Dr. Terry and Renee Wortz on a Hospice Healing | COMPASS in the Storm Ep 11

Full Transcript

Transcribed from the episode audio. Names, places, scripture references and medical terms have been corrected, and caption noise has been removed. Speaker names are not marked, because the source captions marked only that the speaker changed and not who was talking. Paragraph breaks follow those speaker changes.

Then I said, “Terry, do you want to live or do you want to die and go be with Jesus?” And he looked at me and he said, “Renee, I want to live. I don’t know what your will is concerning this, but here’s the holy water and I’m going to pour it on his head and I’m going to pray.” Well, I was home preparing his funeral and God was there preparing a resurrection. The doctors had given up hope. He told her he wanted to live. So she anointed him and asked God to heal him. Stay tuned to hear this amazing story. Hi, I’m Lana Bach, your host on COMPASS in the Storm, where we feature stories of people who overcame lifealtering storms with God’s grace. And now bring hope and encouragement to others. If you’re looking for powerful, uplifting stories that will offer you hope and strengthen your faith, be sure to click the subscribe button so you don’t miss our monthly podcast. My guest today are longtime friends of mine from our early teen years. He bravely served in the US Air Force and afterward completed his residency in internal medicine. He started his own practice in Battle Creek, Michigan, where he and his wife founded a crisis pregnancy center. They also served as medical missionaries to Kazakhstan. Please welcome my guest and longtime friends, Dr. Terry and Renee Wortz. And Terry Renee, thank you so much for being with me today.

It’s our pleasure.

Our pleasure.

Well, Terry, first my listeners and I want to thank you for your service to our country. and Renee, it’s such a treat to see you and have you both on COMPASS in the Storm. it’s been a number of years since our youth camp days,

say it, but what half a century or so ago is old. Sounds so old. But I’ll always remember youth camp at Fhola Park when it wasn’t the Taj Mahal like it is today when we had the sawdust floors and shared bathroom community bathrooms and also I just want you to know you might want to give a shout out to the many friends from youth camp days that are going to be listening to this podcast and want to be able to wanted me to share a greeting with you too as we spoke today.

We’ll give him a shout out. And I just want to remind everyone that Renee and I met at that camp

on a Memorial Day weekend youth rally.

Yeah.

And so I saw this beautiful woman. I started chasing her.

God bless you both. Yeah. I think I think youth camp probably brought quite a few couples together.

Yeah, I would imagine. So,

but and I was thinking this too, Terry and Renee, that it’s a miracle

that we are even here talking to each other today because all three of us had major health issues. And I know at least two of us the doctors gave up on and but today I really want to focus on the recent miracle of healing that God did in your life. Terry and Renee, you were a key part of that miracle. So, and Terry, I know from what I understand, you were caught off guard when you became fatally ill a number of years ago, and really everyone expected you to die. In fact, the doctors sent you home on hospice to live out your last days. But God but God had other plans. And Terry and Renee, would you please share with our listeners today what happened to you and the events that led to that miracle in your lives?

Well, I’ll start, but Renee has to fill in the gaps because a lot of the things I have no memory of,

right?

We were living in Florida, living the dream, you know, retired doctor and his wife living in Florida. And Renee started noticing that my cheese slipped off my cracker and I was not behaving normally. I was not acting normally. And the short version is after seeing three different neurologists, they came to the conclusion I had probable Lewy body dementia. Now it wasn’t definite because you can only do definite at autopsy and I hadn’t died yet. So it was probable Lewy body dementia.

Yeah.

So then Renee said, I don’t want to deal with this here where I don’t know anybody. Do you mind if we I move us back to Michigan? and I said, “You know, in a few years, I’m not going to wear I am anyway, so I don’t really care.” Because the next part of the story starts when I had a heart attack after we moved. But I’ll let Rene talk about that.

Yeah. I just figured that since Terry knew the medical community a whole lot better here and was known. We weren’t just another old person in Florida, right?

I would move us back to at least where I felt a little more comfortable navigating

the medical system. Mhm.

