Category: Words From Deborah

I stepped up to the platform and faced the large crowd in front of me. My stomach was churning with nerves. The women sat on one side of the church and the men on the other, looking at me intensely. How would I tell them my story? These people lived continually with the terrifying realities of this country. I had only experienced that terror for one night. Just weeks earlier I’d fled for my life into the night, running through the jungle with my four-year-old in my arms. It was never meant to happen this way, as we arrived in the country of Guatemala on our first missions assignment.

My interpreter turned to me; it was my turn to speak. Out came the words, “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me . . .” To my complete surprise, people jumped to their feet and began to cheer and dance, expressing great enthusiasm. I continued to share my story, repeating the truth that when bad things happen it does not mean God has forsaken you.

Throughout my life I had struggled with fear, especially when circumstances seemed out of my control. Dependency on God meant TRUST.

That terrifying night I had hidden in the thick jungle with my son, close to the road. The highway bandits continued to search for us. As their shadows passed by me, I was quickly reminded of Psalms 23:3, “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil . . .” Suddenly, the Lord’s presence encompassed me. Peace overcame my fear in a way I had never experienced before. I quickly came to realize my only chance of survival was dependency on God, completely trusting Him. When we are placed in a difficult situation and one of total dependency on God, we are given an opportunity to experience Him in a deeper way.

David knew all too well the shadow of death after fleeing from King Saul and hiding in a cave. But, he also knew another type of SHADOW, which he wrote about in the book of Psalms.

Psalm 57:1 Have mercy on me, my God, have mercy on me, for in you I take refuge. I will take refuge in the shadow of your wings until the disaster has passed.

Psalm 36:7 How priceless is your unfailing love, O God! People take refuge in the shadow of your wings.

Many times I’ve walked through the shadow of death, but the shadow of the Lord has always been closer.

I was born with a life-threatening congenital heart defect that was corrected at 12 years of age. Later in my adult years, I battled stage 3B lung cancer and was only given a 3% chance of survival. Lung cancer was followed by stage 2 endometrial cancer. I spent time in ICU with a ruptured bronchial artery in the lung. I spent more time in ICU with a staph infection in the lung. All this to say, this respiratory virus called COVID-19 has tried to take over my heart with fear. But I am reminded of . . .

Psalm 91:1 Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.”

There is a greater shadow, then the shadow of death. It is the shadow of the Most High, the Almighty, our Lord and Creator!

I look back and choose NOT to forget His goodness and faithfulness to me in times of trouble. King David describes how he would have despaired unless he had believed that he would see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.

The book of Acts tells how God used the Apostle Peter to display His glory.

Acts 5:14-16 More and more believers in the Lord, crowds of men and women, were constantly being added to their number, to such an extent that they even carried their sick out into the streets and put them on cots and sleeping pads, so that when Peter came by at least his shadow might fall on one of them [with healing power]. And the people from the towns in the vicinity of Jerusalem were coming together, bringing the sick and those who were tormented by unclean spirits, and they were all being healed.

If the shadow of a man like Peter, who was filled with the Holy Spirit, could heal the sick, how much more can we trust in God.

John 16:33 I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.

Deborah Sims

Ihave always loved the mountains and I would like to think I grew up like Heidi. The Green Mountains of Vermont weren’t the Swiss Alps, but as far as I was concerned it qualified me to be a highlander, NOT a flatlander. The first time I traveled to Guatemala as a young missionary I didn’t expect to see anything as beautiful as home. To my surprise the next morning, I found myself gazing out my window at mountains rising up 10,000 ft. The smell of fresh tortillas and the cool air quickly reminded me I was far from home. Ever since that first missions trip, I’ve always wondered what was beyond my backyard.

With the easy access to travel these days many people travel far and wide. “What’s on your Bucket List?” has become a commonly asked question, almost as frequently as asking one’s name. Many times I have sat down to make my own Bucket List, only to be reminded again of how short time is. What have I done with my time to make any difference.

Psalms 103:15 says . . . As for man, his days are like grass; he flourishes like a flower of the field; for the wind passes over it, and it is gone, and its place knows it no more.

TIME is a person’s most valued commodity and how one spends it says a lot about who he or she is.

Aside from working, sleeping, eating, socializing, exercising, etc., I think of the many who have sacrificed their time and their life for freedom, justice, and humanitarian efforts. Harriet Tubman was one of those persons. Being enslaved herself, she escaped, and helped countless others gain their freedom as a “conductor” of the Underground Railroad. Later in life she served as a scout, spy, guerrilla soldier, and nurse for the Union Army during the Civil War, again fighting for freedom. She had a strong faith and was called with a passion to help those suffering. There are so many valuable ways we can spend the time we have been given. So, what about this “Bucket List” we dream of?

