A personal Testimony from Karla/ wife of Chip Brogden.

Admin Tue 06 Apr 2010, 12:08 pm

April 5, 2010

Hello everyone!
I wanted to personally thank each and every one of you for the prayers, emails, cards, and encouraging words during this painful experience I have had. Believe me they all made a difference.

As many of you know back in 2006 I had the same thing happen. I had no idea three years later it would happen again. This has been the most painful thing I have ever gone through in my life. What started out as a bulging disk turned into a ruptured disk that broke off into four pieces. Each piece was pushing on a nerve and the disk itself was pushing on my nerve root.

I wanted to share a little of how the Lord looked after me during this. From the paramedics that transferred me to the nurses and doctors I had, everyone was so nice and understanding. The Lord placed compassionate people in my path to help me. The pain was intolerable and I had the question, "Where is the grace in this Lord? I can't take any more. You said You will not put more on us than we can take and believe me I am past that point."

At the time I didn't see mercy but even in such a horrible thing to go through, the Lord provided mercy and grace during it. The pain may not have been taken away but there was meds to help keep it under control; I could have ended up not able to walk ever again; all the people who helped me in their jobs were really caring people. So you see it could always be worse. I look at the examples we have in the Bible of Christians and the things they went through. My situation really can't compare with a lot of their sufferings. So see, there is grace even when we don't see it. Also you have to remember our Life is not here.

I remember the night before I was to have surgery, Chip read me the emails you had been sending. One in particular stood out. A family wrote in to say they were praying for me and lifting me up to the Lord while they themselves were getting ready to attend their seven-day-old child's funeral. I began to cry and sob. How can someone going through this be praying for someone else? That has to be the Lord! This is what the family of Christ is all about. We share each other's burdens. I pray that family is touched a million times over by peace, grace, and mercy!

I know a lot of you have gone through (and are going though) tough times. You are in my prayers and please know you are not alone. Even though it may look and seem like there is no end in sight, believe me He is there with you and He has an end in sight. Just remember Job and his sufferings. I am sure he thought it would never end but we know it did. Also we can see how Christ increased in his life. During hard times is when Christ is made alive in our lives and we are stretched to increase Him and decrease us.

I would rather not have gone through what I went though BELIEVE me - but Christ has increased in me in a deeper way and there is a testimony. That is what trials are all about. What the devil means to be evil will be turned into a deepness you are not able to get unless you go through things. Terrible things happen in this world and I have no answer for them. This I do know: we have a Father who loves us and is there with us. Even when we do not understand what is going on we must trust in His life and He will carry us.

You can choose to be angry which is OK and understandable. In time the Lord will help us to turn our anger into joy. Or you can embrace what you are going through not even understanding it. This is trust. I do not blame the Lord for what happened to me and I still have no idea what really caused it. The first time this happened I remember all heaven was silent and the Lord would not speak to me. I remember praying and prying and praying and nothing. I asked why is this happening to me, what did I do to deserve this. And there was no answers. One Saturday I still remember very clearly I was determined the Lord was going to talk to me. I rolled back and forth on my bed because that was all I could do and I prayed and prayed. This went on for about two hours and then He showed up. I had the same experience Chip talks about happening in our back yard - The "Born Again Again" experience.

I can't really explain it but the Lord met me that Saturday in a way I had never known Him before. What started out as anger turned into a deeper revelation of Him and I knew whatever happened to me it was going to be OK because He was with me and He was never going to leave me. I did not have to hear Him talk to me because I knew then, even if He never talked to me again, He is there.

This second time I had none of those feelings. I know He is here, I know He loves me, I know He takes care of me, I know He is in control even when things look bad. I know all this. The only question I had this time was where was the mercy in the midst of me hurting so much? But working through this He has shown me there was tons of mercy there. We may not see things the way He does. He sees all things and knows all things. We have to trust Him and know He has it all taken care of.

So I have so much peace now because of what I went though. Would I choose to go through it again? NO WAY! But He has stretched me to a place I had no idea I could go.

SO I said all this to say be encouraged and know He is in control. He created the heavens and the earth and He is the beginning and the end. Everything is summed up into Him and He is working His plan to according to good according for them that love Him. WE may not see it or understand it but nevertheless it is SO.

Thank you again for your prayers and encouraging words. I still have a long way to go to recuperate, but all things are possible. I am taking it day by day, which this is how He planned it, isn't it? "Give us this day our daily bread." Surprised

)

Be encouraged each and every one of you and please know you are not alone. What may look so terrible in your life can increase Jesus to a depth you would not have know otherwise. Each of you are in our hearts and prayers and may we continue to function as the true body of Christ with love for each other. Take care!

In Him,

Karla Brogden
http://www.TheSchoolOfChrist.Org

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