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1. ctivatedCHANGE YOUR LIFE. CHANGE YOUR WORLD.
PASSING
INTO LIFEBEYOND THE HORIZON—
REAL LIFE BEGINS
HEAVEN’S
SPECIAL CHILD
A VISIT THAT CHANGED
EVERYTHING
BITTERNESS
KILLS
HOW TO KEEP FROM
BEING ITS NEXT VICTIM

2. “A baby is God’s opinion that life should go on,” the
poet Carl Sandburg (1878–1967) wrote. A newborn is an
affirmation of life and love and hope. It is also cause for
great celebration—the arrival of a brand-new soul, fresh
from Heaven. What awaits the little newcomer? All the
best, we hope: love, health, happiness, success, and every
other good thing that life has to offer.
But what if that baby isn’t everything we hoped and
prayed and expected it to be? What if it isn’t “normal”?
Or what if it won’t be ours to have and hold and love
for very long? What then? Does that mean God has
changed His mind, that all is lost, that life shouldn’t
go on? Such unexpected and unwelcome turns can be
devastating unless we know the Lord and have explicit trust
in this simple truth: “He has done all things well” (Mark
7:37).
God allows “good” and “bad” into all of our lives.
“He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good,
and sends rain on the just and on the unjust,” Jesus
said in Matthew 5:45. It is how we greet potentially
devastating events that makes the difference. The death
of a loved one, a life-threatening illness, financial loss,
betrayal, being the victim of violence or abuse—if any of
these should happen to you or someone you love, would
you let them make you bitter, or better?
In this issue of Activated you’ll read the firsthand
account of one couple who went through a heartrending
experience but let the Lord use it to deepen and better
their own lives, and to equip them to be a greater help to
others in their times of need.
Keith Phillips
For the Activated family
personallyspeaking
For a wide range of books and
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strengthen your family,and provide
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please contact one of our distribu-
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Activated Ministries
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EDITOR
Keith Phillips
DESIGN
Giselle LeFavre
ILLUSTRATIONS
Kristen Dufrane
PRODUCTION
Francisco Lopez
Issue 19
© 2001 Aurora Production,Ltd.
All Rights Reserved
Printed in Thailand
Unless otherwise indicated,all Scripture
quotations in Activated are from the New
King James Version of the Bible © 1982
Thomas Nelson,Inc.
2 activated issue 19

3. heaven’s
special
child
T
his is the story of our son
Gabriel, who was born with
Down syndrome and was truly
one of Heaven’s “special children.”
Although Gabriel only lived on this
earth for two years and four months,
the Lord used him to touch many
other lives and to teach us innumer-
able precious lessons of love, faith,
conviction, endurance, compassion,
humility, courage, prayerfulness, and
the reality of Romans 8:28: “We know
that all things work together for good
to those who love God.”
When the doctors first told us
that Gabriel had Down syndrome, it
was very difficult for us to accept,
but as we became more informed,
we found out how special Down syn-
drome children are. And of course
the more we got to know Gabriel
and enjoyed his sweet angelic spirit,
the less we thought of him as
a “retarded” child and the more
we suspected that we were like
the people who the Bible says
had “unwittingly entertained angels”
(Hebrews 13:2).
Gabriel had several serious phys-
ical disabilities from birth, and obvi-
ously his body was not designed to
last very long. It functioned only by
the grace of God and a large daily
dose of desperate prayer and praise.
Each day was a miracle, a gift. We
compiled a list of Bible verses for
Gabriel’s health and strength, and
referred to it often. The promise we
claimed the most was, “He gives
power to the weak, and to those
who have no might He increases
strength” (Isaiah 40:29). The Lord
surely fulfilled that promise in
Gabriel.
When Gabriel was six months
old, he contracted a severe cough. As
we desperately sought the Lord for
Gabriel’s healing, He told us that He
was trying to teach us endurance. As
we dug into the Bible to learn what
that meant, we were encouraged to
find that this virtue had helped fash-
ion many men and women of God
into the people He wanted them
to be. As for us, we needed to not
just pray once and count it done;
By Marianne and
Jerry Paladino
activated issue 19 3

