Perseverance: The Art of Not Giving Up
Essays on Life, God, and Cystic Fibrosis
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“There are certain things in life that define us, whether we like it or not. Although born with the genetic disease, cystic fibrosis (CF), I wasn’t diagnosed until my early twenties. Always feeling different in some way, it was almost a relief when the doctor revealed the results of the myriad of medical tests. However, being told I suffered a terminal illness, before I’d actually had a chance to live, the relief did not last long. Cystic fibrosis would be with me for the remainder of my life and who knew how long that would be? This realization was the end of life as I knew it and the beginning of many years in rebellion and sinful behavior. If I was going to die, I concluded, I would die having fun! In God’s irony, as it turned out, I was blessed with a mild form of CF, and the dying part, I discovered, was not imminent. Life carried on, mistakes were made—I was beaten down. On a monumental day in October of 1999, after twenty years of an empty existence, illness and two failed marriages, I invited Jesus Christ back into my heart……”
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About the Book
In the quiet of the hour I feel God’s love,
furthering desire for an eternal home.
It’s His will, not mine, that time shall be,
when suffering on earth gratefully ends.
Feeling blessed by His love and graciousness,
waiting to be set free.
We cannot imagine the amazing life God has planned for us until we hand it over to Him and trust in His will.
In a collection of essays, poems, and prose written over a span of twenty years, Linda Stratton chronicles her journey living with the genetic disease cystic fibrosis, from diagnosis to retirement and beyond. As she leads others through her experiences, failures and joys, cathartic thoughts, opinions, and reflections, Stratton reveals how she discovered God’s purpose for her life and poignantly illustrates that no matter what our challenges, the Bible provides timeless instruction on how to live and the gentle reminder that God is our continual companion who unconditionally loves us through every trial and tribulation.
Perseverance: The Art of Not Giving Up is a collection of essays, poems, and prose that shares moving insights into a Christian’s journey with cystic fibrosis as she leaned on her faith and the Bible to endure her challenges.
About the Author
Linda Stratton was diagnosed with cystic fibrosis at a young age and eventually found salvation in Jesus Christ. Through faith and spiritual growth, amazing blessings began to unfold that included caring for her parents until their deaths. Now in her seventies, she enjoys the love and fellowship of family, church, and friends, being a grandmother, and her newfound relationship with the son she gave up for adoption.