Through Tears to Triumph: God’s Gracious Help Through Grief and Sorrow

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Stephenson, John Wallace, 1935-

Through tears to triumph : God’s gracious help through grief and sorrow / John Wallace Stephenson.

p. cm.

ISBN 0-87227-189-7

1. Stephenson, John Wallace, 1935- . 2. Widowers--Canada-

Religious life. 3. Bereavement. 4. Consolation. 5. Baptists-

Clergy--Canada--Bibliography. I. Title.

BV4908.S74 1996

248.8’6--dc20

96-4075

CIP

Through Tears to Triumph

© 1996

Regular Baptist Press

Schaumburg, Illinois

1-800-727-4440

All rights reserved.

No portion of this book may be reproduced in any form without the written permission of the publishers, with the exception of brief excerpts in magazine reviews, etc.

Dedication

To the hundreds of Christians who have

earnestly prayed for me in my grief

and

to those who are still struggling under

the weight of their own grief.

Acknowledgments

The author would like to acknowledge the help and encouragement of the following people: Norm Maasdorp, Joyce Eaton, Wendell Kempton, Kristen Stagg and Jeannie Lockerbie.

Unless otherwise noted, all Biblical quotations are from the King James Version of the Bible.

The author and publisher would like to acknowledge the use of poetry from the following sources:

The poem on page 23 is from Streams in the Desert by Mrs. Charles E. Cowman. Published by Zondervan Publishing House, Grand Rapids, Michigan.

Poems on pages 37, 57, 73, 79 and 109 are from When Loved Ones Are Called Home by Herbert H. Wernecke. Published by Baker Book House. (Efforts to find the origins of these poems were unsuccessful. The publisher would appreciate any information concerning these sources and would be pleased to include them in any subsequent editions of this book.)

Poems on pages 67 and 89 are used by permission of Faith, Prayer and Tract League, Grand Rapids, Michigan.

The poem on pages 70 and 71 is from "The Eternal Goodness" in Treasury of Christian Verse, compiled by Donald Kauffman and published in 1962 by Fleming H. Revell, a division of Baker Book House, Grand Rapids, Michigan.

The poem on page 97 is from the Quick Verse Selection of Bible Illustrator program. Parsons Technology.

The poem on page 103 is from Toward Jerusalem by Amy Carmichael. Used by permission of Christian Literature Crusade, Fort Washington, Pennsylvania.

Foreword

Human tragedy is always unplanned. Often it hurts so deeply that it crushes the heart, mind, and body. The total impact often finds us trying to find someone who will listen or someone who has experienced an unannounced crisis.

This author knows firsthand what he is writing about. He has been there. He has felt the pain and suffered a severe loss of both wife and daughter. There was no way he could have been prepared for such a serious loss. It happened so suddenly and during a time when everything else in his life pointed towards peace, success, and great advance in his missionary career.

Just like an ...