Colleen Anthony - The Light Behind the Shadows

THE LIGHT
BEHIND THE SHADOWS

COLLEEN ANTHONY

Copyright 2020 Colleen Anthony.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

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The author of this book does not dispense medical advice or prescribe the use of any technique as a form of treatment for physical, emotional, or medical problems without the advice of a physician, either directly or indirectly. The intent of the author is only to offer information of a general nature to help you in your quest for emotional and spiritual well-being. In the event you use any of the information in this book for yourself, which is your constitutional right, the author and the publisher assume no responsibility for your actions.

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Scripture quotations marked NKJV are taken from the New King James Version. Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked NIV are taken from The Holy Bible, New International Version, NIV Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Scripture quotations marked KJV are taken from the King James Version.

Scripture quotations marked NLT are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, Copyright 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked ESV taken from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version (ESV), Copyright 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. All rights reserved.

ISBN: 978-1-9822-4393-7 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-9822-4395-1 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-9822-4394-4 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2020903930

Balboa Press rev. date: 03/04/2020

CONTENTS

Our days on earth are like a shadow.

1 Chronicles 29:15 (NIV)

I dedicate this book to my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, who has given me life here on earth and an eternal home in heaven. He has promised to never leave me or forsake me, and He has walked through every storm of life with me. May this book bring Him honor and glory, and may those that read it be drawn to Him.

A heartfelt thank you to:

My husband, Eric. Thank you for staying by my side through all the storms and trials of life. Your steadfastness and leadership have been a blessing from above! Thank you for all that you do for our family and for the blessing you are to so many. I thank God for you, and I love you dearly!

My daughter, Marti Lynn. What an amazing blessing you are to your dad and me. Thank you for your faithful service in helping us through so many hard times. Thank you for helping edit this book and your wise input. Your love for Jesus and your gentle spirit are a sweet fragrance to our family and to this world. Your friendship is one of my treasured blessings, and I love you so much!

My beloved sisters, Mary Lynn Brown (now with Jesus) and Martha Wagner. Thank you for your love and forever friendship. What a blessing you both have been to me! I cannot even imagine what life would have been like had we not had each other. I am forever grateful to God for the wonderful friendship He gave us. I am so thankful that we will all spend eternity together and never be separated again. I love you both!

My cousin, Jonathan LaBenne, and his wife, Pamela, for their generosity in blessing me with this book publishing package. You are a direct answer to prayer. Thank you for your love and support as well as all the prayers. I value our friendship greatly!

(Check out Jons amazing, God-given talent at his website, www.jonathanbearman.com .)

My cousin, Joshua LaBenne. God has blessed you with an incredible talent. Thank you for sharing it with me! Your original painting is the perfect piece for the book cover.

(Check out Joshs website, www.joshlabenne.com .)

My niece, Jennifer. Thank you, dear Jen, for your help with writing concepts and all the edits. You are amazing, and I love you dearly!

My cousin, Karen Cedarland. Thank you for your amazing proofreading skills and support in helping get this manuscript to the publisher. You are a gift and a treasure!

To all of my prayer warriors who faithfully prayed for this project over the last five years. You all are an amazing blessing to me!

And most importantly of all, my deepest thanks to my Savior Jesus Christ who has carried me through all the storms of life. Thank You, Lord, for my life here on earth and for the one to come in heaven. Thank You for being Sovereign God and for doing all things right! We anxiously await Your soon return!

Why write a book? I am not a writer and have never had a desire to be one. Yet, in the spring of 2014 while battling breast cancer, people repeatedly said, You need to share your story. I kept brushing the thought off, thinking, Why would I do that? Everyone has trials, and my story is no different or special than anyone elses. There are many others who have been through greater trials than I have been through. However, the comments kept coming. One day in the shower while washing my bald head, I was pondering the idea of sharing my story, and I wondered if God was trying to tell me something. If He was, I did not want to miss that blessing, and so I decided I had better pray about this. On April 8, 2014, I wrote in my prayer journal: Lord, if You want to share my story, Im okay with that, but You will have to write it.

The answer came on May 17, 2014, just thirty-nine days later. While in Jackson, Wyoming, celebrating my husbands birthday, we decided to stop in for a quick visit with my cousin Jon and his wife, Pam. While sitting in their living room, I whipped off my cowboy scarf that hid my very bald head and said, Hey, Jon, how do you like my new hairdo?

His sobered response was, Wow, Cousin. I sure hope you are going to share your story in a book.

I responded, I dont know, but Im praying about it. Jon had no idea what I had written in my prayer journal, and I didnt share it with him.

A few minutes later he said, I want to give you a publishing package. I bought three, and I didnt really know whybut now I do.

I was shocked! Wow! What a direct answer to my prayer. I now had a complete publishing package all paid for. Unbelievable! I could never have dreamed up such a thing. On the way home that night, my daughter said, Mom, if you were waiting for a sign from God on whether to share your story or not, I think you just got hit over the head! Thank You, Lord, for such a direct answer to my prayer.

The following night I was discussing the book idea with my daughter and mentioned that I did not want the book to be about me but rather about what God has done in my life. I wanted the title to reflect that. My daughters response was, You could title it The Light Behind the Shadows in reference to what Grandpa said.