And so we moved back and yeah, I won’t go into all the details of that move because it was quite horrendous. But we had great friends that were ready to help us on this end, which was a big big blessing. And so we did the final walkthrough. We had a house built here and we were doing the final walkthrough and he was very agitated. And anytime you move someone that is dealing with dementia on any level, just a lot of change can be very disruptive and very frustrating. And so I was kind of bracing myself for that. But what happened next was what was going to chart our course. We got into the car and after doing the final walkthrough of the house and he said, “Renee, I’m having a heart attack. you need to drive me to the ER. I knew he was still cognitive enough to know what was going on with that and so I believed him and he said, we were only about 15 minutes away from the hospital, but he said, “I know I’m going to black out between there and the hospital. Just keep going.” So, I said, “Okay, okay.” Okay. And so not probably two or three minutes after he said that, his eyes rolled back in the back of his head and he was gone. He wasn’t breathing. He wasn’t co he wasn’t conscious. And I kept saying, “Terry.” And he just he wouldn’t respond. And so I just said, “Well, Lord, if if this is the end, then I praise you for the years that we’ve had together, but please watch over him and I will get to the hospital as quickly as I can.” And I just kept driving. About 10 minutes after that, just a couple minutes before we got to the ER, he popped awake. And I said, “You’re back.” He said, “Yes, why aren’t we at the hospital yet?” I said, “I’m going as fast as I can. We got to the hospital and he jumps out of the car and I’m like, “Oh my goodness, what is he gonna do?” He jumped out and ran into the ER and he said, “I’m Dr. Wortz and I’m having an MI.” And he did indeed have a heart attack.

Let me interrupt real quick by saying I’m a known heart patient. I had three stents in my coronary arteries before this.

So, this was I carried nitroglycerin with me wherever I went.

So, it wasn’t like it was big. Yeah. it I mean he’d had heart issues but never to this level. So anyways he had a heart cath and after that procedure the cardiologist came to talk to us and he said well I’ve got some bad news and he said the right side is completely blocked.

That’s the right coronary artery.

Okay. And the left side is 80% closed. So he’s living on 20%. He said, “You need to take him home, put him on hospice, and get your fair affairs in order.” I said, “Okay.” Well, I was thinking, you know, God, this might really just be a mercy because he didn’t really want to live in the state of confusion and frustration that he was he was living out. And so I was thinking, well, God, if this is if this is your will, then we will embrace it and we will do the best that we can. So we took him home and we called hospice and we got everything all situated.

Over the next year, my health deteriorated to the point where I was bedridden and Ray couldn’t leave me alone

and he was on oxygen 247

and then eventually they put me on morphine. let’s see. I had nitroglycerin intravenous nitroglycerin patches, the morphine, other narcotics just to sort of manage the pain.

Yeah. His pain was so horrific with his chest. I mean it was like you kept having these heart attacks

and I mean it nothing would would

she kept asking me because she thought I was b going away. She said are you seeing Jesus or angels or anything?

I said no. And so one time I was I was having a bad spell and he she thought I was passing away. She turned on Bill Gaither music

and I turned lights down low

down low and I woke up and said, “Well, that’s good music to die by. Thanks a lot.”

I said, “Well, I was just trying to create a beautiful moment that if this was when you were passing, I

That’s right. It was thoughtful.”

But praise praise music. I think he took it wrong.

Anyways, he obviously didn’t pass then, but he kept his health just kept deteriorating to the point where finally hospice said, you know, we have a home that we’re affiliated with where we take patients and

that we know have less than a month to live

and I really feel like he’s he’s at the end right now.

And she said, the nurse said, “What do you think about taking us taking him there?” And I said, “Well, you know, at this point, you know, our whole goal is just to keep him comfortable and if you think that’s appropriate, then we’ll do that.” And so we did. We had him move there and they took excellent care of him.

Yeah. Besides the morphine, they also added fentanyl at that point. So it’s taking fentanyl and morphine.

So Okay. So there aren’t those called end of life drugs?

