Book 3 of the Trilogy, 'He heals the Broken-hearted', 'CHILDREN OF GOD: CONFORMED TO THE LIFE-GIVING CROSS IN JOY AND HOPE IN ETERNAL LIFE' invites the reader into the more purified path of Marina. She longs to live for God, now major false gods of trauma have been stripped away. We see His Love for Marina, providing healing and solace to her humanity, At the same time building her to grow in grace to write the books He desires, and to continue in Love with the on-line work, building women in faith.
Marina is kept largely in solitude in the sea-side flat despite her desire for company. But the morning waves, and daily input of birds blesses and feeds her. She increasingly focusses on the Writing and on line-work building and encouraging faith and new awareness of the Truth of God's Kingdom and Eternal Life.
A year on He warns one Sunday, 'I'm going to give you a New Heart'. And this happens on the way to church, through release of some destructive bitterness, and repentance that the pain behind this had not been brought to Him. A changed heart was the result. She was willingly and lovingly re-committing whole-heartedly to the Church. After Liturgy, on her regular visit to her elderly friend, she found herself offering to move into the friend's house to be her companion. Marina's Spiritual Father gave them a blessing after 8 days trial.
'Truly I had a new heart. I was filled with tenderness and compassion. Kindness and desire to Love her in Christ, poured out of me. I knew I needed to love her and pray for her to be prepared for death. And God provided for her cry of the heart sooner than we anticipated. One Sunday (2 weeks before Christmas) she had 3 falls between 3pm and 8 pm leading to her admittance to hospital, eventually, as an emergency. They found a severe brain haemorrhage because of which they expected she would die in 24 hours.
But God wanted her to die at peace, and through healing prayer, she was able to go through a week of reconciliation with family via WhatsApp video call, and in-person visits from members of her church family. And yes she suffered trials on 'end of life care' but she never lost 'her mind' - it simply turned more and more to His Presence and Trust in His Kingdom.
She died after I returned to her after church on the following Sunday. She was unutterably at peace- having had a peaceful night, and died in a peaceful sleep as if she had simply passed through a door that was open to her. A tiny breath was all I heard.... like a door closing quietly.'
And in this new phase of change, Marina was blessed to continue with Book 2 writing and planning, and doing what was needed for the Power of Attorney to help him start to deal with the house. But until Jean's funeral and memorial were over by the end of January, and Book 2 was published by the middle of February, Marina did not start to focus on her official homelessness.
The work of God in enabling Marina to find and move to a flat, before Easter, and use Holy Week to return to the completion of Book 3, completes the story of living as a 'Child of God' and in effect 'counting every trial a blessing'.
She continues to face pain and fight the good fight against all the lies she has lived with, and still encounters. Yet in the midst of her human insecurity, God reveals His kindness and while at church, spoke a prophetic voice through her, and the purpose He has in bringing dark to the Light through a PhD 'Don't Weep for Me, Weep for Yourselves'.
Indeed, living for Christ as a Child of God, was never promised to be easy- but the Joy of being His and Living in the Eternal Life of His Word and Spirit readily completes the book which was finished on Easter Morning. Indeed Christ is Risen.
