Seasons

Marie Bishop

Description

This memoir shares the story of one woman who led an ordinary life, but a life directly impacted by many extraordinary God incidences.
Author Marie Bishop likens her life to climate. Each season has had its own climate—growth in different ways in each season, different challenges, and different countries. In Seasons, she narrates her story, telling how her spring years were spent in war-ravaged Liverpool, England, where her large and loving extended family provided security.
This memoir chronicles how summer blossomed with immigration to Rhodesia—with romance, marriage, and children. And then on toward then end of summer, Rhodesia became Zimbabwe—taking her through to her autumn years, a season of spiritual growth and recognizing God’s healing power.
But most of all, Marie recognizes where God has been at work, and she records the times he’s answered prayers and directed paths, times when he’s orchestrated events and changes in her life. Sometimes these events looked like chance happenings, coincidences, but other could only be deemed miracles. She sees them now as road markers, steppingstones, as God guided her on her journey, not coincidences but God incidences.

Sujets

• Religion
• Christianisme
• Vie de famille
• Parentalité et Éducation des Enfants
• Christian Living
• Personal Growth
• Philosophie et théologie
• Spiritual formation
• Healing

Informations

• Publié par: WestBow Press
• Date de parution: 23 janvier 2023
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781664274396
• Langue: English

Extrait

SEASONS
 
Yesterday, Today and all those Tomorrows
 
 
 
 
MARIE BISHOP
 
 
 

 
Copyright © 2022 Marie Bishop.
 
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.
 
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 of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com The “NIV” and “New International Version” are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.®
 
Scripture marked (KJV) taken from the King James Version of the Bible.
 
Scripture quotations marked (NASB) taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. www.lockman.org
 
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, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
 
Scripture marked (NKJV) taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
 
ISBN: 978-1-6642-7438-9 (sc)
ISBN: 978-1-6642-7439-6 (e)
 
Library of Congress Control Number: 2022914117
 
WestBow Press rev. date: 01/17/2023
 
 
 
 
 
The length of our days is seventy years, eighty if we have stre ngth!
—Psalms 90:10 (NIV )
CONTENTS
The Story behind the Story
SPRING
Chapter 1A Time to Be Born
Chapter 2A Time to Embrace
Chapter 3A Time to Tear Down
Chapter 4A Time to Rebuild
Chapter 5A Time to Search
Chapter 6A Time to Keep
SUMMER
Chapter 7A Time to Dream
Chapter 8A Time to Laugh
Chapter 9A Time to Love
Chapter 10A Time for Even More Loving
Chapter 11A Time to Embrace Change
Chapter 12A Time to Laugh and a Time to Weep
Chapter 13A Time to Die
Chapter 14A Time to Be Born Again—with New Visions
Chapter 15A Time to Tear—and to Mend
Chapter 16A Time to Plant
AUTUMN
Chapter 17A Time to Accept New Experiences
Chapter 18A Time for Gathering
Chapter 19A Time to Heal
Chapter 20A Time to Speak
Chapter 21A Time to Rejoice
Chapter 22A Time to Mourn
Chapter 23A Time to Let Go
Chapter 24A Time to Dance
Chapter 25A Time to Scatter
Chapter 26A Time for Reconnaissance
WINTER
Chapter 27A Time to Pull up Roots
Chapter 28A Time to Transplant
Chapter 29A Time to Mourn Brian, 1936–2007
Chapter 30A Time to Mend
Chapter 31A Time to Throw Away … Bad Attitudes
Chapter 32A Time to Tear Down and a Time to Rebuild
Chapter 33A Time to Live Till I Die
Epilogue
About the Author
THE STORY BEHIND THE STORY

