God promises to give us His strength in our times of weakness.
“But he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.” 2 Corinthians 12:9
And when we trust His promises… by choosing to rely on Him instead of ourselves… a soul-securing confidence comes in the most unexpected ways.
Eva Piper, wife of Don Piper {the author of 90 minutes in Heaven} knows just how true that is.
Today she’s here to share with us how she found a surprising confidence during her darkest hours. Her new book, “A Walk Through the Dark,” released last week. It’s based on her role in the story that began the day her husband died and came back to life 90 minutes later, and the years and countless surgeries and miracles that followed. Click the arrow below to watch a powerful short video trailer about Eva’s story.
{If you are reading this via email, click here to return to my blog to watch and enter to WIN a copy of Eva’s book.}
From Eva Piper:
I was sitting in a movie theater watching The Sound of Music. The young Maria had sung while dancing through the mountains, the sisters had asked “How do you solve a problem like Maria?” and now Maria was walking through town on her way to serve as governess to a group of seven children singing about confidence.
The song begins with Maria listing her doubts and fears but ends with these words. “I have confidence in confidence alone, besides which you see I have confidence in me!”
I never thought of myself as a confident person. I was confident in some of the ‘things’ I did…playing the piano, teaching school, being a wife and mother. But when it came to making decisions, I usually let someone else take charge.
I rationalized they knew more about such and such than I did. They were more outgoing. They were more sure of themselves. They were more ‘confident.’
Some people build confidence by practicing a sport or art. Some build confidence by taking classes in public speaking. Others may study to become an expert in a certain field of study. My confidence came from a very different source.
During the second week of my husband Don’s stay in the ICU, it became necessary for me to move into a hotel a short distance from the hospital. I needed to be close by in case anything happened so I checked into the Downtown Hyatt.
Each morning as soon I awoke I placed a call to the nurses’ station in the ICU. As soon as someone answered I would go through my list of questions…How is his breathing? What is his oxygen rate? What is his pain level?
The nurses responded to all of my questions and provided any additional information that I might need. But on this particular morning, things went differently. Instead of getting the information I requested I was told, “Oh honey, you don’t need to know all that, you’re just the wife.”
In a split second I went from being a person who questioned whether I was up to the task to one who realized I had more strength than I realized.
Without skipping a beat I asked to speak to her supervisor. When she came on the phone I explained what had happened and waited.
The supervisor apologized and quickly gave me the information on Don.
That was my turning point. That morning I took my first step toward being someone who was willing to do whatever was needed to move my husband’s recovery along.
Looking back I can see, that’s when I stepped beyond my private comfort space—and would do it many more times in the months ahead.
During those early days I had to push to get what I needed. I learned to ask questions until I not only had answers but I understood the situation we were facing.
If I didn’t grasp the meaning or if staff spoke with medical jargon, I learned to say, “I’m not in the medical field. Can you explain that again?”It worked. I got what I wanted.
I was never belligerent or rude. I tried to treat people with respect. But when I became aware of things that needed doing or I required information, I asked and stayed steadily at it until I received an acceptable response.
The situation with the rude nurse taught me a valuable lesson. Sometimes God uses difficult people or situations to move you to where He wants you to be. Without that rude nurse I would never have had the confidence to face the rest of my walk through the dark.
Eva Piper is a speaker and author of A Walk Through the Dark, where she shares unique insights into the trials of heartache and the triumph of overcoming!
The wife of best-selling author Don Piper, Eva was the glue that held her broken husband and her family together. Don’s story, recounted in the New York Times bestseller, 90 Minutes in Heaven: A True Story of Life and Death, is Eva’s story too. A teacher of 34 years, she and Don now live in Pasadena, Texas. Visit http://evapiper.com/ to reserve your copy of Eva’s new book, “A Walk Through the Dark” today!
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I’m giving away a copy of Eva’s new book. To enter, simply click “Share Your Thoughts” below and share about a time you had unexpected confidence. Or, share why you’d like to win a copy of Eva’s new book.
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My Pastor’s wife needs this book…they are walking through a long health Battle. We love and pray for them as he struggles through.
Lost my dad a year ago to cancer, and my best friend a couple months ago to cancer. My daughter is struggling in her marriage, and my husband is a non-believer. I sometimes feel a little ‘overwhelmed’ with everything, but I know God is good and has great plans. I recently got and read Don’s book, and would now LOVE to read his wife’s book! Thanks for blessing us with all of your encouraging thoughts.