4. we needed to labor in prayer and
keep seeking the Lord with our whole
hearts. When we realized this and
did our part, then the Lord did His:
Gabriel was completely healed from
the life-threatening cough.
With every crisis, the Lord
seemed to teach us a new lesson on
healing and fervent prayer, usually
by helping us apply something we
had read in His Word. It was like a
whole new grade in life—one that
taught us lessons we couldn’t have
learned any other way. Many times
we wished we could have been the
ones suffering instead of our child,
but we came to see that the Lord
knew best, as always, because it
caused us to fight even more in the
spirit for Gabriel than we would have
fought for ourselves. Many times we
had to use the Word to overcome
thoughts that the battle was too
hard or that we had brought this sit-
uation on ourselves by our mistakes
and sins, and therefore deserved this
“punishment.” Each time, the Lord
gave us just the comfort and strength
we needed.
Gabriel was our little emissary
from Heaven. His real love was
books, especially Bible picture
books. Pictures of Jesus always made
him smile. He also loved for us to
sing him songs about Jesus, which he
would act out with simple motions.
His was a beautiful, pure spirit—like
a butterfly in a cocoon just waiting to
be set free.
Although the Lord had done His
best from the start to prepare our
hearts for the day that He would call
Gabriel home, we nevertheless grew
very attached to him. Maybe that
was because he was a special child,
or maybe because we were aware
from the start that he was “on loan
from Heaven,” even more temporar-
ily than our other children.
One day, as Gabriel was espe-
cially weak from a bout of the chick-
enpox, he began to show unusual
signs that seemed to indicate he
was going to have convulsions, so
we took him to the hospital for
a checkup. During what began as
a routine examination, Gabriel
fainted. As the doctors tried to revive
him, we got out a little hymnal that
we had with us, and it opened to
the song “Some Golden Daybreak.”
That seemed to be God’s signal
that Gabriel was on his way home.
Gabriel never regained conscious-
ness.
4 activated issue 19

5. We felt a tremendous sense of
loss, of course, but the Lord com-
forted us as only He can. What more
could we have asked than to know
that Gabriel was happy and whole at
last, his suffering ended?
Gabriel’s return to Heaven made
that place more real to us. We had
believed in Heaven before, of course,
and had looked forward to exploring
its beauties and mysteries some day,
but now that Gabriel is there, Heaven
seems more like home and we find
ourselves loosening our grip on the
things of this life. We’ve never been
the same since Heaven’s special
child came to visit us. Gabriel never
belonged to us, you see. He was a
messenger on a mission—to melt
our hearts and teach us the true
values of life.
•
At Gabriel’s memorial service,
someone saw a vision of a butterfly
that had just escaped from its
cocoon. In a way, Gabriel was like a
little caterpillar in this life—in fact,
he never even learned to crawl as
well as a caterpillar. But now he is
like a beautiful butterfly, and has
flown to freedom. A week later, Jerry
put the vision to song: “The Golden
Butterfly.”
THE GOLDEN BUTTERFLY
By Jerry Paladino
Once the night looked kindly,
Once the sun did shine,
Upon a gentle treasure
That once on earth was mine.
Once he smiled to see me,
And I,to hold him near.
But now my eyes are misty,
My treasure’s far from here.
But I’m happy ’cause you’re happy,
’Cause you’re in Heaven,safe at last.
Trials are past; pain is over.
That cocoon’s no more your home,
For our precious golden butterfly has
flown.
Thank God the race is over.
Thank God the fight is done.
Together with our Savior
We fought the war and won.
With victory now behind us,
I long to soon abide
There where you are waiting
On the Other Side.
Once I held a treasure;
Now it’s stored away.
Once I dreamed of Heaven—
It’s real to me today.
And all that keeps me earthbound
Are those I need to bring
When I come to join you
Beyond the rainbow’s gleam.
I’m happy ’cause you’re happy
’Cause you’re in Heaven safe at last.
Peace and joy and love and laughter,
All abound in that new home
Where our precious golden butterfly
has flown. ❑
activated issue 19 5

