Do you feel crushed by your circumstances? How do we hold onto hope in the midst of despair? Jackie Aviles says, “Hope isn’t a thing we grasp for, it’s a person we connect with.” She is on the show sharing her story of never meeting her biological father, becoming a pastor’s wife, and being diagnosed with terminal cancer.
On today’s episode we chat about:
- Marriage and motherhood in the midst of a diagnosis
- Judging God’s story before He reveals His hand
- Loving others well through a diagnosis
- Hope killers
As you tune in, we pray you feel more equipped with the disciplines to take your next step out of your pressing situations and to keep walking toward your purpose.
Quotes:
“Because I had been abandoned so much, I started working towards being the person that can’t be abandoned. I reached for security in myself and stability in others.”
“The more I resisted the Lord the more broken I became. I didn’t realize God was breaking me to bless me.”
“As a pastor‘s wife, one of the most difficult things we do is walk with the hurting and the broken to help them find the hope of the gospel.”
“Your pastor’s wife is not perfect, she is normal. The same is true of her children.”
“One of the best love offerings that you can give is your prayers.”
“The doctors gave me a 7% chance of living, which was about six months to live. After months of chemotherapy, 12 surgeries, and 52 radiations, I was forced to write a will and tell my children that I would be going to heaven soon. Hope kept us together. I’m here five years later. That is my testimony. I am a walking miracle.”
“My whole perspective changed. My prayer life changed immensely. I didn’t want to take anything for granted. I went from trying to be a better mom to embracing being a broken mom. The things that I thought were big deals, we’re not a big deal anymore.”
“I was so desperate to see and hear God because I didn’t know what else to do. God promises healing either in heaven or on earth.”
“Love is sacrifice. It costs something.”
“God is close and He desires to meet you right where you are today. Hold on to hope.”
“Despair tells you this is the end of the story. Hope tells the whole story.”
“God stays with us in our suffering so that we can stand with others in their suffering.”
“It’s all about handling our limitations and handing them over to the God who has none.”
“When we suffer we have to ask ourselves who will be right with us. Jesus always will.”
“Hope killers are rooted in the lie that we are hopeless.”
“The promise the Lord made was not that the storm wouldn’t come, it was that He would be with them in the storm.”
Resources Mentioned:
Go And Tell Gals with Jess Connolly
Pressed Toward Purpose
“To love starts with listening. My prayer is that God makes us a people who want to hear.”
Connect with Jackie:
@jackie_aviles
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