But maybe because of those things, pride crept its way into my heart and I thought I was better than other people my age. When I went to North American Baptist College after high school, I LOVED it. I found people who were much like me, and who loved God. It was there that I met and married Todd Liske. Our first five years of marriage were smooth sailing. We finished school, got good jobs (I was a music teacher in the Edmonton Catholic Schools), and moved to nicer and nicer houses. But in June of 2004, life came to a screeching halt. Todd was diagnosed with cancer. On our fifth anniversary, he had his first treatment. All of a sudden, I didn?t have so many answers. My pride in what we had accomplished was torn down. I couldn?t fix this. All I could do was cling to God. And so, by His grace, I did.
Todd fought the cancer for two and a half years before God saw fit to take him home. It was the worst thing that I could have ever imagined. Here I was, 30 years old, and a widow. God promises to take care of the widows and the fatherless and I experienced that first-hand in the following months and years; through God?s love directly ministering to my heart, and through His people in His church.
During this time, God had me write down a song out of Psalm 55: Listen to my prayer, O God, do not ignore my plea. Hear me, and answer me - my thoughts, they trouble me. Cast your cares on the Lord, and He will sustain you, He will never let the righteous fall, But I call to God, and the Lord saves me. Evening, morning, noon, I cry out, and He hears my voice.
Thank the Lord that He hears our prayers! A while after Todd died, I wrote down a list of character traits that I needed in a spouse, and presented them to God. And so, when I met Kendall, I realized that he was EVERYTHING on the list. God is so great, and I am so blessed to have Kendall. We were married in July of 2010, and I moved here to Kelowna from Edmonton.
As God has chipped away at my pride, I have realized more and more His grace for me, and for others. It is by His Holy Spirit that I have heard His voice in circumstances, through people, and in His Word. It was PAINFULLY hard to keep my testimony short, because there are SO many things that I want to tell you about what God has done – in the times when Todd was sick, how my brothers and family rallied around me after Todd died, how Kendall and I met, even how we got our house here in Kelowna; God has been so present in my life. I know that He will never leave me nor forsake me, and I hope as you read or hear this that God will speak to your heart and know that He loves you just as deeply. Thank you, Lord!