6. Sailing
Home
I am standing on the seashore.A ship spreads
her white sails to the morning breeze and
starts for the ocean.I stand watching her
until she fades on the horizon,and someone
at my side says,“She is gone.”Gone where?
The loss of sight is in me,not in her.Just
at the moment when someone says,“She is
gone,”there are others who are watching her
coming.Other voices take up the glad shout,
“Here she comes!”That is dying.
—Henry Scott Holland
Where is there a country without sin,
crime,lawlessness,bloodshed,disease,death,
sorrow,or heartache? Heaven is one“coun-
try”where there is an absence of all the prob-
lems that are common to any other land,
for in God’s country there are no barriers,
no walls or curtains to divide; no race barri-
ers; no soldiers,because there are no wars;
no policemen or prisons,because there is no
crime; no beggars,because there is no pov-
erty,only plenty for all; no hospitals or phy-
sicians,because germs,diseases,disabilities,
and sickness are unknown; no undertakers,
because there is no death; no separations or
broken homes,only love and harmony.What
a country! Doesn’t the thought of all that
make you homesick for Heaven?
—H.Lockyer,adapted
Very often people come to me and say:“Mr.
Moody,do you think we shall know each
other in Heaven?”Very often it is a mother
who has lost a child and wishes to see it
again.Sometimes it is a child who has lost
their mother or father and wants to recog-
nize them in Heaven.There is a verse in Scrip-
ture in answer to this,and that is:“We shall
be satisfied”(Psalm 17:15).It is all I want to
know.We will see all those we loved on earth
up there,and if we loved them here,we will
love them ten thousand times more when
we meet them there.
—Dwight L.Moody
Beyond
It seemeth such a little way to me
Across to that strange country—the Beyond;
And yet,not strange,for it has grown to be
The home of those of whom I am so fond.…
And so for me there is no sting to death,
And so the grave has lost its victory.
It is but crossing—with a bated breath
And white,set face—a little strip of sea
To find the loved ones waiting on the shore,
More beautiful,more precious than before.
—Ellen Wheeler Wilcox
6 activated issue 19

7. Feeding Reading
Faith
Fight
=
+
Victory
Endurance
To endure means to be patient in
adversity,to hold fast.
The Lord often tests our faith and
endurance.
Ezekiel 22:14
2 Timothy 2:3
2 Timothy 4:5
Hebrews 12:7
Rewards await those who endure
the testing of their faith.
Matthew 10:22
Hebrews 10:35–36
James 1:12
Examples of endurance from
God’s Hall of Fame:
Abraham:Hebrews 6:15
Moses:Hebrews 11:27
The prophets:James 5:10–11
Jesus:Hebrews 12:1–3
Paul:2 Timothy 3:11; 2:10
S
ometimes the Lord lets our faith be tested
right to the brink in order to prove that it’s
real faith. We’ve got to be willing to trust the
Lord, live or die, sink or swim, like Job. Despite
the loss of everything dear to him, Job kept trust-
ing God. He finally overcame, and in the end God
gave him back more than he had lost. Job’s is one
of the most glorious testimonies in the whole
Bible. In the face of suffering and defeat and
discouragement, his faith carried him through.
That’s the greatest victory of all—when we seem
to be defeated and yet we still trust the Lord.
The Lord must really be pleased with that kind of
faith. “This is the victory that has overcome the
world—our faith” (1 John 5:4).
Sometimes life itself is a struggle. It takes
faith and courage and a lot of fight. The trouble
with some people is that they stop trying in
trying times. They faint in their minds (Hebrews
12:3 KJV). They give up mentally and spiritually.
But God says, “Men ought always to pray and not
to lose heart” (Luke 18:1), and to “not grow weary
while doing good, for in due season we shall reap
if we do not lose heart” (Galatians 6:9).
The will is powerful! “The spirit of a man
will sustain him” (Proverbs 18:14). Strong faith
plus a strong will can overcome even seemingly
insurmountable difficulties. So don’t give up too
soon, don’t get rescued prematurely, don’t quit
just before the victory. Anything wonderful can
happen in that little margin of time when you
don’t give up, but keep on believing and praying.
The Lord loves to watch you make it in spite
of all the tests and trials. He loves to watch you
run and win the race, endure the affliction, and
fight through to victory!
—David Brandt Berg ❞
❝Prayer for the day
I thank You,Jesus,not only for the
happy times You give me,but also for
the troubles and tears.Thank You for
the tough times that drive me to You.
They’re worth it,because You’re always
here for me,to comfort me and see me
through.I can always cling to You and
You will hold me,no matter what may
come my way.What could be better
than that?
activated issue 19 7

