When Bethany was still with us, she dreamed about her story being published in a devotional form that would be easy to read and beautiful to look at. It was not fame that Beth was seeking, but rather she was driven by a deep desire to share the love and hope in Jesus Christ that she had intimately discovered through her extreme suffering.
Heartbreakingly Beautiful has now materialized and has exceeded all expectations. During Beth’s illness, we kept a journal together. I began working through those journals just weeks after her passing in 2011 – on what would have been her 16th birthday.
Each week throughout the year that followed, I wrote down the major lessons God taught Beth through her time of suffering and in turn, those lessons became mine to take hold of. By God’s grace, we held the first draft of Heartbreakingly Beautiful in our hands by Beth’s 17th birthday. Now as we remember her 18th birthday, it has become available for you to hold it in yours!
Please believe me when I tell you that I have written Heartbreakingly Beautiful in a state of broken weakness. I recognize that without my God-given ‘team’ this task would not have been possible. I read in the Bible that God is a specialist at taking our human frailties and transforming them into a display of His glorious strength! (See 2 Corinthians 12:9.)
Friends, there is no earthly way I could have written or managed the Heartbreakingly Beautiful project, and commenced the BE Blessings ministry, without the support of some incredible people. What you see here is the extraordinary power of God at work through the ordinary – weakness and pain offered in love and humility.
Some of the ‘main team players’ have been thanked in the acknowledgement page in Heartbreakingly Beautiful. However, there are so many more who remain unnamed yet have a brilliant reward in Heaven awaiting them!
In the confines of this life, I cannot adequately thank all the wonderful ones who have labored in various ways for us throughout Beth’s trial and continue to support us in our grief. Friends, you are our ‘support team’ – cheering us on to finish our race well – like Beth did. Beth’s legacy belongs to you and through her continuing story, we hope we can cheer you on too!
While many of our acts of love and grace, big and small, are not publically applauded here on earth, let’s remember that the most important audience is the ‘Audience of One’ – Jesus Christ. He is the Fair and Just ‘Team Manager’ who knows and sees every good deed and will repay everyone according to what they have done! (See Revelation 22:12.)
Lyn