Let The Redeemed Of The Lord Say So

When I was a young mother of four, God was calling my husband Venture to the mission field. Our family would be relocating to Ecuador.

I was beside myself. I did not want to go. It immediately caused conflict in our marriage. The arguing went on for weeks. The difficulties of having a special-needs son, living in a third-world country, vaccinations, disease, and, of course, the language barrier loomed. My mind was reeling; I was scared.

Our sixth grandchild, a twin, was born with HLHS, a life-threatening birth defect affecting blood flow to the heart. The Lord did amazing things in his little heart even before he was born. An ultrasound showed that God had performed a “surgery” in the womb, so he was able to be born right here in Idaho. Our family was rejoicing.

What happens when a foolish and naïve country boy impulsively joins the Navy? Even if he is a believer, the outlook is not promising. Suddenly, he will find himself in the company of a lot of young men who want to impress one another with their “manliness” by smoking, drinking, cussing, and telling stories of their sexual exploits. Except for the grace of God, he is likely to follow their ways down a road of sin. 

What happens when an inexperienced country boy fails to plan and decides to attend a Youth for Christ meeting in an unfamiliar city? I can tell you it was only by the grace of God that I ever found the place. 

Remember these were the days before cellphones and computers, and so I, without a plan or directions set on my quest never even considering the likelihood of failure. But let me start from the beginning.

What happens when an inexperienced young sailor who fails to plan realizes that he has no idea how to get back to his base mostly because he doesn’t know where he is and how he got there? While, by God’s grace, I had found the Youth for Christ meeting for which I had been looking, I had no idea how to find a bus that would get me back to Pearl Harbor. 

God is Jehovah-jireh, the One who provides.

Janine and I have seen God’s provision in many ways throughout our 45 years of marriage. We had determined early on that once God blessed us with children Janine would be a stay-at-home mom and I would be the sole breadwinner. That wasn’t easy to do on a journalist’s salary in 1981 when our eldest son, Joel, was born. But God provided. He always has.

I sat in the conference room that evening with other church leaders in Turkey. I told myself again not to worry about 3-year-old James and 1-year-old Yohan, who were with the childcare team. However, I continued to feel unsettled, like a tight fist of worry was gripping me. I finally gave up fighting the feeling and told my husband Jonathan I needed to check on the boys. 

It came out of the blue.  

My wife, Jennifer, and I were newly married when it first happened. What exactly “it” was, I had no idea but it was bad. Very bad. My whole world started spinning uncontrollably. To call it extreme vertigo or nausea doesn’t do it justice. It took me 45 minutes to move from the driver's seat to the passenger seat. The slightest movement of my head caused terrifying, almost unbearable vertigo. 

My name is Karen Coy. I’ve gone to Westside for many years. 

Twelve years ago, I woke in the middle of the night with the worst headache I’ve ever had in my life. Then it was like a big flush came over me and I felt paralyzed. I had suffered a stroke.

I remember the only thing I could mumble was, “I need you, Vic; I need you, Vic.”  Finally, my husband said, “Oh, I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry, hon.” I said, “Well, I can’t even move or anything.” 

I was awakened in the night by the sound of jets, followed by thundering bombs. Ever since the war in Syria started, so close to our home in Antioch, Turkey, we often heard jets and bombs, but not as loud and rumbling as these. I leaped out of bed and tried to shake my exhausted and stressed mind so that I could make clear decisions. Jonathan was in Istanbul, and I was alone with my three children.