WIN (life story)

WHAT HAS HAPPENED TO OUR WORLD?

Many people who have lived on this earth for any period of time have asked this question. When Win looked at her life and the world around her, she saw that it had gone downhill. Finally at 51 years of age, Win found the missing piece which filled the uneasy emptiness she had sensed throughout her life.

Darwin's theory

I was born in 1934 to loving parents. My parents did not believe that there was a God. My father always spoke about how we had evolved. He spoke about Darwin's theory of evolution to the people who would come and visit. He always had literature for them to go home with if they would take it. Being only a child, I really didn't care if we had evolved or if we were the handy work of a Creator.

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The Creator

I was still a child (perhaps of about nine years of age) when God came to me and told me that he was real. I was amazed at such a thing happening to me. God just seemed to breathe this into me. This is the only way that I can describe it. Through this experience, I become aware of the greatness of God as well as the knowledge that He created me.

A strong current

Not long after this happened, I went swimming although I was a non-swimmer. A strong current pulled me into the deep water after I had parted from my friends who were swimming upstream. I knew they could not see me or hear my cries for help so I cried out to God to save me. After I did this, I felt as though someone had miraculously helped me to the riverbank. This gave me a stronger conviction than ever that God was real. From that day on, I would feel myself defending God in my heart whenever He was put down. I would think, " How can they say that about God?' Even as an adult, I remember coming to tears when my own family blasphemed God.

"And His greatness is unsearchable" (Psalm 145:3, N.K.J.V.)

"Everyone who is called in My name,
Whom I have created for my glory,
I have formed him,
Yes, I have made him" (Isaiah 43:7, N.K.J.V.)

Real Freedom

My childhood was a delightful time with a great sense of freedom. We could investigate all the rivers, creeks, wildlife and trees in the area around our small town without any fear. At that time there were many single men who were so poor that they lived in small huts on the land the farmers gave them. The huts usually had dirt floors. We also had many homeless men called 'swaggies' in our area. My brother, sister and I would go into the huts and chat with these men. Our parents had no worries with these men and they were not concerned that they would harm us in anyway. We were free to go around our area wherever we wanted. We would go to the pictures and ride our bikes home in the dark at around 11:30 p.m. with our lights flashing. Our parents were not concerned we would be abducted, murdered or raped.

Security

We didn't own house keys, as we didn't need to lock up. We had the security of our family, as marriage break-ups were rare. We had very little money but we didn't seem to know we were poor. I loved school and my friends. At once stage, I was confined to bed for four months with an illness and my school friends would walk kilometres to see me to cheer me up. Girls seemed to delight in being girls and boys were happy being boys. We did not hear of the things today's young ones hear about everyday. We were not bombarded with violence, immorality, suicide, drugs, bad language and pornography. Things were very different.

An empty space

I married at twenty years of age and my husband and I had a family of three sons. I adored my family but no matter what good times we had together, there was always an empty space inside me. I always had a yearning for this God who had told me that He was real.

Afraid to take the step

When we were in our thirties some evangelists came to our town. I'm not sure why we went down to see them but we did. When they finished their message, they asked if anyone wanted to come down the front to give their life to the Lord or to know more about God. No one went forward at the time but I had this great desire to go. Then I thought, "If I'm the only one to go, I will be the talk of this town." I didn't go. Then I felt as though someone was trying to pull me from my seat and this came with such force that I had to cling to my seat. In the end I won and I didn't go. I was once again amazed at this experience.

Time to worry

With the pressure of overwork on our farm, these memories seemed to fade away and the Gospel message faded with them. It was going to be a long time before I really came to know this God. We retired early and we were so excited! We were to be free of all the pressures of our farm life - worries gone! I had always wanted a big garden with a park-like setting. After much hard work, we had a beautiful garden which won many garden competitions. But somehow problems seemed to come thicker and faster than before. We had more time to think, worry and argue about things.