Yes.

Yes. He was he was on 275 mgram patches of fentanyl together 150 and not and then a morphine on top of that and then when his chest pain would really kick in and I would be trying to give him nitro any one of those things all of those things drop his blood pressure and I’m thinking I hope I don’t accidentally kill him. I’m just following protocol of what they were telling me to do. Well, we finally took him to this home where end of life happens and a priest came along and asked if he could pray for Terry. I said, “Of course.” And he said, “Renee, I don’t know what you think about holy water.” Now, because of our background, we definitely believe in miracles. We’ve seen many. I carried in my doctor bag anointing oil and when I didn’t have medicine for people, I’d say, “Can I pray for you?”

Because I can’t help you, but Jesus can.

Very. when we were medical missionaries,

he did that. And we saw great things happen.

She got the holy water but didn’t want to pour it on me and pray for me because I didn’t want to live. Yeah.

And so she said, “You’re going to save it for something important rather than

I said I said, “Well, thank you, Father, but he really doesn’t want to live. He just wants to go be with Jesus. But I’ll tell you what I’ll do. I’ll sit it on the nightstand and we’ll see what God does. If he if he miraculously wakes up and I ask him, “Do you want to live?” I’ll pour it on him and I’ll pray. I might have to just leave this in case I need something later on that’s really important and he didn’t want it.

Wow, that is so funny.

So, so one day I was just sitting in his room in my rocking chair. It was three days before Palm Sunday two years ago in March.

Yeah.

Only two years ago.

Two years. Yes.

And I was just sitting there watching him breathe listening to the hum of the oxygen machine and

he kind of rouses up and I said, “Terry,” I said, “Let me ask you a question. Do you want to live or do you want to die and go be with Jesus? Because for the last two years, that’s what you’ve been telling me.” and he looked at me and he said, “Renee, I want to live.” And that was the first miracle because up till that point, he did not.

I said, “Okay, that’s all I really needed to hear.”

And so I said, “Okay, Jesus, I don’t know what your will is concerning this, but here’s the holy water, and I’m going to pour it on his head, and I’m going to pray, and I’m going to ask Jesus. I’m going to invite all of heaven to come and visit this room. And so I just started praying over him. And I just I started speaking in tongues. And I just I said, I really don’t know what your will is, but I want to embrace whatever that is. You may take him and that will be okay. That will be what’s best. But if you decide to heal this man, he needs a complete overhaul from his head, his brain, his heart, everything. And there’s probably things in there I don’t know that are broken.

Heal it all. I don’t want a halfhealed man. Just do whatever you’re gonna do, Jesus.

Well, after I mean, and I did. I prayed intensely. I probably shook the rafters of that place. But, and so afterwards, I looked at him. I thought, well, it doesn’t look like he’s gonna get up and hop around anytime soon. So, I said, well, I kissed him and I said, I’m going home now. And I thought that was Friday. I came back Saturday. He still was on the breathing machine. It didn’t look like anything was happening. I just said, “Okay, Lord, whatever.” I did what you asked me to do. I prayed over him. Now, the results are up to you.

Mhm.

Sunday after church, I came to his room and he looked at me and he said, “I want a cup of coffee.” I said, now he hadn’t had much to eat or drink in probably a month. I said, ‘Well, I’m not sure a cup of coffee is really the best thing to start out with.’ He goes, “I want a cup of coffee.” I said,”Okay, we’ll give you a cup of coffee.” So, I brought him in a cup of coffee and then he took his oxygen off. He said, “I don’t think I need this anymore.”

Oh my word. So, Renee, this was Palm Sunday. This was Palm Sunday.

You must have been You must have been a little bit confused like, “Wait a minute. He’s asking for coffee. He’s taking his oxygen off.

That was that was my first was like, “Okay, what’s going on?”

Yeah.

And then the nurse came in and she saw that he’d had his oxygen off and asked about it. I said, “He said he doesn’t want it.” So I turned it off and he’ll tell us if he needs it back on. And so she went back out and she charted everything, you know, said, “Okay.” So she’s coming in to bring him his medications. He said, “Nope, I don’t want that anymore. Don’t need it.”

