Brazen Bravery

Charlene Adams

Description

Brazen Bravery is the inspiring, true story of a family’s heritage of faith and how it rescued them while enduring unimaginable tragedy and loss.

At the age of twenty-one, Charlene’s sister, Andrea, along with two other college students were tragically killed in a terrible highway accident that made national news. Working through her grief beside her bereaved parents, tragedy struck again when her mother received a devastating cancer diagnosis.
In Brazen Bravery, Charlene tells the story of how she discovered the strength of her family’s rich heritage and deeply rooted Christian faith as she braved the tumultuous waters of grief.
Charlene, a natural and captivating storyteller, invites us into her journey, “telling it like it is” with humor, compassion, and an unflappable and inspiring faith. Through journal pages from her sister and mother, along with song lyrics, Bible verses and poignant quotes from favorite authors, her words will remind you that there is always a way through. The truths she holds onto fiercely helped her transcend the pain and made it possible to “believe that life was not just worth living, but worth living well.”
Brazen Bravery will not only beckon you to embrace the lessons of loss and ignite your overcomer spirit, but it unwraps biblical truth showing us that the sovereignty of God transcends all brokenness and doubt. And reminds us, once again, that love always wins and life never ends.

I have discovered that as the embers of disappointment, pain, and suffocating grief simmer, beauty and love is revealed just underneath. When the flames subside and the ash and soot settle, we start sweeping up the mess and somehow begin recognizing the beauty of the wood at our feet. The intricate design of the grain and the timeless etching of the stress marks. Many people justify spending more money on finely distressed furniture because they see the beauty in its story. And we, who are created through the Master Artist’s hands also show the depths of scarring, beautiful flaws, grief engravings that make us unique and priceless.
As hard as it is to adjust and spin the perspective dial, there is purpose beyond the pain. God’s eyes are focused directly on each of us, and His grip is locked. His promise?
“Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.” (Hebrews 13:5, NIV)
We are overcomers when our response glows with HOPE. A lowlight of peace that sneaks in just under the door. It washes over the sometimes-sad space, softens the scars, and creates something lovely. Something beautiful. A masterpiece!

Take all sorrow out of life and you take away all richness, and depth, and tenderness. The capacity of sorrow belongs to our grandeur. It is the furnace that melts hearts together in love. —A.L. Alexander

“Charlene Adams communicates powerfully in her book, Brazen Bravery. A dynamic message we all can embrace. ‘I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.’”
Babbie Mason
Author
Dove Award Winner
Christian Singer-Songwriter
TV Talk Show Host

Sujets

• Christian Living
• Personal Growth
• Philosophie et théologie
• Religion
• Grief
• Family
• Hope
• Triumph
• Inspiration
• Death

Informations

• Publié par: WestBow Press
• Date de parution: 27 janvier 2022
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781664242821
• Langue: English

Extrait

Brazen Bravery
 
 
 
Recovering Joy When Hope Collides with Loss
 
 
 
CHARLENE ADAMS
 
 
 

 
Copyright © 2022 Charlene Adams.
 
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
A Division of Thomas Nelson & Zondervan
1663 Liberty Drive
Bloomington, IN 47403
www.westbowpress.com
844-714-3454
 
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 marked NIV are taken from The Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
 
Scripture quotations marked VOICE are taken from The Voice™. Copyright © 2008 by Ecclesia Bible Society. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
 
Scripture quotations marked NEB are taken from the New English Bible, copyright © Cambridge University Press and Oxford University Press 1961, 1970. All rights reserved.
 
Scripture quotations marked ESV taken from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®), Copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. All rights reserved.
 
Scripture quotations marked NLT are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, Copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
 
ISBN: 978-1-6642-4281-4 (sc)
ISBN: 978-1-6642-4280-7 (hc)
ISBN: 978-1-6642-4282-1 (e)
 
Library of Congress Control Number: 2021916783
 
 
WestBow Press rev. date: 1/22/2022
 
Pain and suffering has always been a part of life on planet earth.
It most always takes us by surprise even though Jesus told us we would have difficulties and tribulation in this world.
Charlene has been transparent about her own struggles on this subject and as you read her story you will be inspired. You will see the truth of how to face the pain and disappointments you may encounter.
Brazen Bravery will captivate you, encourage you, and comfort you.
Charlene takes biblical principles and helps you apply them to your own life.
This book is an excellent read about how to face your giants.
It is raw and real.
You will read about how to overcome and experience redemption in your own journey.
Anne Beiler
Founder of Auntie Anne’s Pretzels
Author and Speaker
 

To Dad.
This book is dedicated to you.
Your quiet strength holds the weight of many “what-ifs?” But on this day, we know that it is to be as it is to be. Your relentless quest to live well and carry on crucifies all doubt and proves that life IS worth living. You are MY hero.
Contents
Prologue
 