Wrong becoming right

At the age of fifty, I felt very unhappy with myself. I knew I had changed over the years. Morals had declined in our society and I had felt myself accepting lower standards. Through the media, I was being continually bombarded with violence, murder, blasphemy, immorality and bad language. I did not like this. Things I had once known to be wrong were somehow starting to look right!

Being moulded into something I didn't like

I became aware of how I had been moulded from birth by the world around me. Books, television, videos and movies had all played a big part in this. I did not like what I had been moulded into one little bit. I started to think about the world and I would think there must be a better way. I had no idea what it might be. So I started to seek God because I knew He was somewhere. I would cry out to God to come to me. I desperately wanted to know this God who had told me He was real, who had saved me from drowning, and who had tried to pull me from my chair in order that I might know who He was. He was somewhere out there!

"For everyone who asks receives; and he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, it will be opened" (Matthew 7:8, N.K.J.V.).

Pushing the Creator away was the problem

One day my youngest son brought home a bible. When he was out of the room I would open it at the New Testament and just read whatever was on the page. Without doubting, I believed it to be the truth about mankind. Only the God who created us could have inspired the words I read. I cried and cried. I saw for the first time that the problem with the world and myself was that the Creator had been pushed into the background. I felt that God was looking into my heart as I read His word for the very first time.

"The Lord does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart" (1 Samuel 16:4, N.K.J.V.).

Only God could change my heart

I could no longer say, "I'm a good person" because I knew God knew everything about me. I became a Christian shortly after my 51st birthday. I remember a relative coming to me and saying; "You had no need to become a Christian because you are a good person." The problem was that she was looking on the outside. I came to know that God looks at the inside and I needed to change my heart. Only God could do that!

"For there is not a just man on earth who does good and does not sin" (Ecclesiastes 7:20, N.K.J.V.).

"For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23, N.K.J.V.).

You come to know God through His Son!

When I was quite young I had been aware that God existed but this did not change my life in anyway. I would even pray to this God that I really did not know. I know He listened not because I knew Him but because He knew me.

My whole life changed (at age 51) when I gave the control of my life to Jesus Christ and He became my Saviour, my friend and my Redeemer. Reading His Word (the bible) is the way I found out about God and how I could come to know Him.

My excitement at finding my God was beyond measure! I just loved Him because He first loved me and showed His love by sending Jesus to die for my sins. God had waited for me and I finally saw my need for Him.

I pray that you will also see your need for the Creator of your life to come in and fill the emptiness that we all have without Him.

Call out to Him, for God is close to us.
Love
Win

"Since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities - his eternal power and divine nature - have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made" (Romans 1:20, N.I.V.).


Outback Christians is a website to encourage those who live in the outback.

OVERCOMING DEPRESSION
"COMPLETE SELF HELP FOR YOUR NERVES"
by DR. CLAIRE WEEKES

I am Greg's mother. I had suffered post-natal after the birth of my first son. My youngest son, Paul, has had severe depression for about twenty years. I thought I would write down a few things that have helped Paul through this difficult period in the hope that they may also help you.

Paul has found books by Dr. Claire Weekes to be excellent in understanding the nervous system in relation to depression and her books have helped him tremendously. All her books are excellent, the best book probably being "Complete Help For Your Nerves" published by Angus and Robertson. These books may be available at your local library or the library may be able to order them for you.

Having lived close to someone with depression and having experienced post-natal depression after the birth of my first child, I realise that depression can be a fearful disease and the understanding Dr. Weekes gives in her books may help you. She gives simple, practical information that supplies you with the hope that no matter how long you have been ill, you can recover.

Dr. Weekes says some people can suffer bouts of depression but not be nervously ill (that is they have emotional and mental fatigue). Others can be nervously ill and become apathetic and deeply depressed. Paul fitted in the second group and he had four nervous breakdowns, two of those being life threatening. It has been hard on him. It has also been hard on those who love him to see him suffer.