So, she went back out and started charting everything. And then, you know, over time, you know, he just he kept getting more and more alert.

Now, he had he’d almost I say rigor mortis had almost set in because

he had been bedridden for so long, right,

that all his muscles had atrophied everything. He could he it hurt just to move, you know, and if you raise him up. I we had to give him extra medication when the bath people came because just to move his limbs were just excruciatingly painful.

And so he started moving things like he hadn’t moved in a long time. And I thought that’s curious.

Well, before the week was over, I wanted to set up in a chair and eat pizza. They got me. They got me in a wheelchair, took me out to the kitchen and

and he sat there and ate.

Oh, I am just so much in shock because I know what those drugs do. Just the alertness that I mean that this is like I am Lord Jesus. Thank you.

Yes.

Wow. Wow. Wow.

So, within a month they decided, you know, he’s not dying anymore. We can’t keep him here. he no longer qualifies to be here when he when it first started happening they pulled me aside and they said now you know a lot of times when a person is about to die they will rally and I said

I understand I understand that I’ve seen it too

I said but you know what I think we’re looking at something that’s a whole lot different than that but we’ll time will tell and we’ll be able to tell exactly if this is a rally or if this is really a healing Well, they finally came and said he no longer qualifies to be here anymore and so it’s time to take him home. I said I kind of wondered when you were going to call come and tell me that because I’ve been watching it myself.

Yes.

And so it at this point still he you know he couldn’t walk or anything. So they had to transport him by ambulance back to our home into a hospital bed and then the real healing started.

Yeah. That was in April. They took me home. By July I went to a restaurant. It was our 50th wedding anniversary

and I wanted to take her out. So I went in a wheelchair. I was able to go to a restaurant with her. Wow.

And eat out at a restaurant. Then my next goal was because we had the deacon of our church bringing us communion every week and I said, “I want to go to church.” And so the next step was to be able to go to church. And I went with a cane and a walker. And then they kept bringing me communion at my pew and I said, “No, I want to walk.” And so I went in on a Saturday and I said, “I just no one’s here. I just want to practice walking and see if I can walk to the front of the church to get communion.”

And so I did my practice walk and I was good. So then after that, the next step was I wanted to join the choir. So I joined the choir back in the church. It’s a men’s choir. They call it the deaf row choir because everyone has a hearing aid except me. And I didn’t name it that. That’s what they call themselves.

But they actually are really good. And that’s what’s so funny about it.

And then within the last six months, they asked me to sing Ave Maria at a funeral. And I cantor in our church. So this the only solo music you’ll get in a Catholic church. But that’s all happened within the last six months. So God’s been definitely doing wonderful things with me.

And also our really good friends, they have a Bible study at our church. Now, we had never been to a Catholic Bible study and it’s on a Monday morning. And I’m thinking, well, I didn’t really know what to expect to be honest with you. I thought maybe 10 or 12 people might show up, you know, on a Monday morning. We got there were 43 people.

Oh, wow. Wow.

For a Monday morning Bible study. Now, this is an amazing Bible study. It is thorough. It is digging deep. It is It was something we really weren’t really expecting. But the really neat thing about it is that God gave Terry total recall of the word of God. And he was able to join in and add so much to the class that now for this next year they’re thinking about doing because it’s so big. They’re thinking about adding a night class and asking him to teach it.

Wonderful. Wonderful. on all this stuff. I’m trying to picture in my mind all this going on and so recent. And for those that are actually watching via YouTube or you know Spotify or whatever that they can actually see I have photos of the when Terry was ill that you posted Renee and the photo of you and Terry with the headband that you have on that was what about a year a was that a year later? That was last fall. So it was about a year about a year later.