I have walked through the darkness and come out stronger and with a much stronger faith. It has taken a long period of time to be able to say those words, but I know God was and still is with me, even in my darkest days. I would like to read about how someone else walked through her own darkness and what God revealed to during that time.
My husband was the one who had to stand up for me when I was suddenly paralyzed from a stroke years ago. With God’s strength my husband was able to care for me and ask the tough questions. Because of this strength and courage God gave my husband to question the doctors caring for me, I am fully recovered today. I thank God everyday for His care in our lives, and I thank God everyday for my husband’s love and care.
Oh my! I so get this story. Though my husband did not die, we traveled a very long journey back from the brink of death as he suffered from severe Traumatic Brain Injury. Your story immediately has me thinking about how the Lord changed me through it all. I was a very hesitant, obedient follower. For the first time ever, I had no one to depend on but me…and God to navigate the unchartered territory we faced.
So good to be able to read the other side of the story! Hope to win!
It was good to read Eva’s intro about how God allows difficult people or situations to happen to move you where he wants you to be. This is such a great spiritual truth! I quickly think if I am in a difficult situation or am around difficult people that i’ve done something wrong and that God is punishing or that he must not be pleased with me. I internalize things and it warps my view of our loving Father who really does everything for our good. This is great! I hope to read Eva’s story. Thanks!
I would love to read her book. I love seeing how God uses our weaknesses and creates strength that we never knew we had. I have many stressors in my life currently some have been ongoing and they may never go away others are just daily trials of life. But some days I have no confidence and no faith, I actually at times think that God left me, even though I know he hasn’t , but confidence is one thing I would love to have its a painful struggle.
When I read the way Eva described herself relating to ‘confidence’,I thort ”I am reading about myself”, it described me to a ‘T’
Making decisions, is something I too usually leave to someone else. I dont usually remember to ask questions either,and this leaves me in the dark.
After reading Eva notes,I can see now that asking questions is a way of connecting to people, and Jesus wants us to do that.
It is so lovely the way God works with us and always through his love.
These were my thorts.
thank you.
This sounds like a wonderful book. I love how she used God’s strength through her to get the answers she needed, without being rude but being respectful. I have never had a lot of confidence and have always allowed my husband to make most of the decisions until we separated many years ago (God brought us back together) although I have back slid-den into some of my old ways I want to get back to the confidence I had. I always feel like I am not smart enough and feel like I am a surface thinker. It’s very uncomfortable when I am in a group setting. I seem to want to please everyone. That’s not always bad but then the frustrations seem to build and then I turn that into insecurities of if I say anything I might hurt their feelings, but then I think what about mine…usually I just pull away. But I know God can help me be the confident woman He has made me to be. The dark times help us to get closer to God even though they are painful. God bless
When I was divorced, I spent several years believing I wasn’t worthy of the love of a good man. Then God brought Keith into my life. We dated for two years and then he asked me to marry him. The people in our church were thrilled for the most part but one woman called and told me that I was not really what everyone else wanted for my husband, a widower, prior to our meeting. She said they felt this way because I was divorced, had a small son, and probably was only looking for a father for my child and a return to the state of “respectable woman” by being married instead of divorced. All of the joy and confidence I had drained out of me like air from a balloon that has met the sharp end of a pin. I cried and called my best friend and mentor, Dolores. She gave me the verse Isaiah 43:4 that tells us God loves us and we are precious to Him. She told me that if I believed God’s words about who I am to Him, the words of others would be just that — words. It gave me the strength to go forth in the confidence of God’s love for me and my man’s love for me. I did, indeed, marry that lovely man, and we just celebrated our 20th wedding anniversary. I write about this event and more in the my book “Dolores, Like the River” to be published this fall by Westbow Press. Sometimes we must stand firm in the face of crashing waves of uncertainty and discouragement in order to have positive outcomes in our lives. I could not have done that without the words of God and the love of a great and wise friend who helped me find the feet to stand in those waves. I can’t wait to order and read Eva’s book.
I would love to read this book for two reasons.
(1) I am going through a very trying time with my adult son
(2) When I was 16 I died from a motorcycle accident and came back to life.
I wasn’t dead long, but I remember floating in the air and seeing my body on the ground.
I also felt this struggle, kinda like when you get caught in the undertow of the ocean waves, which I believe were angels fighting over me.