DR. WEEKES AND UNDERSTANDING
OF THE NERVOUS SYSTEM

Understanding your body

Depression can start with a trauma. Whatever starts it is usually forgotten when the symptoms of the nervous condition sets in. It can be an accident, an illness, a divorce or divorce of parents, loss of a loved one, guilt, disgrace or some type of shock. Even a child can suffer depression. Sleep is usually disrupted. The body becomes stressed and produces adrenalin in response. If we continue to be stressed and not have adequate sleep, our body responses by pumping more adrenalin (the stress hormone). This excess adrenalin affects our organs and our emotions. The more stress the more adrenalin the body pumps. This depletion of adrenalin causes us to feel bad in many ways. We feel depressed and fearful because of the physical symptoms.

The cycle can be broken!

On person who has depression can experience panic attacks, missed heartbeats, a pressure on the chest called 'horses hoof', a churning stomach, shaking hands, feeling weak, felt faint, blurred vision etc. With this comes can come a lack of confidence, anger, imaginations and strange and 'goofy' thoughts. These physical and emotional effects along with our thoughts causes more fear, more adrenalin to be depleted and around and around we go. But the good news is that this cycle can be broken!

How to help break the cycle

In her books, Dr. Weekes teaches that floating, facing, acceptance and letting time pass can break this cycle.

Floating

Float towards the symptoms you get … don't fight them. If you try to fight, you pump more adrenalin. Float past tension, fear, and unpleasant or unwelcome thoughts. Let them come … don't fight them. Loosen your attitude towards tension.

Facing

Face your thoughts and fears instead of trying to be rid of them by pushing or forcing them out.

Acceptance

Accept your condition … just say "I am accepting this." Dr. Weekes says utter acceptance of your symptoms is part of is the solution and helps break this cycle that involves fear then more symptoms that generates more fear etc.

Letting time pass

Letting time pass seems hard, as people naturally want to be well right now. You must happily let more time pass as the healing process begins. It takes time to repair a broken bone and so it takes time to repair your sensitised nervous system.

OUR MINDS NEED POSITIVE INPUTS

A tendency to think negatively

When a person thinks about their life the tendency to think negative can be a strong one. We can easily think 'other people have everything and I am missing out' or turn a positive situation into a negative one by dwelling on one 'negative' aspect of the situation and let it cloud your whole view. Of course many situations are difficult and extremely painful. These situations along with a natural tendency to think negatively makes even easy to think negatively.

Dwell on those things that are good

Our minds need a positive input. Our body responds to our thoughts. The bible says, "For as a man thinks within himself, so he is" (Proverbs 23.7). A great way is to take what God tells us and say these things aloud regardless of how you feel. God says; "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." (Jeremiah 29:11).

Reaching God

Christians can find it hard to reach God in prayer when our nervous system has become very sensitised. At these times, other people can be of a great help by upholding you in prayer.

A new way of thinking

Believers in Christ are to renew their minds (Romans 12:2) and not get led astray by thoughts that guide us away from peace, hope and love. We must not get led away from the future that God has for us. This future was made available through Jesus who died or us on the cross. As the bible says, "By his wounds we are healed" (Isaiah 53:5). We must always think, as God wants us to. This is a new way of thinking.

I pray there is something here that may help you and that you will have a renewed and long life with your health restored.

In His love,
Win

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Read more life changing stories	Articles	Stories	Poems	Books	Other
Win's son (Greg)	Victory on the Battlefield	You Took My Place	Battle Lines	From Gutter to Glory	Encouraging Words
Win's Grandson (Michael)	14 Good Reasons to Read the Bible	One Solitary Life	The Hug	Review of The Da Vinci Code	Music, poems and stories
Alzheimer's disease	Scientific Evidence Against Evolution	The Attorney	It's Christmas Again	Ignited by Truth	Famous Christians
Dave	Adventures in Prayer	The Bridge	The Price	Darkness to Light	Great Links
Becoming a Christian More stories	A New Life (What God has done for you)	The Room	Deliverance	The Gift of Transformation	Tell us your life story

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