8. Compiled from the writings of
David Brandt Berg
W
hen you have faith in God, you don’t
have to grieve when loved ones go on
to be with the Lord, “as [do] others
who have no hope” (1 Thessalonians 4:13). Of
course, bidding loved ones farewell is in some
ways a sad occasion, but if you and they love
Jesus, you know you’ll see them again. And
though you will miss them, you can be happy
for them, knowing that they are finally free
from all the trials and troubles of their earthly
bodies, that they have gone on to a far better
life.
Now our mortal bodies and the problems
of physical life drag us down, but once we
leave this life and pass into the spirit world,
we won’t have those weights anymore. We
will have graduated from the grade of earthly
The American newspaper editor and columnist Arthur
Brisbane (1864–1936) once pictured a crowd of grieving
caterpillars carrying an empty cocoon to its final resting
place.While the poor,distressed,black-clad caterpillars
were grieving for their lost companion,a beautiful but-
terfly fluttered happily above,forever freed from its
earthly shell.
Needless to say,Brisbane had the average funeral in
mind and sought to convey the idea that when our loved
ones pass,it is foolish to remember only the cocoon and
concentrate our attention on the remains while forget-
ting the“butterfly.”
8 activated issue 19

9. life, and passed into the eternal heav-
enly realm of the spirit (1 Corinthians
15:53–54; 2 Corinthians 4:18; 5:1–4).
Most people try to not think
about death. Even though they know
it will come to them sooner or later,
they try to just ignore it and make
no preparations. That may seem fine
when they’re young and in good
health, when death seems far away,
but when they come face to face
with death through accident, illness,
or old age, if they don’t know the
Lord and His plan for salvation, it
can be a very frightening prospect
indeed—like taking a plunge into the
unknown.
The Bible talks about those who
live in bondage through fear of death
(Hebrews 2:14–15). The reason most
people fear death is that they’re not
prepared to die. But it’s different for
those who have received Jesus as
their Savior. They know where they’re
going—Home to Heaven—and with
Jesus as their guide, they have noth-
ing to fear or dread.
Death for born-again children of
God is no loss, for “to die is gain”
(Philippians 1:21), and to be absent
from the body is to be present with
the Lord (2 Corinthians 5:8). Their
troubles are over! They may experi-
ence a little bit of pain for a moment,
but then they’re free.
For us who know and love Jesus,
death will be sweet release to a new
world and a new life. These old
bodies are so heavy; they get tired,
hurt, and sick. But the moment we
die, we will instantly be liberated
from the shackles of the flesh into
the boundless world of the spirit.
This is why the apostle Paul fearlessly
flaunted these words in the face of
death: “O death, where is thy sting? O
grave, where is thy victory?” (1 Cor-
inthians 15:55 KJV). Jesus took the
sting out of it. We pass through death,
but without sting, and through the
grave, but with victory for us, not
the grave. It’s our homecoming, our
deliverance; it’s our coronation day!
The end of the road will be
just the beginning! We’ll meet our
departed loved ones again, find our
lost loves, and be joined with them all
in an eternal life of love and joy and
heavenly happiness forever with the
God of love!
Oh, what a day that will be when
you join Jesus in His heavenly king-
dom to reign with Him for evermore
(2 Timothy 2:12; Revelation 22:5). You
will experience joy such as you have
never known, you will see glories
such as you have never seen, and you
will know that it has been worth it all!
“He who hears My Word and
believes in Him who sent Me has
everlasting life, and … has passed
from death into life” (John 5:24). “I
am the resurrection and the life. He
who believes in Me, though he may
die, he shall live. And whoever lives
and believes in Me shall never die”
(John 11:25–26). “Let not your heart
be troubled; you believe in God,
believe also in Me. In My Father’s
house are many mansions; if it were
not so, I would have told you. I go
to prepare a place for you. And if
I go and prepare a place for you, I
will come again and receive you to
Myself; that where I am, there you
may be also” (John 14:1–3).
As the beautiful old hymn says:
When morning dawns,farewell to
earthly sorrow,
Farewell to all the troubles of today.
There’ll be no pain,no death in
God’s tomorrow,
When morning dawns and shadows
flee away.
How little then these trials of life
will seem,
How light the heavy burdens we
have borne.
The deepest sorrow,like a passing dream,
Will be forgotten in that blessed morn. ❑
activated issue 19 9