At the age of 14, I was a very sheltered, coddled teenager, living in a comfortable home with both my parents and a younger brother and sister. My world was immediately ripped apart when my mother suddenly died of a defective heart at a very early age. For weeks I, too, walked in darkness; not knowing where to turn or how I was to going to go on living. My father was devastated and holed up in his own little shell.
One morning I woke up with the realization that if our family had any chance of recovering from this tragedy as a whole unit again, I was going to have to step up and lead the way. Insisting we get up and go to church that Sunday morning was a start. From there, I made a list of chores and divvied them up, making sure everyone contributed.
It was painful, but we are who we are today because my family perserved.
I have read “90 Minutes in Heaven” and what a way to build on it by reading “A Walk Through the Dark.”
My confidence was found in an abusive relationship. I didn’t stay in because I couldn’t see it for what it was, I stayed in it partly for the children who had little to no involvement with their mother, and a father that focused on his own needs and had parental skills that were sadly lacking. The other part of the reason to stay was fear; threats made toward me if I were to leave or report the abuse. I lost a lot during that time, but I gained so much later. I found the confidence to stand up, walk away and not listen to any more lies from satan (the kids had all moved out by this time), and continue on with my life. I turned back to God and let him guide me and protect me down new (and scary) paths in life. The confidence I gained made a noticeable difference in my life, one that family and friends frequently commented on. I regret the lost years of wasted time, but I found a way out and feel that I can help other women find confidence and get out of their own abusive situations. There is always something good that comes out of our darkest hours; it takes blind faith and new found confidence with a spirit-filled heart, but what a blessing that is! I’m still not confident in everything I do, but I trust God to lead me through those things I’m not so sure about. And he does! PTL! And perhaps this man’s children who are stumbling along troubled paths will look back and see that there was love and support from someone, even if it didn’t come from the birth parents as it should have. Eva’s story goes down a different path than mine did, but when you are in your darkest moments, how you got there doesn’t matter. How you move on does!
During a monthly game of Pokeno, I noticed a bracelet that a friend was wearing and commented on it. To my surprise, she removed the bracelet and put it on my wrist, explaining that it was a “witness” bracelet. She had received it that afternoon from a cashier at Tuesday Morning, and the cashier had received it from a customer earlier that day, and so on and so forth. The premise was such that if someone commented on the unique design of the bracelet (it was made of wire in the shape of a cross, with a pearl atop the cross), the wearer had to give the person the bracelet and tell them about Jesus. I was excited and ready to give my new bracelet away! I wore it to church the next day and not a single person mentioned it. Then I wore it to work (I work at a church) and no one noticed it; this went on for a week. Finally, when I had forgotten all about the bracelet – and I wore it every day – someone saw it.
I was getting my car tag and had just put my checkbook and pen back in my purse when the cashier asked about it. Her question made me catch my breath. I was scared and excited all at the same time! But I shared like I was supposed to and gave her the bracelet. The really neat thing was that I knew she needed to hear the words God gave me in that moment – and I knew because I could see the goose bumps on her arms as we talked! It sounds kind of silly that I was so excited about it, but I’ve always prayed that God would give me opportunities to share the gospel and the truth is that I’m afraid of rejection so I pass up more opportunities than I care to recall. In the moment I’ve just described though, I wasn’t even thinking about being rejected because it wasn’t about me or the bracelet. The bracelet just gave me a reason to share and an opportunity to see past my fear – and it felt good!
Oh Eva, I would love to have a copy of your book. I’ve been working on confidence for so long. I was recently in the hospital and needed clarification on what was going on, and there were times when I needed the nurse like every five minutes. I was afraid to speak up because I didn’t want to seem rude, pushy, or act as if I was the only patient. I also carry this attitude into other parts of my life. I will not ask for what I need because I’m afraid I will appear a certain way and the person will not want to deal with me at all. I hate making decisions about anything. Whenever possible, I’ll let my husband make the decision. Even if it is something as simple as where to get take out. I believe your book will greatly help me to become stronger in this weak area.
I am tremendously amazed and overwhelmed when I read books like this. It helps to deepen my faith and give me hope for the future!! would love to have a copy. Thanks for sharing.
I would love to read her book! I have read Don Piper’s book and love it!
I would love to win a copy of this book to see how Eva dealt with the situation her and her husband was in. To see how God helped her through this difficult time in her life. I can’t imagine how she felt during that time. I have gone through some struggles in the last 10 months…life shattering but I haven’t let go of God’s hand. I know this is just one of many storms that God allows us to go through but I also know that he will see me after the storm when the sun is shining brightly once again. Praying God’s Blessings on each of you.