What if . . . we started our bucket list at the beginning of our lives instead of the end?

Many times we think of a Bucket List as being a list of all the things WE want to do, or places WE want to go before we die. But, what if we started our bucket list at the beginning of our lives instead of the end? And, What if we looked at our list as an opportunity to meet someone God has on his heart, someone waiting to hear the good news in a distant land, desperate to experience love and freedom.

James 4:13-17 says . . . Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit”— yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.”

Looking back to my younger years, I am reminded of the extraordinary places God called me to go and situations He has seen me through. When I think about my “Bucket List,” I dream of places I would love to see and things I would love to do. But, above and beyond those dreams, I want to live my life in the light of eternity, seizing opportunities I’ve been given to introduce people to the hope we have in Christ. I want peace that comes from knowing I have been obedient to the Lord with the time He has given me. For that, it takes a daily discipline in your relationship with the Him, listening to what purpose He has called you.

“Ultimately each of us must be persuaded in our own heart and begin to move and act where we are. Nowhere does the Bible say that all–out committed to Christ means we have to take our family to some remote jungle area and die there. The calling of the Lord is different for each individual.” — Dr K. P. Yohannan

Unlike Harriet Tubman, none of us grew up in the time of Civil War. But like Harriet Tubman we can look beyond ourselves. We should consider what is lasting, and stewarding our time with purpose, bring hope to others.

“One hundred years from now, what will remain? Houses, money, plans, buildings – these will no longer have any meaning. We must adjust our lifestyles now and invest our lives to reach the lost world.” — Dr K. P. Yohannan

Recently, I learned the story of Sam and Lisa Paris, living in a community located in the jungle of Tanna. I was overwhelmed with their story and sacrifice. You may be, too.

Building Hope Together! Deborah Sims

Raised on Liquid Gold!

If you grew up in the state of Vermont, more than likely you were raised on something called Liquid Gold and proud of it! Yup! In other words, Maple Syrup!

This time of year Vermonters will be setting their taps in thousands of trees in preparation for the sap that is about to run! Hoping for a good season, the anticipation supersedes the work. It starts with days of hiking through the woods, usually in deep snow, requiring snowshoes. Then come the long hours through the nights boiling the sap. It’s definitely not for the half-hearted!

The first run off is like sweet water with a taste of its own. It goes on everything from ice cream to coffee. There’s nothing like a hot pancake with warm Fancy Maple Syrup, fresh bacon, and a dill pickle. I remember as a child collecting the sap from the buckets hanging on trees, then lugging it to horse-drawn tanks. You could see the steam rise off the backs of the horses.

Nowadays, it is done a little differently, but the outcome is the same. Whether it is a big operation for profit, or a small family hobby, it’s collected, boiled, and enjoyed! Finally, we’d top off the season with a traditional social event . . . a good ‘ol “sugar on snow” party!

Silver or Gold . . . Please!

The first time I walked down the streets and into the villages of Guatemala, I was confronted with poverty and sickness in a way I never could have imagined. The crippled, sick, and orphaned were abandoned to the streets. I remember on the old beautiful steps of the Cathedral sat young and old alike, suffering and begging for portions. My youngest son was only 4-years-old. His immediate response was to share everything we had. At first I felt a strong sense of helplessness. The few dollars I had to give would only bring temporary relief. But then I was reminded of Peter!

In the Bible, Peter was confronted with the same circumstances.

Acts 3:2-3, 6 When a certain man crippled from his birth was being carried along, who was laid each day at that gate of the temple called Beautiful, so that he might beg for charitable gifts from those who entered the temple. So when he saw Peter and John about to go into the temple, he asked them to give him a gift.

But Peter said, “Silver and gold I do not have; but what I do have, that I give to you: in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk!”

That day the thought crossed my mind . . . “Unlike Peter, silver and gold I do have.” But that in and of itself is not enough. Jesus spoke to the woman who touched the hem of His garment . . .

Mt 9:22 Jesus turned and saw her. “Take heart, daughter,” he said, “Your faith has healed you.” And the woman was healed at that moment.

Jesus offered more than relief from suffering. In the story of the woman at the well, He offered her eternal life and freedom from her enslavement.

John 4:13 Jesus answered her, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again. But whoever drinks the water that I give him will never be thirsty again. But the water that I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”

At the Cathedral that day, I was reminded that I had something greater to offer than silver and gold, it was Jesus. I love the taste of sweet maple syrup, that “liquid gold,” but what Jesus offered the thirsty woman at the well was eternal life. My desire is to use whatever resources I have to bless others. But greater than that is to tell others about Jesus, so they may know His love and receive freely eternal life.

Building Hope,

Deborah Sims