So within I mean because I know when I was ill and I had to be bedridden, it took me about a year to get my muscles cuz atrophy had started in my legs and such. So I understand that and I when I but my whole the thing that’s so God here is that I know what those drugs do. And probably Terry cuz you’re a doctor, Renee. You’re married to a doctor and anybody that works with those medications know

for you to even be alert enough to open your eyes and ask ask Renee for a cup of coffee.

Exactly.

And a pizza.

Yes. Exactly.

Wow.

And to go and we had to titrate, you know, getting him off of all of these. You can’t just take them off cold turkey because of the nature of the drugs, but we could just little by little by little. And so today, he’s on nothing.

Wow.

No heart the Lord.

No heart issues, no memory, no dementia issues. I mean, he is he’s driving. I mean, he’s

I’m driving her nuts. But

no, you’re not. Well, Renee, your your prayers were answered and God has absolutely this is what a tremendous tremendous testimony for the Lord like like so my curiosity is and one of the things that somebody had wanted me to ask you was how like and we were raised in a denomination like we all know the Assemblies of God that believe in divine healing. you’ve seen it experienced it and now you are members of if I can say the name St. and Catholic Church, correct? In Augusta, Michigan. And so when you became ill, you must have drawn from both denominational beliefs, a combination of making you what they call Pentecostal Catholic. But first of all, how did your peers in the Catholic Church respond to the healing? Because I really don’t know how much healing they see. Maybe they see more than what I’m aware of. But also, what prompted you and Renee to go from the denomination that you were in into a different denomination?

Our our friends are very evangelical and the Catholic church we go to believes in miracles. And I mean, we believe that Jesus turns the bread and the wine into the body and blood of Christ every mass. And so, we believe that’s a miracle every mass. And they have healing masses. They have the anointing of the sick. The priests come and does that. So the Catholic church in and of itself very pro miracle and healing and no trouble with the belief in and that how we became Catholic is when I was about 16 I heard about this group people Catholics in Ann Arbor, Michigan that were charismatic. They were praying in tongues. had prayer meetings and I thought, you know, I’ve been taught that the Catholic Church is a cult and none of these people are saved or know Jesus. So, I got to figure out what’s going on. And so, I asked my dad about it. And I told him I wanted to go and he said, “You can go, but you have to go with a board member.” And so, I sent a board member with me that was a Catholic and had become Assemblies of God. And so, I went there and I thought, I see hippie people because I was a Jesus people. I saw hippie people and nuns and priests and deacons, monks, all worshiping Jesus the same way I did. Lifting their hands, praising God, speaking in tongues, words of prophecy, singing in the spirit. And I thought, I’ve been lied to my whole life. These people love Jesus as much as I do. They know Jesus as much as I do. So that started questioning in my mind about the Catholic Church because I was taught it was a cult. And then I started trying to figure out which church has the right teaching, which church is the right one because, you know, there’s a different church on every street corner. They all have the same Bible. They all interpret it differently. And it’s something that puzzled me my whole life. And then when we became missionaries, we went to Kazakhstan. We thought we were bringing the gospel to the people there. We didn’t know Jesus was already there working.

Wow. and the Orthodox Orthodox church had been there working for millennial millennia. The Catholic church was there and active. so I started realizing that there’s a whole lot of depth out there in understanding the church, understanding Jesus. And so I started studying the early church fathers. And if you don’t if you get deep in history, you’re going to get deep in the Catholic Church. basically when it came time to convert that the local bishop was my patient and I told him I wanted to and he brought me into the church but he Renee was a little bit behind me she wasn’t where I was so she waited about a year and then I’m not going to tell her part of the story but she eventually came into the Catholic church also

wonderful

well Terry had been my spiritual leader our whole married life and I was watching him carefully and I was praying and I really felt like God was saying, “Renee, you’re being disobedient not to follow your husband and, I have a purpose and you might not understand it.” So, I said, “Okay.” I said, “I don’t really understand all this, but there’s a lot that I haven’t understood, but I do it anyways.” And, and you always seem to make something beautiful come of it. So,

so I tell everyone I’m still a missionary. My mission now is to evangelize the sacramentalized. and to sacramentalize the evangelized.

