rather stay home on Sundays, read the newspaper, and relax, but that did not stop us from going to church. I looked forward to playing the organ, singing the songs, and experiencing a relationship with the Lord that I never knew could bring so much peace to my life. Little did I know that is where the change would take place in my life.

My mother began to have health problems. At first, we thought it was an ulcer, or at least that is what the doctors told us. As time went on, she could no longer go to church or sing in the choir. I would ride my bicycle to church because I knew that if I did not show up, the choir would be left without an organist, and I did not want that to happen. I believe it was the start of the calling that God had on my life, and I just wanted to be there. It was not the same without my mother there, and at times, while playing and singing, a sense of sadness would come over me. I felt that there was something more seriously wrong with her, but I did not know what it was.

Now the days were fast approaching, and my mother took a turn for the worse. I never saw that day coming. Even though I knew she was ill, I felt it was just a temporary situation and, with treatment, she would be back to herself. However, that was not the case. She was diagnosed with cancer and was given a short period of time to live. Oh, when my father shared the news with me, I felt devastated and angry. I was angrier with God because I was only twelve years old and I did not understand why I had to lose my mother at such an early age. It didn’t seem fair, given that I was so involved in the church. All the songs and messages preached about God’s miracles made me wonder, what happened to me? Am I not eligible for one of those miracles? Why do I have to lose my mother who cares and loves me so deeply? Who is going to take care of me the way she does? I was puzzled by many mixed emotions that led to me being disappointed with God. I did not understand all that was happening to me. At that time, I really did not know about the power of prayer, let alone how to read the Bible. In the Catholic faith, we went through catechism, which is a summary of religious doctrine often in the form of questions and answers. I had no sense of the gift of healing—and mind you, I was only twelve years old.

After many months of my mother’s fight with cancer, suffering day and night, she passed away. Her last request was for me to play a song that she loved to hear me play, Rustle of Springs, over the air so she could hear me playing the piano. I did not know that was going to be her last time hearing me play. I went to the broadcast station, and there I was able to play the song over the air for her to hear. Oh, I felt so free playing that piece. I knew she was listening, and you could hear through the notes the sound of leaves rustling through the wind. What a high-spirited way to express my love for my mother, knowing it was a special request of hers.

After performing for her, I returned to the hospital to see her so I could ask her, Did you enjoy the piece? Instead, I was greeted in her hospital room by the doctors and my family, who told me she had passed away after I finished playing. Oh, how I cried and cried. I felt a deep hole in my heart, and I really did not know how it was going to be filled. My mother was everything to me. All my siblings were much older, so who was going to care for and nurture me now? This is when I found myself without the desire to go to church or have anything to do with God. It was a very dark time in my life. I was preparing to become a teenager without a mother, and my dad did not really know how to take care of his daughter. He found himself grieving the loss of his wife, with whom he really had not spent time because he worked and provided for his family. He was in a state of loneliness, depression, and isolation.

A few months went by, and