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Many years ago, when my little son, David, was 28 months old and my baby, Charles, was three months old, my husband deserted us for another woman. I was shocked to my very being and utterly devastated. I felt as if the earth had dropped from beneath my feet.

My parents invited us to live with them, so we moved to their small town. Although they helped me with the babies, nothing seemed to help my broken heart. As I sat in Mom's rocker and nursed baby Charles, I read my Bible through the tears that seemed as if they would never stop flowing. Indeed, the pain was further compounded by little David's anguished pleas of "Buy me a daddy. I want a daddy."

My only hope was in Jesus, so I appropriated many of the Bible verses for myself. Some that were especially meaningful were: "Cast all your anxieties on him, for he cares for you" (1 Peter 5:7), "... I will never fail you nor forsake you" (Hebrews 13:5), "Fear not, for I am with you, be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my victorious right hand" (Isaiah 41:10).

Even though I appropriated those promises and many others, I kept wondering what would happen to my babies and me. So I worried and was distraught and blue.

Then one cold winder night I was awakened by someone calling, "Marjorie!" I thought it was my mother, for she sometimes checked to see if the babies and I were covered up.

"Mom?" I questioned, but she was not in the room, for there was no answer.

Drowsy, I turned over and was almost asleep when I again heard, "Marjorie!" This time I became wide awake.

The Lord spoke to my heart and said, "Marjorie, you are worried about many things, but you are not to be anxious for anything. Don't you remember I died on the cross for you? I suffered untold agony for you. I understand your heartache, for everything that concerns you concerns me. I want you to give me all of your cares, for I love you with an everlasting love. And I will never leave you nor forsake you. You, David, and baby Charles are all in the hollow of my hand. All you have to do is love me and trust me."

I lay awake for a long time, in complete awe, pondering all the things the Lord had told me.

After that precious experience with Jesus, the feeling of gloom and despair lifted, even though my circumstances hadn't changed. And as I continued to read my Bible and pray day after day, and week after week, my love, faith, and trust in the Lord kept increasing.

We couldn't continue to live with my parents, as Mother and Dad were not very well. Also, there were no jobs available in their small town. One day, my sister Mary called and said, "Marjorie, Ben and I have been praying about your situation. We'd like to have you move to California so I can baby sit the kiddies, and you'll be able to find a job."

After much prayer, we moved to Mary and Ben's city. We found a duplex two houses down from them, and I obtained a secretarial job and was able to ride to work with Ben.

The seven years I was alone and the sole support of my two little boys were not easy ones. I didn't make much money, there were illnesses, and sometimes I didn't know where our next meal would come from. But the Lord always provided -- sometimes through friends at church, people at work, neighbors, and my sister Mary and her husband Ben.

After a couple of years, I began to date Edgar, a fine man who also attended the Single's Group at church. He liked my two young sons and always took them with us when we had afternoon dates.

One afternoon, Ed took us miniature golfing. After he left, David asked, "Mommy, why don't you ask Ed to marry you?"

"Oh, honey," I explained, "women don't ask men to marry them."

He persisted, "But, Mommy, why not? I like Ed and want him to be my daddy."

After a year and a half of dating, Ed asked me to marry him. He adopted the boys as his own. David and Charles were delighted as they finally had a daddy. Ed was a wonderful and loving husband, father, and eventually, grandfather.

On August 4, 2002, we celebrated our 42nd wedding anniversary in the intensive care unit of the acute care hospital where Ed had been confined for several months. Ed, David, and I visited, listened to gospel songs, read the Bible, and prayed. In spite of his being bedfast and having to use a voice box in his tracheotomy, Ed smiled and commented, "This has been a good anniversary."

Then a month and a half later, on September 18, Ed died. He's now in heaven with our precious Lord, whom he dearly loved and faithfully served. The days and nights are extremely lonely and sad without him. But, I know I'll see him in heaven someday, and we'll spend eternity worshiping and praising our dear Savior and Lord.

So, through the years -- dire, difficult, happy, and sad -- I've been in the hollow of God's hand and can truly say, "Thou dost keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee, because he trusts on thee" (Isaiah 26:3).

Robert Gossett

My wife Jeri and I had been planning a motor coach tour of Washington, D.C., for several months. We had been there in 1966 and were looking forward to seeing the new memorials as well as the many other sights in the area. Our anticipation and excitement were growing as the time drew nearer ... until a sniper began shooting people in the area where we would be traveling and staying. We prayed that the sniper would be caught, but that didn't happen, and Jeri's anxiety grew. She was concerned, not just that one of us could be shot, but that we couldn't really have a good time with a sniper in the area. Eight people had been killed and two wounded at the time. We had travel insurance and would receive a full refund if we cancelled for any reason. We struggled with what to do as we prayed for guidance.

I asked the men at the men's breakfast group I attended, on the Saturday before the Monday on which the trip was to begin, what they would do. They all said they would go. One of the men, Tim, suggested that I share Philippians 4:6-7 with Jeri. I was familiar with it, but I checked it later:

Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

I planned to share this with Jeri when I had time.

I had some yard work to finish in the morning and a wedding to officiate in the afternoon, so Jeri remained concerned about the trip. While the wedding party was taking pictures, I called Jeri to say everything was running late and I wouldn't be home until about 6:00 p.m. She replied, "We're going on the trip. I'll tell you about it when you get home." I could hardly wait to find out what had brought about such a dramatic change.

Jeri told me later that she had talked to her brother, who told her about two gang-related shootings in their area. "There are problems everywhere and you can't get away from them. I would go," he said. But that wasn't all.

Jeri decided to seek guidance from the Bible. She was leafing through the pages when she came upon Philippians 4:6-7. The words gave her the confidence that we can live with trust in God and not in fear of a sniper or other concern. We are not necessarily protected from every problem, of course, but we have assurance of God's presence no matter what. I didn't have to point out Tim's suggested scripture to Jeri. God did that directly, and gave us a wonderful trip.