Saturday 24 May 2014

Pastor Carlin was so very special

Dear Marcia,
You are in my prayers. There isn't a day goes by when I don't think of you and pray for strength and peace for you.  I pray that each day God will lighten your sorrow and bless your heart with joy.
 
I see  all the beautiful flowers and green plants that are in abundance right now and pray that you will find some comfort in His wonderful creation . I will continue to keep you in my prayers dear Marcia.
 
I wanted to share some thing about one of Pastor Carlin's sermons . I was very new at Willingdon  and it was Easter Sunday 1995. Pastor Carlin was preaching on forgiveness. This most probably was the last thing I wanted to hear at that time. My husband had left us, me and our 3 children and gone to India because he did not want any thing to do with me as he was seeing another woman in India. I was so broken and bitter and forgiving him was not going to happen ever. But it did.
 
Pastor Carlin said that on our own we will never be able to forgive those who have caused us much pain but with God's help and with Jesus's words from the cross, "Father forgive them for they do not know what they are doing" it is possible. I felt that Pastor Carlin was talking to me. I came home and thought of his sermon. I was encouraged in my soul to act upon what I had heard in the church and with much prayer I did. I will always be reminded of that blessed day when I  wrote to my x and said that on my own I can never get past the anger and bitterness towards you but in His strength I am able. I forgive you for the wrong you have done to us and pray that you will do the same and forgive me. I never got any reply from him but it did not matter. I was blessed with such peace in my heart from that day. The heavy burden of not forgiving him had been weighing me down and eroding my soul.
 
Pastor Carlin was so very special to me. I never wanted to miss Church and always looked forward to his teachings . What a wonderful example of God's faithful servant he was. I will always remember him.
Lots of love.  Vidya

No comments:

Post a Comment