Turning seventy was my wake-up call!
How did I get here so quickly? What have I done with all those years? How much time is left?
Did everyone have those thoughts or was God speaking to me, challenging me?
My family planned a wingding of a party to celebrate my three score and ten, with line dancing to Beatles music and ’60s dress! Perhaps it was the music and clothes that took me back in time, triggering memories, igniting a desire to “write my memoirs”, to share all those memories that would disappear with me when I popped my clogs.
There had been times when I’d recounted an event in my life, and the response was, “You should write a book!” Seriously?
My parents didn’t reach seventy; they died at sixty and sixty-one, many of their memories going with them, unshared. Including my mother’s Christmas cake recipe!
Shortly after my seventieth birthday, I made a start on my story. Initially, the intended audience was my children and grandchildren, and other family members and friends. But as “my story” unfolded, I wondered. Would it have wider appeal? Would it resonate with people who don’t know me? Would they be encouraged by seeing the different outcomes in my life when God was at the helm. Would my experiences help others to see God’s hand in their lives? Would it challenge them to write their story too?
As I pondered this, Pastor Mike preached on telling our story:
“Let the redeemed of the Lord tell their story” (Psalms 107:2, NIV).
The redeemed of the Lord! That’s me! Does the command in Psalm 107 apply to all of God’s children? Other scriptures told me yes: “Tell it to your children, and let your children tell it to their children, and their children to the next generation” (Joel 1:3, NIV).
My life has not been spectacular—no momentous achievements, nothing to write about really, unless it’s recognising where God has been at work. So, I need to record, for my family and others, where He has answered prayers and directed paths, times when He has orchestrated events and changes in my life. Sometimes these events look like chance happenings, coincidences. But there have been others that could only be miracles. I can see them now as road markers, stepping stones as God guided me on my journey, not co incidences but God -incidences.
Catherine Marshall’s book Meeting God at Every Turn impacted me thirty years ago. She recorded chapters of her life, the challenges, the victories, and the recognition of God’s hand in each situation. Reading this book made me realise that God has always had His hand on me, too. He has answered my prayers—spoken or thought. He has met me at pivotal times in my life, guided me, and protected me. Even when I was wallowing in the mire of my mistakes, He was there. At the time I didn’t always feel His presence or see His hand. But now, I can clearly identify those moments. Hindsight is a wonderful gift! God has, indeed, met me at every turn, just like Catherine Marshall’s story.
Each season of my life has had its own climate—growth in different ways in each season, different challenges, and different countries.
My spring years were spent in war-ravaged Liverpool, England. My large loving extended family was my security.
Summer blossomed with immigration to Rhodesia—with romance, marriage, and children.
And then on toward then end of summer, Rhodesia became Zimbabwe—taking me through to my autumn years. This was a season of spiritual growth and recognising God’s healing power.
Late autumn saw New Zealand become my home, and I am still here in the winter of my years. Even in winter there are crossovers. Spring pops up. New visions beckon! Is life on earth a training ground for eternity—a sort of seventy- or eighty-year apprenticeship?
As I review what I have written, my early years, spring, seem somewhat passive compared with summer, which burst forth, long and loud, blossoming with new learning experiences. Then those years eased into the calm of autumn, a time of reassessment, before relaxing into winter for evaluation. My temptation was to prune the loud, lively summer, but then a vital point would be missed. Life is a journey —a succession of pathways as God guides us through each stage, teaching eternal truths. Growth through the seasons of life is God’s design. There are markers, stepping stones on the journey.
When my winter years come to an end, a new journey will begin.
Years have passed since those first stirrings to write my story. My journal records my prayer: “Lord, please help me to get this done! I don’t want to be a failure and leave my book half finished.”
It is well under way but still a work in progress. After praying this prayer, I opened my daily reading booklet. The Word for that Day “happened” to be headed “When You Have A Vision”!
The first paragraph, so encouraging, read, “The vision is for an appointed time … though it tarries, wait for it, because I will surely come” (Habakkuk 2:3, KJV).
Maybe I am not such a failure, after all.
Maybe it’s just a timing thing.
Maybe the time is now ; my story is slowly taking shape.
I have a habit that can be annoying—a single word can trigger a song. Someone will say, “See you on Monday,” and I will start singing “Monday, Monday!”
As I focus on writing this book, a song from my youth resurges. I don’t know where it came from but find myself humming the tune, substituting my own words:
Someday I’m gonna write, the story of my life
The ups, the downs, laughter, and tears
Even in those wilderness years
When You guided me
(Verse 2)
I want the world to know, the story of my life
The moment I said the sinner’s prayer
I knew you had been always there
And You became Lord to me
(Bridge)
The sorrow when I turned away from you
The memory of a grieving heart
The wonder as you drew me back to you
Never