Live Again a true story of overcoming loss
By James Boyd
()
About this ebook
At age 35, Tracy found herself tragically widowed with three small children to raise. Join her on this compelling journey as she takes you through the miraculous road of healing. Everyone, at one time or another, will experience some type of loss, whether it be the loss of a loved one, the loss of a job, the loss of hope, or the loss of a dream. Whatever the loss, Tracy reveales that God can and will take you to the place of enjoying life again. Through the steps in this book, you will be able to Live Again.
“This is a book of God’s provision when a person will put their pain into His hand. All of us will one day experience the loss of someone close to us. That is what makes this book such a must read for everyone.”
— Bishop Keith A. Butler, Word of Faith International Christian Center
“What a book! I could not stop reading till it was done. AWESOME! That’s all I can say. My heart is broken, but I truly believe that with the help of God and the truths in this book, I will recover.”
— Pattie, Lost husband to cancer
“This book is not just about the loss of a loved one but any kind of loss; a dream, a job, a marriage, etc. It encourages through every chapter to trust and believe.”
— Mark, Entrepreneur
Tracy is an author, television personality, speaker and Pastor. Best known for her Proactive Parenting program and her relatable message of faith. Tracy and her husband, James, live in Rochester Hills, Michigan. They have three daughters.
James Boyd
Pastor Tracy Boyd is currently co-pastoring at the Naples, FL campus of Life Christian Church with her husband, James. They are the proud parents of three beautiful girls. Pastor Tracy has spearheaded the development of the worship and arts department, parenting classes, marriage classes, and children’s ministries. Along with her mother and two brothers, she co-hosts a TV program called Come Home To Life to bring the message of Christ outside the church walls and into the community. Pastor Tracy is actively involved in the teaching ministry at LCC. She has a way of taking the dynamic truths of the scripture, coupled with her life experience, into a relavent application to everyday life. She is passionate about sharing her methods of success with others, believing that God is not a respecter of persons and can do the same for you.
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Live Again a true story of overcoming loss - James Boyd
Live Again
Tracy Boyd
Copyright 2010 by Influential Productions
Smashwords Edition
~~~~
This book is protected by the copyright laws of the United States of America. This book may not be copied or reprinted for commercial gain or profit. The use of short quotations or occasional page copying for personal or group study is permitted and encouraged. Permission will be granted upon request. Unless otherwise identified, Scripture quotations are from the New International Version of the Bible. Please note that Influential Productions publishing style capitalizes certain pronouns in Scripture that refer to the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and may differ from some Bible publisher’s styles.
Scripture taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 Biblica. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson,
Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Influential Productions Printing 2009
Paperback ISBN: 978-0-9822763-3-4
For Worldwide Distribution
Printed in USA
~~~~
About the Author:
Pastor Tracy Boyd is currently co-pastoring at the main campus of Life Christian Church (LCC) in Troy, MI. She and her husband, James, are the proud parents of three beautiful girls. She has spearheaded the development of the worship and arts department, parenting classes, marriage classes, and children’s ministries. Along with her mother and two brothers, she co-hosts a TV program called Come Home To Life to bring the message of Christ outside the church walls and into the community. Pastor Tracy is actively involved in the teaching ministry at LCC. She has a way of taking the dynamic truths of the scripture, coupled with her life experience, into a relavent application to everyday life. She is passionate about sharing her methods of success with others, believing that God is not a respecter of persons and can do the same for you.