Okay. So, so were you already in the Catholic Church when you became ill and were in the hospital, Terry?

Yes.

Okay. You are. Okay. So, so really your healing was something that I’m sure they rejoiced over, but they weren’t shocked over because they have experienced that before then. And

Right. Okay. they call me Lazarus at church.

Well, that’s a good that

that’s a good thing.

Good term. Exactly. I just

Yeah.

Unbelievable. And I know Terry, you know, you had the physical suffering and Renee, you had a lot of emotional suffering, but how did you know, you were drawing strength from all this different wisdom and knowledge and support you’re getting from your church and those friendships and family, but how did you each find the strength? Now Terry, I know it was hard because you were out of it for a little bit, but even with you Renee, I mean, you had such a level head and even when you’re talking about when the priest came and he left the holy water and you said, “Well, you know, right now this his my husband’s wish is this.” And I and I understand, you know, as a wife, you want to you want to fulfill your husband’s wishes no matter what the cost. So I understand those thoughts but without that he would have been in super pain just like you and Terry. So how did you get the strength? Where did you draw your because that’s I mean it is a horrific experience for both of you but especially for you as a caregiver. It takes a lot out of you and you do it all over again. I know. But where did you draw your strength from? Especially

before we left Florida. I really believe that God gave me the verse, you can do all things through Christ who gives you strength. And I said to him at that point, you gave me this verse and I really need you to fulfill that because you know that there are going to be a lot of things that I have to do that I have never done before because Terry has always taken care of all of it pretty much. I mean, he’s taken great care of me

through my MS adventures all these years.

And I just really felt like it was my turn to step up and really be the kind of strong partner that he needed right then, but I knew I couldn’t do it in my own strength. there were there was one day in which he was still kind of staggering around in the room and he tripped and fell in our bedroom and I thought, “How in the world am I going to pick him up and put him back on that bed?”

And I looked up at God and I said I looked up at the I said, “You do remember I have MS, right?” And then I got that verse. I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength. Now, I went over, he had one of those belts on that, you know, it’s kind of like a caregiver belt that you can steady them.

Yes.

And to this day, I know it had to have been some angels assisting me, but I picked him up and put him back on that bed. I mean, it was like he really didn’t weigh anything at all. And I was like,

“Wow, that was amazing.”

Another miracle. supernatural. Yes.

You know, it really was. And I just I thought about it and I thought, you know,

you’re right, Lord. I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength.

I believe that.

That is so and you know, that’s funny how the Lord knows exactly what you need to have to get you through. So in and with all this being said, you know, a lot of times when we go through experiences in life, hard seasons in life, people will sometimes become angry. did you did either of you ever become angry or question God during this time? and so

I didn’t at this time. I did when I when I was a missionary at one point. I did because I was asked to go visit a woman who had cancer and was dying from cancer by one of the ladies who was previously a Muslim but had become a Christian because the doctors over there if you’re going to die they don’t tell you’re going to die and so she said my mother needs to know she’s going to die because she needs to get things right with God

and I want you to come and examine her and tell her. So I went and examined her. She this lady was bright yellow from jaundice. Her liver was as hard as a rock. Her belly was all bloated from ascites from fluid in her abdomen.

And she thought I was an American doctor. I was going to come and give her some magic. And I told her I said to her, you know, I have nothing that’s going to help you. There’s no American medicine is going to help you. But I follow Issa. That’s the Muslim word for Jesus. I follow Issa and I believe he’s the son of God and he heals people and if you will allow me to I’ll pray for you in Issa’s name and we’ll see what happens. And she said, “Okay.” She let me. So I got out my anointing oil, put it put it on her, prayed for her in the name of Jesus, and then went away. Well, about a month later, this young lady came back to me and said, “Terry, I want you to come see my mother again.” I said, I in my mind, I’m thinking, I don’t want to see her again. I don’t like visiting dead people and dying people. And she said, “No, you got to come.” So I came and I knocked on the door to her house and some youngerl looking woman opened the door and I said, “Who are you?” And she introduced herself. She said, “I’m the lady you prayed for.” Her jaundice had gone away. She looked 20 years younger. She was up and at ’em walking around. I said, “What happened?” I was thinking, “If I can find out what medicine she was on, I can go to America and make a fortune selling this stuff.” She said, “Don’t you remember, Dr. Terry? you prayed for me