10. Helping others—
from a hospital bed!From Sandra Bellaviti,Tanzania
E
ven before I started serving the
Lord as a full-time missionary,
I wanted to work in a hospital
to help those in need, not just phys-
ically, but emotionally and spiritu-
ally. More recently, while living in
the Ukraine, I prayed for the Lord
to use me in such a ministry. I got
my chance a short while later when
I developed a serious stomach and
intestinal disorder and found myself
in a hospital ward for 24 days! God
turned my adversity to others’ good.
It didn’t take long to see the need
and suffering of those around me.
I asked the Lord to help me be an
encouragement to them, and went
to work. I used Family posters to
brighten the walls of the room I
shared with four other women, and
brightened their spirits in the pro-
cess. I also took time to meet and
talk with others on my floor of the
hospital.
Twenty-five-year-old Daniela
was given the bed next to mine. She
has the beauty and all the airs of a
model or actress, I thought as she
walked into the room for the first
time. Despite her practiced poise, I
could tell she was afraid. After she
settled in, I introduced myself.
“I prayed that the person in the
bed next to mine would be someone
extra special to Jesus,” I told her. At
those words she burst into tears and
told me that she no longer believed
that God loved her.
She was an actress and singer,
she went on to explain, and had per-
formed in everything from TV com-
mercials and music videos to stage
plays and operas. It was then that I
realized I had once heard her sing on
a tape, and my heart had gone out to
her at the time. Her song had seemed
to come from a heart crying out for
real love—God’s love.
“Just as I was enjoying success,”
she said, “my life suddenly crum-
bled. I had known my fiancé since
childhood, and we were very much
in love. Then he was killed in a
motorcycle accident! I lost all faith in
a loving God.”
For the next two hours she told
me her life story, including some
things she said she had never told
even her best friends. After her boy-
friend’s accident she cut her long
hair, quit seeing her friends, and
stopped singing and acting. She sat
in her room alone and cried for six
months. When she finally tried to
10 activated issue 19

11. pull herself out of the deep depres-
sion she was in, she didn’t have the
strength. Then she found she had
tumors in one of her breasts. Her life
had reached its lowest, darkest point.
At the end of that first conver-
sation, Daniela asked Jesus to come
into her heart and help her over-
come the problems that had plagued
her since she lost her boyfriend.
By the next day she was telling
the other women in our room that
the Lord now lived in her heart, and
how He had taken away her bitter-
ness and depression. She also told
them that I was a missionary, and
that I had a beautiful prayer to
pray with them. At her urging, they
also prayed to receive Jesus as their
Savior.
When her mother visited,
Daniela told her that she had asked
Jesus into her heart, and her mother
cried for joy.
“I was admitted to the hospital
for breast surgery, but what I needed
even more was heart surgery,”
Daniela quipped.
Over the next days I used every
opportunity to encourage Daniela
and the others, and to strengthen
their budding faith. We talked a lot
about the Lord, and read from the
Bible. Before long our ward became
known as the “happy room.”
Daniela prayed that I would be
able to be with her on the day of her
operation, and the Lord answered
that prayer. I was also able to be with
about 10 others shortly before their
operations. I gave them all some
things to read, to comfort them and
strengthen their faith. I also prayed
with them and their families. The
atmosphere in the emergency sur-
gery ward was often tense, but it was
also a golden opportunity to witness
to and pray with others when they
needed Jesus most.
The Lord touched the hearts of
some of the doctors, nurses, and
staff, too. Shortly before I was dis-
charged, I thanked one of the nurses
for being such a soft-hearted person
and really caring for others. After 24
days in that ward, I knew she was
special.
“I have prayed for Jesus to use
me as a channel of His love,” she
said, struggling to hold back the
tears, “and now it’s wonderful that
you tell me you can see that!”
Daniela has also been released
from the hospital, and phones me
often. I continue to encourage her
and other friends from the hospital
in their new lives with the Lord and
His love. ❑
Triumphs from Troubles
The Lord engineers every situation,and He has a good purpose for
everything—even our troubles.“We know that all things work together
for good to those who love God”(Romans 8:28).So the next time you
find yourself in a situation that doesn’t look so“good”to you,take
another look.It could be that He has brought you to that place because
there’s someone else there that He wants to show His love and good-
ness to,through you.Get busy trying to help them,and the Lord will
turn your“bad”to their good and bless you in the process!
—David Brandt Berg
activated issue 19 11

