In 1965, I received my first Bible called The Young Readers Bible. It was given to me when I attended vacation Bible School at the invitation of a Methodist family that lived just down the street.
My family did not attend church and that made me feel “left out” of God’s family at a very young age. As you can imagine, I was elated to receive that Bible. It was kept it in a very special place in my bedroom and it quickly became a great source of comfort as I began to read passages, especially from the New Testament and the words of Jesus.
Three years later, there was discord between my mother and father and, by 1970, my father drove away for good. I was a little girl, coming of age when he left, leaving me feeling totally abandoned and confused as to why and how could he do such a thing to his wife and two children.
His leaving stung me. It was like the sting of 1000 bees all stinging all at once and slowly leaving you to suffer alone until the hurt begins to fade away leaving just the memory behind.
It was during those days that I had to grow up very fast. There was no solace that I could find. I began to become a clown of sorts, trying to lighten my pain by making others laugh, as is so often the case with comedians.
At night however, I would lay in the bed next to my mother as she listened to the Rev. Billy Graham on the radio. My mother was going to be a minister of the gospel and attended Bible college at the same time as Rev. Graham, but life took a different direction after she married my father. She was a devout Christian and told me that I must work out my own salvation. I did not understand that fully at the time, but would in the coming years ahead.
Each night, I took out that Young Readers Bible and read the Beatitudes and found them to be a comfort during the tumultuous teenage years. When offered alcohol or drugs, I quickly declined and told my friends “No temporary bandages for me, I want to be fully present in life.”
I knew full well that my life could have easily gone off the rails if I decided to join the crowd because, there I was, navigating without an earthly father, separated from the normalcy of my friend’s lives with the memory of that painful sting of his departure.
The wounds were there, but I knew there had to be something more than a temporary fix.
As the years went on, there were many occasions in which “temporary bandages” placed themselves in my path disguised as love, disguised as a best friend and disguised as opportunities for advancement only to be traps that were set to ensnare me and enslave me for the rest of my life.
The more I read my Bible, the more strength, peace and sense of worth I gathered as I learned about the eternal coverings of God. When God has you covered, it’s so much more than temporary bandages which are just that “temporal.” Psalm 28:7 reads, “The Lord is my strength and shield, in Him my heart trusts, and I am helped, my heart exults, and with my song I give thanks to Him.”
Why search for the temporary things of this world that are not there for your ultimate good when you can be assured that God is working on your behalf when you place your faith and trust in Him? Romans 8:28 reads, “And we know that God works all things together for good for those who are called according to His purpose.”
What I thought was a Young Readers Bible that provided a temporary bandage all those years ago served as the foundation of my rock-solid faith and belief in the eternal coverings of my Heavenly Father who has never forsaken me.
Life can be so hard. But … God is good, and that is an eternal promise. God has got you covered.
Dr. Janet Maccaro has doctorates in both holistic nutrition and natural medicine and is a certified nutritional consultant. She is a member of the American Association of Nutritional Consultants (AANC) and The AAPS (The American Association Of Pharmaceutical Scientists) She is a respected Christian inspirational thought leader and an expert in natural health care education with 14 titles currently in print which include the best seller; “Natural Health Remedies. Dr. Janet’s Guide To Thyroid Health” and “How Your Food is Sown & Grown, What YOU Need to Know About Glyphosate” are her two latest releases.
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