What would you do if you only had ten days left to live? Most of us will never know. But what if you did? How do you uncover God’s best during the worst moments of your life? 

Robin Luftig found out the hard way. By way of a brain tumor. What she learned about communication impressed me. (Find Robin’s book, God’s Best During Your Worst here.)

Trust Issues?

“I’m laying in a hospital bed. I’m paralyzed on my right side. And I’ve just been told I have this tumor on my brain. That I will need surgery in about ten days because I could die,” recounts Robin. In that moment, God’s soft voice whispered a message again.  

“I hear Him say, ‘Do you trust me?’ I knew I was on the road to something spectacular, she says. Maybe she didn’t know if she would live or die, “but I knew it was going to be spectacular.”

How would you respond if you found out they were about peel a tumor the size of your doctor’s fist off your brain? Maybe you haven’t had a brain tumor. Robin knows shocking pain is not one size fits all. 

Where the Rubber Meets the Road, Baby!

“So many people aren’t given a warning. I was given a warning. Now, thankfully, I didn’t die. But I used that time the best I could,” explains Robin. 

Robin knew the pain a broken marriage can bring and the joy of a happy marriage. As a gifted teacher and author, she enjoyed speaking all over the country before the tumor. But now what?

“I had to seek out God. Because I’d been talking about how wonderful Jesus is. I talk to women about healing their brokenness. But now, I’m faced with where the rubber meets the road, baby. This is it. Do I really believe what I say? I spent those ten days searching God.”

Communication is key, she explains. 

Crisis Communication

“When I was dealing with my seizure, even before my husband walked in the room, I was communicating with God. Saying, ‘God, are you taking me home? Is this it?’ I didn’t know,” Robin explains. 

Communicating with God was her first response. But what about communicating with her husband? 

“Then, when my husband came in, I needed to pull him into this conversation, but I couldn’t speak. So, I could only look at him and he got it,” she says, then adds with a laugh, “because he’s just that wonderful. He’s just wonderful. He’s my rock. I just adore him.

Through her eyes, he understood she was panicking. What an amazing communication moment! 

They rushed her to the hospital and spent a suspenseful night with doctors, nurses, and technicians. As soon as she had something to report, early the next morning, she called her children. She comforted them the best she could in the midst of the unknown. 

Dealing With Heartache

Life changes in a heartbeat. Confusion? Facing our own mortality? How do we face down the yucky stuff life throws at all of us? We focus on what is important, according to Robin. 

“Your heartache. We have that in everything. If your child is hurt, you have heartache. If your family is falling apart financially, you’re losing faith, if you don’t get centered real fast.” 

She wrote God’s Best as a guide book on “how to ace trauma. Whatever trauma you’re dealing with” she says. 

When I first read Robin’s story, her perspective on communication jumped off every page and stuck in my brain. What would I do if I only had ten days to live. The real question for me is, what would I speak into the lives of those I love. 

Occasionally, I contact someone out of the blue to be on Fireside Talk Radio. Clearly, the show serves as my excuse to call people I respect. I hope you enjoy all Robin shared. I sure did!

God’s Best: A Prayer Away

Amazingly, Robin’s first response to trauma began with prayer. If only my own heart would run that direction.

Honestly, though, the first real prayer I ever prayed was pretty wimpy. 

“I don’t know if You really exist, Jesus, or if You’re really still alive, but my sister and many friends seem to think so. If You are a Savior, I need one. Please show me Yourself.”

Wimpy, maybe. But it turns out a timid prayer like mine is very powerful. If that prayer expresses your heart, I invite you to try it out for yourself.  

God is listening to answer with His best in our worst moments.

Never be afraid to pray a simple prayer. God hears us! His forgiveness and love extend beyond human imagination, no matter the trauma or heartache you’ve experienced. 

May we pray together?

Dear good Father, So many people suffer and don’t know where to turn. At times, we all wonder if You hear us. Yet You yearn to give us Your best even in the worst circumstances. Teach us to turn to You, even when we feel distressed and overwhelmed. Especially then. We want Your best. Period. Open our eyes to the tender ways You let us know You hear us. In the uninhibited laughter of a small child, the soft fur of a beloved pet. In a sunset or a hug. We receive the blessings You prepare for us today, O Lord. Open our hearts to experience Your love. Bless us now because that is Your heart’s desire. In Jesus’s name. Amen.

We LOVE to hear from YOU!

When has God answered a timid prayer for you? What’s your favorite quote or meme? How have you recognized God’s best in your worst?

🙂

cathy

Truth with a Texas Twang

P.S. Coming to a Sunday School Near YOU!

Wondering if there’s any hope of starting better conversations with the messiest people in your life? Yes, of course!

Do Jesus’s own communication strategies tickle your imagination? Me, too! And don’t forget, I’d love to substitute in your Sunday school class. Do it for your real teacher who might be thrilled to get a holiday.

Up Next

❤️ Great News! Marriage Conversations: From Coexisting to Cherished releases in two weeks on February 23! Give Yourself and someone you love a late Valentine’s Day gift to change everything! Preorder now! ❤️ ❤️ ❤️

Plus, in an upcoming Fireside Talk Radio, Nancy Kay Grace shares some powerful stuff about grace. This is one lady I love to quote!

Especially for homeschoolers, I get to interview a leader in the field soon, Jack Sharpe of Bethlehem Books Publishing. I’m pretty infatuated with the way Bethlehem resurrects classic books for kids. I bet you will fall in love with them, too.

Join the TEAM!

When join our BOOK LAUNCH TEAM, you’ll be up-to-the-minute on insider news. Plus, you’ll help us push amazing stories out there into a universe in desperate need of good stuff. THANK YOU!!! 

Special Treat–Hands Full Author Brooke Frick

Need a guest speaker for your Sunday school class or book club? Author and friend Brooke Frick and I can team teach. Fun!!

Don’t miss this chance to snag Brooke for your Sunday school class, church, or book club! Contact her here. 

Cathy Krafve, Speaker, Blogger, Podcaster, and author of The Well: The Art of Drawing Out Authentic Conversations and Marriage Conversation: From Coexisting to Cherished. We invite you to join the Fireside Tribe. Truth with a Texas Twang.