See more about this author:
TracyBoyd.org or LifeNaples.com
~~~~
Table of Contents
7...Foreword
9...Introduction
13...Bitter Beginnings
17...You Have a Future
21...Understanding
31...Choices Shape our Lives
43...Don’t Play the Blame Game
57...Creating Healing Environments on Purpose
65...The Presence
73...His Word
79...The Love of God
87...The Body of Christ
91...Call it Different
101...Authority over Negative Influences
111...Dealing with Fear and Destructive Thoughts
119...Focus on God’s Grace
127...Clarity
143...Thoughts Matter
155...Get Busy
165...See a Future
181...Conclusion
185...Answers
193...Bibliography
~~~~
Foreword
Live Again is an honest story of a young woman whose life is shattered by the loss of her husband and father of her children. It is also a book of how God can and will help you recover beyond your ability to do so on your own. This is a book of God’s provision when a person will put their pain into His hand. All of us will one day experience the loss of someone close to us. That is what makes this book such a must read for everyone.
Bishop Keith A. Butler - Word of Faith International Christian Center
~~~~
Introduction
Once upon a time there was a young girl who truly believed that one day she would be swept off her feet by the man of her dreams. She earnestly prayed that she would know for sure that he was the one
and that even her family would recognize him and say, He’s the one!
As she came of age to begin courting, there were many who came declaring their devotion to her. She knew in her heart, however, that none of these gentlemen would turn out to be the one
. Then one day she saw a handsome, tall man. There was something about him that kept her attention. Could he be the one? Yes, he is the one! This wonderfully handsome, intelligent, kind man entered her life in a flurry and lovingly swept her off her feet just as she had always dreamed. Their courtship was short, for they knew it was so meant to be. They were married and lived happily ever after. The end.
Isn’t that how we all want it to turn out? Don’t we love happy endings and hate bad endings? There is something inside of us that yearns for the happily ever after. I believe we yearn for this because in our original creation, we are wired for the happily ever after! We can never be prepared for tragedy, especially a loss. It makes us cringe. But one thing is for sure: we have a loving Heavenly Father who understands the pain and who wants to walk through it with us in a way by which we overcome and actually become stronger.
In 2002, I lost my husband to cancer. He was the man who swept me off my feet, and I truly believed we would live happily ever after. He was 34 years old, I was 35, and we had three beautiful children. I was not prepared. I had no idea it was coming.
If someone had said to me, Tracy, in August of 2002 you are going to lose the love of your life to cancer and you will be left to raise your three girls by yourself,
I never would have believed it for a moment. I would have quoted many promises from God’s Word that I have kept close to my heart concerning protection and healing and then said, Get behind me, Satan!
I have been optimistic my whole Christian life for good reason. God has done tremendous, big, miraculous things throughout my life. He has always been faithful. Diagnosed with an incurable illness in my early teens, I was supernaturally healed. Why? I believe that healing is a part of the salvation that my Creator promised me in His Word. Every limitation that I had experienced in my physical body, including stomach issues, limited vision, a growth on my wrist, and pain in childbirth were all healed over a period of time through applying the Word of God. God had a perfect track record in my life. I found a promise in His Word, applied it to my situation, believed in my heart that He would do it for me, and repeatedly found that His Word works.
Yet, my husband did die. Those who have experienced loss know what I’m talking about when I say, It’s a wound deeper than any physical wound could go. It is a deep, internal pain that is indescribable.
Could the God who healed so many limitations in my physical body heal my broken, devastated soul? I was in the middle of the worst fear of my life. Would I ever feel anything again? Would I ever feel safe again?
The answer was YES! God in His great mercy and grace brought me through a healing process that proved again that He is a complete God—healing the spirit, soul and body of man. In the process of my healing there were so many revelations, impartations, and understandings deposited into my soul that brought me healing. I feel so honored to share my journey with you so that you, too, can come to a place of total healing, a place of living again.
~~~~
Chapter 1: Bitter Endings
Mrs. Stefano you need to let him go. We need to take him away now.
I had been lying in a hospital bed next to my deceased husband for five hours telling him to come back to me. I was unwilling to let go. I needed to hold him…I thought, if they take him away, I can’t hold him…I noticed that he was not warm any more…. Marcus, don’t you know I can’t live without you?
I overheard the nurses say they had to take the body
away. I thought, That’s not ‘a body.’ He is my husband. Can’t you understand?
