Anneliese’s Story

We are honored to have Anneliese Dalaba as our guest blogger.

I married the man of my dreams. He swept into my life and filled my hopelessly romantic heart with so much joy and laughter. It felt as though we had been designed for each other.

Over the course of time, we were blessed with two children and, more recently, with three little grandchildren. We faced the highs and lows of ministry side-by-side and traveled to many parts of the world. 

While in the process of deciding on a date for my husband’s retirement, we were slapped in the face with a cancer diagnosis. Not just any cancer, but an extremely rare, stage-4, metastatic bone cancer called chondrosarcoma. His oncologist told us, chemo might give my husband one to three more years to live. That was the best the medical community could offer. As it turned out, not even the big guns of chemo were able to touch this cancer. Four months after his first symptom, my husband passed away.

It didn’t matter that I wasn’t ready. It didn’t matter that we had dreams and plans for our future. He was gone. Ripped away.

I did the only thing I knew to do; I clung to my faith. How often had I read, “God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble,” (Psalm 46:1 NIV)? God had been my refuge in the past. Surely, He would help me again, but I couldn’t imagine how.

It’s been almost three years since I lost my husband. How thankful I am for God’s faithfulness to me. “The LORD is near to all who call on Him, to all who call on Him in truth.” (Psalm 145:18 NASB) I clung to this promise, and so can you. 

Grief comes in many forms, not always the loss of a loved one. People grieve many disappointments in life. We live in a fallen and sinful world, and we aren’t immune to how this will affect us. No matter what we face, this promise is a reassurance to us of God’s faithful care. If we’ve placed our trust in Jesus, we will never face life alone.

More from Anneliese.

To watch Anneliese’s story on YouTube, click here. Not only does Anneliese share her story, but she shares how we can prepare for the unexpected in our own lives.

To order Anneliese’s book “Facing Tomorrow Without You,” click here.

Anneliese’s website.

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