Chapter 1     Knowing - The Call
Chapter 2     Living Simply - Sisterhood
Chapter 3     Patient Hope - Prognosis
Chapter 4     Used Up - God’s Will
Chapter 5     Becoming - Non-Conformity
Chapter 6     Waiting - Contentment in all Things
Chapter 7     Letting Go - The Last Duet
Chapter 8     Scars - The Accident
Chapter 9     Holy Moment #1 - Gift
Chapter 10   Ruler of My Heart - She’s Gone
Chapter 11   Language of Tears - Life on Cemetery Lane
Chapter 12   Women I Come From - Jane Brown
Chapter 13   Grief Engravings - Refined to Shine
Chapter 14   Time - Living Among the Living
Chapter 15   Commanding Light - Mysterious and Miraculous
Chapter 16   Pressing Into Life - Death Doesn’t Win
Chapter 17   Dark Night - Sifting for Gold
Chapter 18   Embossing - Friends Who Stay
Chapter 19   Resilience - The Awakening
Chapter 20   Steps - Every Story Has a Song
Chapter 21   Something Beautiful - Rain in Season
Chapter 22   Jump - Bravery Has Wings
Chapter 23   Perseverance - Family Foundation
Chapter 24   Something More - Fortified Faith
Chapter 25   Do Something - The Power of Presence
Chapter 26   Holy Moment #2 - Mothers Set the Mood
Chapter 27    Pain Paves the Way - Faith
Chapter 28    The Final Nod - Will It Hurt to Die?
Chapter 29   Treasures - Measure of a Life
Chapter 30   Sitting at the Feet of Jesus - Letting God…
Chapter 31   Serendipity - Angel in Purple
Chapter 32   Things - Permission to Live
Chapter 33   Interlude - Getting Your House in Order
Chapter 34   Port-of-Call - Dying Into Life
 
Finale
Acknowledgments
Endnotes
About the Author
Prologue
One phone call changed me. At age nineteen I learned how loss can seize your sanity and leave you begging God for one more day to say all the important words you always meant to say. Surely, she’ll wake up. This is only a test. God wouldn’t rip my twenty-one-year-old sister away just to make a point. Or would He? If everything passes through His hands, why didn’t He keep the van on the road? Instead, it hurtled through the air tossing bodies out like rag dolls. Where was God then?
“…all things work together for good.” (Romans 8:28, NKJV)
These words are like a vice on my heart, yet I must confess, when the fog clears, I see, recognize, and embrace the goodness of God. Life isn’t fair and “good things” are often disguised in the unthinkable. That is so hard to write. Still, I wrestle with this reality. We breathe through the bad, protect our head, and wait. And I’ve learned that waiting is the hardest part of obedience. This might explain why so many I know have jumped ship.
The day before Mom left me, (that’s how I must frame it so I’m not mad at God), she was lying in her bed trying to stay awake and greet those who had paused from their orbit for one final conversation with a friend. I overheard her speaking to my Aunt Cathy. “Oh, Charlene has taken such good care of me.” The words seized my heart. These final days were the hardest of my life. Helpless, incapable of doing anything compatible with keeping her here with us. Feeling compelled and convinced to be strong for her so she wouldn’t be afraid, I couldn’t cry in her presence. I dragged an old 1970’s nylon-laced lawn chair out of the garage, unfolded it, and sat outside her bedroom window and wept like a willow.
There was nothing any of us could do to save Mom. After hearing her comment, Aunt Cathy qualified her praise with a soft, “I know she is. She sure is good at that.” Then, with deep conviction and a soft, drawn-out tone, Mom said, “Well, she can do anything she sets her mind to.”
Those were the last words my mother said about me.
Fueled by this vote of confidence by the one person whose approval always mattered most, I’ve set my mind on glorifying her life by sharing her story along with my sister’s. I write for them, for I am the one left. I write for the sake of their high calling to live for Christ and inspire those around them to seek His will. For Mom, I write to inspire others to learn from her example of teaching her children and grandchildren to always cling to faith and never let go.
Our training from toddler to teen set the stage when the brutality of loss challenged our perspective. Hope was sometimes shoved backstage as we stumbled out empty and alone with an audience watching, waiting, wondering, while our world was turned upside down.
How long will they dangle, how long will they hold onto hope?
When our spirit is tuned and calibrated to His, it gives breath to our being and we are rescued. And because God is sovereign and good, we are able to claim Romans 8:28 with confidence and boldness and declare, in ALL things God is good, and, yes, “He does all things well!”
My sister journaled consistently during the last three years of her life. In one, she writes these words: “Everyone has a religion, but not everyone has a faith.” Our grandparents and parents raised and equipped us with a strong understanding of the Christian faith. We are deeply rooted and established in our beliefs because God’s presence has consumed our lives and tweaks the focus of the lens we use to measure all things. His spirit saturates our moments, and we are defined through Him.
It is in this same spirit that He empowers us to run the race with Brazen Bravery .
1 Knowing
THE CALL
There are things of which I may not speak; there are dreams that cannot die; there are thoughts that make the strong heart weak, and bring a pallor into the cheek and a mist before the eye.
—Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
I n slow motion, the elevator doors slid open. My heart paused to align with the moment. Like weighted curtains glide open to command the attention of each eager eye in the room, for me, this scene, this knowing, changed everything.
Two hours earlier. One phone call. Ten seconds filled with words nobody w