and I was I was just dumb for it. I went and examined her. There was no signs of any cancer in her liver had become soft again. The ascites was gone. The jaundice was gone. And so I left that house astounded. But I was very mad. I was angry at God. I said, “God, why did you heal this pagan Muslim woman?” And my wife is sitting over in our apartment with MS. We don’t even know if we can continue our mission because she’s suffering so much. and she’s got this MS. I was mad at God. But then I found out that the reason God healed her is her brother who was the head of the family asked for the pastor of the church to come and talk to the whole family about this Issa that healed his mo his sister.

Oh wow.

And they came and the pastor came and shared with them about Jesus and about salvation. And he said from this day forward we will no longer be Muslim. We’re going to be Christian. The whole family is going to become Christians. So they all converted.

They all converted that day. Praise the Lord. Wow. Wow.

God allows suffering for purposes and he allows healing for purposes and we just got to trust his timing.

Yes. Yes. Yes. So, so this question I was going to ask a little later, but since we’re on the topic of the this lady in Kazakhstan, if if someone were to say to you know, gee, Terry and Renee, why what is it? Why is it that God chose to heal, you know, you, Terry, and didn’t choose to heal my loved one? What would you say to someone like that?

Well, God does this all. Jesus does this all for God’s glory. And I just want to share a scripture with you from Colossians 1:24. Now, I rejoice in what was in what was suffered for you, and I fill up in my flesh what is still lacking in regards to Christ’s affliction for the sake of his body. So suffering is a gift from God. It’s not a punishment. God doesn’t punish his people by causing them to suffer. We He disciplines his children just like any good father disciplines but God doesn’t punish us. The punishment was taken on the cross for Jesus by Jesus the punishment for our sin. And when we suffer, it’s not for the sake of punishment or redemption in the sense of redeeming us from sin, but it’s for the sake of us learning and drawing and becoming closer to Christ and allowing the suffering that joining with Jesus and his suffering for the sake of the body, for the sake of the church. So my suffering was so that Jesus could receive glory in my healing. Renee suffering in her MS was because people in Kazakhstan needed to see that God loved them so much and Renee loved them so much that she would suffer through everything that she has to suffer through in order to bring the good news of Jesus to them. So suffering is to bring God’s glory. And we might might not even see it in this lifetime how it does it, but it’s for God’s glory and you just have to trust him.

Yeah. Yeah. That’s the key. I believe you just said it. Just have to trust him. And I often think about the scripture where the disciples asked Jesus about the blind man who sinned him or his parents and he said neither but that God would be glorified. sharing this with another pastor friend and I said you know could it be that our you know our demise sometimes is just for God’s glory which is hard to understand that but very very true very true and so really when someone is suffering and they think you know there’s no purpose for it from what I’m hearing both of you say there is really a purpose in our suffering you know what would you say was the one thing that compass that helped you navigate through that storm more than anything else?

I would say just all the memories of the way God showed up through our married life and all the different ways in which we have seen the finger of God just direct us in ways that we never saw coming,

but worked it all out so beautifully.

Wow.

And I just figured he would. Yeah. I mean, I could look at his the past memories of all of our lives and he’s never failed. Not one time. I can’t come up with an instance in which God, you failed me on that.

No, not one time.

Not one time. And I knew he wouldn’t in this. And and like I said, I’ve told many people, I was home preparing his funeral and God was there preparing a resurrection.

Wow.

And it was that close. It was like his life was hanging in the balance and God said, “Nope, it’s not time. I’ve got a better plan.”

I’m just saying what a testimony. I mean, as you said it, I mean, we were you were preparing for a funeral and God’s preparing for a resurrection. I love that. I love that. I know you’re saying, “Okay, these the memories of what God has done for us was a strong it was a strength for you.”