12. Answers to your questions
Q: Some months ago,I suf-
fered a personal loss that
made me wish I were dead.
I often still feel that way.I
know it’s not right,but some-
times I can’t help being angry
with God for having let this
happen to me.My friends
don’t understand either.They
sympathized at first,but then
they started telling me to get
on with my life.Lately they’ve
been avoiding me.I’ve never
felt so miserable or so alone.
What can I do?
I
t sounds like you’ve been through
a lot! Heartbreaks like the one
you experienced aren’t easy to get
over—especially if you try to do so
on your own or turn only to earthly
friends for sympathy and comfort.
At times like this, it’s important to
remember that Jesus understands
what we’re going through, and that
His is the best kind of sympathy—
full of hope and solutions and an
extra large measure of His unfailing
love. But sad to say, when these situ-
ations have been going on for some
time, our own attitudes can some-
times hinder the Lord from showing
us all the love He would like to. Bit-
terness is often the main culprit.
“Watch out that no bitterness
takes root among you,” the Bible
warns, “for as it springs up it causes
deep trouble, hurting many in their
spiritual lives” (Hebrews 12:15 TLB).
Bitterness is a serious spiritual prob-
lem, but the Lord has a solution that
is both simple and sure: “Call upon
Me in the day of trouble [and] I will
deliver you” (Psalm 50:15).
12 activated issue 19

13. The best way to keep weeds out
of your garden is to not let them get
planted there in the first place; the
best way to prevent bitterness from
springing up in your life is to not
let any critical or resentful thoughts
take root in your mind and heart.
But what if those negative
thoughts are already there?—And
what if they’ve been there long
enough to take root? Your best hope
is to call on Jesus, the Master Gar-
dener, to help you rid your garden of
those pernicious weeds. You can’t do
it yourself, and even He can’t do it
without your help and cooperation.
The two of you must work together.
You must first be willing to con-
fess your own wrong attitudes in the
matter, and truly want to be deliv-
ered. Pride, self-righteousness, crit-
icalness, resentment, vengefulness,
spite—all of these are sins that not
only lead to bitterness, but also keep
you in that state. “He who covers
his sins will not prosper, but who-
ever confesses and forsakes them
will have mercy” (Proverbs 28:13).
Regardless of the circumstances that
led to your bitterness, you must be
willing to admit that the real prob-
lem now lies with you. Then you
must completely let go of those ill
feelings toward the Lord or others.
To let go, you must first forgive.
To obtain mercy, you must be mer-
ciful; you must stop holding other
people’s mistakes and faults against
them (Matthew 6:14–15). If that
sounds humanly impossible, that’s
because it is. You must ask Jesus
to give you enough of His love to
mercifully forgive those who have
wronged you—and He will. “Love
will cover a multitude of sins”
(1 Peter 4:8). Do those things, and
you will also experience the Lord’s
mercy.
What then? How do you keep the
weeds from invading your garden all
over again? You plant flowers in their
place and tend them diligently. Make
a conscious effort to think only posi-
tive, loving thoughts. Read, absorb,
think about, and apply God’s Word to
your daily life and interactions with
others. His Word will put your life
back on a positive course and keep
it there. Start with Romans 8:28: “We
know that all things work together
for good to those who love God, to
those who are the called according to
His purpose.” Ask God to show you
His good purpose in every situation,
including those that led to your bit-
terness, and He will. Happy garden-
ing! ❑
Bitterness Kills
Bitterness is very much like the South American vine known as
el matador—“the killer.”Beginning at the foot of a tree,the vine
slowly works its way to the top,and as it does,it kills the tree.
Bitterness may appear harmless when it is small,but if it is allowed
to grow,its tendrils of resentment,malice,and hatred will put a
stranglehold on the heart and soul.
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14. Parenting from the heart
the bookmark
I
’m sitting here staring at the side of my
computer screen, where I’ve stuck up one
of the cutest little bookmarks I’ve ever
owned. It has a picture of a mother hugging a
little child, and a quote from Charles Dickens at
the bottom: “It is not a slight thing when they,
who are so fresh from God, love us.” When
I read that quote, it thrilled me through and
through. I resolved to use that bookmark for my
next reading project. Unfortunately, I failed to
immediately tuck the dear little bookmark safely
away, and so it lay, halfway to greatness, on
my desk—at just at the right height for a very
cute short person (my three-year-old daughter)
to spot it and pick it up.
This bookmark is one of those with three
sides of a little square cut out near the top, so it
can be hooked over the top of a page and stay
in place. By the time I noticed that Kimberly
had found it, she had pulled on and accidentally
broken the top part off.
I knew this was an innocent act, of course.
She hadn’t meant to break it; she was just
trying to figure the thing out. But because I had
had such a special bonding experience with that
bookmark, I was a bit distressed. I snatched the
pieces from her, and put them aside.
Later, after Kimberly was in bed, I picked
up the two pieces of the bookmark and read
the quote again. Suddenly the whole experience
struck me in an entirely new light. Did this
bookmark have to be perfect to be special? I
could tape it back together and it would be
as good as new—maybe even better than new
because it would have something that it hadn’t
had before: evidence of having been touched
by those little hands that I love so dearly. Now
that bookmark is twice as special to me, Scotch
tape and all. ❑
—By Jasmine St. Clair
Let us strive to see things that are as they
should be; and as we live in an imperfect world,
let us be content to glory in that imperfection,
that each building block of the day’s events
may rest upon another to form the final product
of a life rich and full—not in the glassy beauty
of perfection, but in the rich fullness of love.
—J.S.C
KIMBERLY, AGE 3
14 activated issue 19

