"I Understand When NOT to Cite Romans 8:28"

Have you ever struggled to trust God when lousy things happen to you? I'm Gracie Rosenberger and in 1983 I experienced a horrific car accident leading to 80 surgeries and both legs amputated.

I questioned why God allowed something so brutal to happen to me, but over time my questions changed and I discovered courage to trust God. That understanding along with an appreciation for quality prosthetic limbs led me to establish Standing With Hope. For more than a dozen years we've been working with the government of Ghana and West Africa, equipping and training local workers to build and maintain quality prosthetic limbs for their own people. On a regular basis, we purchase and ship equipment and supplies.

And with the help of inmates in a Tennessee prison, we also recycle parts from donated limbs. All of this is to point others to Christ, the source of my hope and strength. Please visit standingwithhope.com to learn more and participate in lifting others up. That's standingwithhope.com. I'm Gracie and I am standing with hope. How's that for an Easter hymn?

That is my wife, Gracie, with her dear friend, Johnny Erickson Tada. You want to hear the whole song? Go out and take a look at it at standingwithhope.com.

You can see the video we put together of Gracie and Johnny over the years and you can hear the whole song for free. And while you're there, standingwithhope.com. Help us with our prosthetic limb ministry and with this show. Whatever is on your heart, we just sit over a bunch of supplies to the work in Africa. You just heard Gracie's ad and we provide prosthetic limbs.

They go walking and leaping and praising God. It's an amazing work. And you can give the gift that keeps on walking.

It is an extraordinary work that Gracie envisioned after giving up both of her legs. We could use your help on it today, right now, while you're thinking about it, standingwithhope.com. And you could sponsor a leg, you could sponsor a foot, you could sponsor whatever you want to sponsor.

But go out there today, listen to Gracie and Johnny sing this and look at all the things we have available out there. Sign up for our e-letter. It's free. Sign up for the podcast.

It's free of the show. Standing With Hope is a presenting sponsor of this show and we'd love to have you be a part of it. Homer in Oklahoma. Homer, how are you feeling this morning? Mighty fine, Peter. I appreciate your words and I had to call.

I'm a first time caller. But when you described the coming alongside and not offering platitudes, that really resonates. I am, well, I have the skill set. I'm not caregiving presently, but I lost my wife over 10 years ago. And since that time in December of 08, God has refined me in many ways that I could never even hope to attain. But I am a, well, I'm a Nehemiah standing in the gap in many ways, helping to encourage others. I worked in hospice. I was a caregiver for my mother. In that situation, hospice came to me.

Reverse the table, so to speak. So what your words speak to me is that there are other men who are empathic, who have the same skills, many ways far better than mine. So I just wanted to call and say thank you, Peter. You know, Homer, first off, thank you. That is incredibly gracious.

Number two, I don't know that my skills are better than yours. We're just two guys along the path of taking care of people that we love and we throw everything we have at it. And sometimes we do it recklessly. We hurl ourselves sometimes foolishly at something we can't fix. And then we need people to help us more strategically do this. And this is what you learned through your journey with hospice and how to better strategically do this.

And this is what you are helping others do. And you're also reinforcing that with me. So that's how we do it as believers, too.

We come alongside each other and just keep reinforcing these things. I have gospel amnesia. I have caregiver amnesia. I have to be reminded of all these things on a regular basis. And you've just reminded me again this morning of the importance of this. And I can hear it in your voice.

One of the things you do as a caregiver is you learn the nuances of other caregivers. You can just hear it. You can see it.

You can hear it. And I know that even though it's been 10 years with your wife, you can tell that it still weighs heavy on you. And are you doing all right?

Yes, sir. I am doing fabulously well. Are you in a good church situation?

Actually, not as yet. I've recently transitioned from Southern California to Oklahoma. I have family here. Congratulations for getting out.

Thank you. Yeah, it weighs heavy on my heart, seeing what's happening in the news. But by the same, I am also a strong believer my faith is unshaken. And 2 Corinthians 1 is resonant in my spirit and mind. And I still understand that I still understand when not to cite Romans 828 to an individual who's suffering.

But I can offer encouragement as an apologist, being a walking witness and in caregiving. Wait a minute. Back up just a second. Back up.

Yes, sir. I want you to say that again about Romans 828. I want you to say it just the way you said. Just say it again. I want to hear that one more time.

I have come to an understanding where not to cite Romans 828 to an individual who is suffering. And I've come to know... I love that. I love that, Homer. I love that. I have never heard anybody say it like that. I love that. Because we just slap on Romans 828 like it's a bumper sticker on people who are just bleeding out. Well, that's the thing. We've become catch-and-release Christians.

We just walk around offering platitudes without substance. You know, all right, you win. This is my favorite call of the whole show today. You win, Homer. That is fabulous.

Thank you for that. Because, you know, I go back to when my wife was in her car wreck. And she's bleeding out by the side of the road. And her body is broken in 200 breaks at least that they counted. And nobody needs to come up and start prophesying over her and give it.

And, you know, well, Romans 828, all things work together for good, Gracie. They need somebody to save her life. And that is exactly what we need to people who are in trauma, whether it's the trauma of a car wreck or whether it's the trauma of watching a spouse die.

It doesn't matter. Trauma is trauma. And we've got to walk into these things with great humility. And you've just reinforced that this morning about how important that is. And, Homer, thank you.

And do me one more favor. When you find a good church home there in Oklahoma that understands what you're talking about, call us back and tell us and we'll tell folks about it, about that church. Because I'm on a big mission to help people. I feel like a lot of people who are dealing with the kind of things we deal with are not being churched properly.

They don't know where to go. And so we want to make sure that we point them to a place where they can be ministered to and minister to others who are dealing with these kinds of realities. So would you do that for me as you're looking? I'd be happy to, sir. All right.

Homer. I thank you. Now, I got one more call I'm going to try to squeeze in. But so far, you're at the top of the leaderboard. All right. I'm intended. It's not me.

It's the Holy Spirit. Well, thank you very much for calling and thank you for listening. And I look forward to more conversations with you. And thank you, Homer. Thank you very much.

Okay? You're welcome. Thank you. God bless, my friend. You too. We'll see you.