The loss of a child or grandchild can be crushing, as Pastor Kerry Shook can tell you. In January 2017, Shook’s grandchild lived for only 24 hours and, at the time, it was difficult to believe any good could ever come from it.
The Shook family, which had seen so many supernatural healings in others’ lives, didn’t get the miracle of life they prayed for.
Instead, the family chose to look the one day they had with Jude as a miracle and to embrace the blessing of suffering. Shook’s book, The Gift of One Day, co-written with his wife, Chris, reveals a compelling message of hope and encouragement for those battling with life’s difficult days and seasons.
And that’s especially pertinent in today’s culture with the ongoing presence of COVID-19 and America’s current racial unrest.
“Jude lived for only one day before he went to be with the Lord, and, of course, it was devastating to us,” Shook told Dr. Steve Greene on a recent episode of Greenelines on the Charisma Podcast Network. “As we looked back on it, we just knew that God had taught us so much from the one day that we had with that little boy, and it taught us how to live the rest of our lives.
“One of the biggest lessons we learned is to really just pray these ‘just for today’ prayers. ‘Lord, just for today, give us the wisdom we need to do what’s next.’ ‘Lord, give us the strength we need to make it through.’ And that’s what our son, Josh, and our daughter-in-law, Kelly, just kept praying.
“We didn’t get the miracle we wanted, but we got a great miracle. We got that day with Jude. It really taught us to live one day at a time. That sounds kind of cliché, but really, that’s what we went through and are still going through. It’s trying to get through the hard times that you have to go one day at a time. God will give you the strength that you need just for today. He’ll get you through, and so that’s what we would pray: ‘Just for today, Lord, give us what we need.'”
For more about Kerry Shook’s compelling family story, listen to the entire podcast.
Curt Landry 
Michael L. Brown 
Rabbi Eric Tokajer 