My mom gently took my hand and guided me out of the bed into a separate room. I looked back to see the nurses rolling the bed he was in down another hall, around the corner and he was gone. I was completely numb. The battle was over, and I had lost. I had been in so many hospitals, slept in so many hospital chairs, their beds, and on their floors to be with my husband as we fought cancer. Toward the end, the smells of the hospitals became repulsive. I had seen so much pain and suffering, and now death.
Jesus, I need you. I need you!
While I was aware that something died in me, there was a grace, an enabling power, a presence surrounding me so that I felt as though I was inside a bubble. In this state, I simply did what I was instructed to do. My mom led me through all the paper work. I had no words, no thoughts—only actions.
I can remember the elevator ride down to the parking structure, then sitting in the back seat of some car and simply staring at the seat in front of me, shocked that I had no thoughts—just numbness. Yet the bubble was still there, surrounding me. I wanted the car ride to last, but it didn’t. I didn’t want to face anything. I wanted to know when I was going to wake up from this horrific nightmare. I wanted to close my eyes and make it all go away.
We arrived late at my house, and my three girls were already sleeping. They actually were all sleeping in my bed, awaiting my arrival. I had been saying for the last month, Daddy’s going to come home soon, and we’re going to be a family again.
(This last time he had been in the hospital for an entire month.)
What could I say? What should I do? I stared at their beautiful, peaceful, slumbering faces thinking how different those faces would look when I told them the news that they no longer have a father. I felt so desolate for them. How could I make it all better? I recalled when they would fall or scrape themselves and get a boo boo,
and I would say, Mommy will make it all better,
and they had full confidence that I could. This time, I couldn’t make it all better. I wasn’t ready to wake them out of their sleep to tell them. I lay down next to them and began to caress them gently. All the while, I kept thinking, What do I do, God? I’m not ready for this! I’m clueless.
I began to weep quietly and held on to my kids for dear life.
My mom was so in tune with me (really, so in tune with God) and she knew what to do with me. Tracy, let them sleep; come to my house tonight and stay with me.
There were plenty of family members staying at our house, and Mom lived across the street, so I would still be close to my girls. She guided me out of my bed, and I simply followed.
When I finally laid down, I remember thinking, How am I ever going to sleep?
I turned on my side and stared at the wall… There it was again: the bubble, the peace, His presence reassuring me that He was with me and reassuring me that the girls and I would be okay. Then my mind drifted to the congregation at our church. God, what about all the people in the church?
I kept seeing their faces one by one. I pastored with my husband and mother and taught that the same Jesus who healed people in His life and ministry, heals today. He is the same yesterday, today, and forever. I was concerned about how this would impact their walks with God. I cried out, God, help them. Keep their faith from wavering.
I understood in that small moment how Christ’s disciples felt when Christ was taken from them to be crucified. In their minds this was not the plan! I’m pretty sure in the heart of Jesus was, Don’t waver, my disciples. You will understand all in due time.
I closed my eyes and miraculously fell asleep.
I lie down and sleep; I wake again, because the LORD sustains me. For He grants sleep for those He loves. —Psalm 3:5, 127:2
~~~~
Chapter 2: You Have a Future
Six years have now past since that devastating night. Looking back, I understand why the healing of the soul is such a process. It’s because there is such a strong soul tie between us and those we love-especially a husband. It takes time for the soul to adjust to the severing of itself. A husband and wife become one, and Marcus and I were truly one. It took time for my soul to accept that Marcus was no longer here and would never be a part of my life here on earth again. My soul had believed that it was supposed to grow old with Marcus.
It isn’t easy to see a future in the midst of that pain while we are experiencing it. We can probably agree that when we have suffered a loss, we find ourselves going through the motions of life as it was before the loss took place. It seems as if every morning is a fight to get out of bed and exist, let alone see a future. Nothing seems to fill the void and there is a sense of discontentment. These feelings are