15. peaceIN PLACE OF BITTERNESS
From Jane,
South Africa
I
’ll never forget a man I met during one of our Sunday
afternoon visits with patients at a local hospital. I
was working my way through a ward of about 20
men, offering personal words of encouragement and
Gospel posters, when I saw him in the back of the room.
He was the only white man in the ward, and one of
very few whites in this particular hospital. Bitterness
streamed from his eyes.
I braced myself, and struck up a conversation.
Before long, I understood why he was so bitter. He
had been born and raised during South Africa’s apart-
heid era, and like many of his generation and social
standing, he had become a racist. His animosity toward
blacks was more than justified, he said. Two days earlier,
on his way home from work, he had been mugged by
two black men and stabbed in both arms in the ensuing
scuffle. Shortly before I met him, a doctor had informed
him that the knife had been rusty, and he now had such
a serious case of blood poisoning that both of his arms
might have to be amputated in order to save his life.
Only the Lord’s Spirit and the healing balm of His
love could ever free this man from such horrible bitter-
ness, I thought.
I knew that there was nothing I could say to ease his
suffering and anguish, so I just prayed for him silently
and listened as he continued to pour out his heart to
me. Ever so slowly, a transformation began to take place.
The Lord was answering my prayer! When he’d gotten
everything out, I told him that Jesus could replace the
hatred he felt with supernatural love and peace, and I
asked him if he would like to pray with me to receive
Jesus into his life.
The hardened look on his face changed, after he
prayed, to one of trust and acceptance. Jesus had given
him the “peace of God, which surpasses all understand-
ing” (Philippians 4:7).
By the time I had to leave, he was a different man.
Jesus had saved his soul and delivered him from the
weight of bitterness and resentment. ❑
Forgiveness is
the key that
unlocks the
doors of
resentment and
the handcuffs of
hate. It is a
power that
breaks the
chains of
bitterness and
the shackles of
selfishness.
—E.C.McKenzie
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16. Forgive and Forget
My heart aches to see the heartache you have
felt,for I feel the pain,the anger,the regret,the
remorse,the feelings of being hurt and angered
by the faults and mistakes and even the sins
of others.I also know that it’s human nature to
want to retaliate,to want revenge,and to fight
against forgiving and burying your differences.
To truly forgive and forget is one of the most
difficult things for anyone.
Only through Me can you be freed from these
roots of bitterness that entangle your heart.I
am love,I am forgiveness,and I’m here for you,
waiting to lift this load of bitterness that you’ve
been carrying around.Take it off and give it to
Me.Just say,“Jesus,take this.I don’t want it any-
more.”I will make it disappear forever.Together
we will bury it in My love,so that you can once
again feel the brightness and lightness of My
love and the happy joy of My Spirit.I will make
you whole again.
—Jesus