It was. What was the most important thing that you’ve learned from all this from this experience?

I to me the most important thing is the faithfulness of God that like the what Job said though he slay me yet will I trust him. I don’t always know what God’s doing. I don’t have to know. All I know is that I have I need to trust him. When we get up in the morning, my prayer is not that God will bless me and bless my day. My prayer is that I will follow Jesus. I will see what Jesus is doing. that I’ll be able to join him in what he’s doing, then I’m automatically going to be blessed.

I’m going to be blessed because I’m going to be working with Jesus in the areas he’s working on.

Yes.

And so, I just trust that I’m with Jesus and working with him every day. And I’m following him. I’m, I used to think I was a sheep dog, but now I think I’m more of a sheep.

Well, maybe you’re both. Could be both. Well, that’s awesome. That’s awesome. I don’t know, Renee. Is there anything that you would add to that as far as what would be the most important thing that you learned from that experience?

Oh, just that you don’t have to understand what you’re going through. It it may not make any sense at all. You may not ever know,

but you know, the fact of the matter is that God loves us so greatly that when we put our lives in his hands, we know that it’s all going to work out beautifully because that’s who our God is. Yes. Amen. What awesome words of wisdom and truth. And I do I believe that I always say that trusting God is a core element in serving him because I don’t think there’s any other way we can have peace when we’re in our storms at all. So, but Terry and Renee, everything you’ve given and I know there’s somebody watching right now or listening right now that’s in need of healing. and maybe kind of not sure, you know, maybe they’re at the end of the rope, maybe like you, Renee, and although you know, you had such a strong resolve in you, maybe someone watching is like, well, I don’t know if God can do this for me. What would you say to them?

He’s no respector of persons. He loves us so much. If we could just even just get a little glimpse of his great love for us. it’s amazing.

Absolutely.

It’s amazing. His love is incredible.

Absolutely. Absolutely. Terry, anything you want to add to that?

No, I think she summed it up real well. Okay. So I again I want to thank you for your encouraging words and actually the new perspective a new perspective on suffering and I don’t think my listeners will ever view suffering the same way. I don’t think I will ever view suffering the same way. And do you have any other direction where God is taking you for those of your friends that are watching and wondering what are Tara Renee doing these days?

We’re just celebrating every day. thankful for it.

Yeah, it’s a new adventure every day, you know. It’s we never know who who’s going to come to our door or who we’re going to run into or it’s a crazy wonderful life.

See, and people think it’s boring to serve the Lord. Absolutely not.

No, no. Never.

Well, we rejoice with you both and Terry for your healing. I know and many friends that know you rejoice with you and we’ve just been blessed

to have friendship these many years and I hope that through the years we’ll still carry on that friendship. I just hope it doesn’t take another 50 years,

right?

Well, you know, we’ll have all the time we need when we get to heaven.

It’s going to take us an eternity to catch up with everyone. But I know God I really believe God’s going to continue to open doors for you to share this miracle story of God’s healing power. Such a miracle. but I want to thank you again. Thank you both for sharing, for being on here. God bless you both. And again, I hope that it won’t be too much longer before we can meet up. We don’t live too far away from each other that we can meet up and maybe do lunch or something and just share God’s goodness. Thank you.

That would be great. Thank you, Lana.

Thank you for joining me on COMPASS in the Storm. I hope you received hope and encouragement for your journey. And friend, no matter what storm you are facing, no matter how broken you may feel, lift it up to Jesus and ask him to use your suffering to bring others to him. None of us enjoy suffering or pain. Jesus didn’t enjoy suffering on that cross as he bled and died for us.

When I was in the midst of my deepest pain, the Holy Spirit spoke these words to me. He said, “Your brokenness is the fertile ground where God can display his greatest beauty.” My friend, God sees you. He loves you. And he wants to walk with you through whatever stormy time you’re having today. All you need to do is ask him. Thank you for joining me today and remember stay the course.