Can God Be Trusted?

Life's unexpected twists often challenge our faith, but what if those moments are divine calls to trust in a more fantastic plan? This episode features Laura Buckley, an inspiring author who shares her incredible journey of faith and healing.

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Buy Laura's Book: https://www.amazon.com/21-Reasons-Trusting-God-Existence/dp/B0CK2ZSMCZ/

Link for Season Four Resources: https://www.honestchristianconversations.com/p/season-four/

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Chapters

• 0:00 Testimonies of Healing and Faith
• 7:44 A Journey Back to Faith
• 17:26 The Power of Prayer and Surrender
• 26:39 Journey to Faith and Healing

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:00

Laura Buckley joins me today for an amazing testimony of healing in the power of prayer and having strong faith in the midst of struggles she has been through so much and it has only strengthened her relationship with Jesus. I enjoyed our conversation and all the laughter in this episode will be contagious, I'm sure. If you are ready for a good laugh and to be encouraged in your relationship with God, then let's get to it Before the episode starts. Make sure you follow the show so you never miss another episode. Hi, Laura, Thank you so much for coming on and talking to me today. Before we get into today's topic, will you please tell my audience a little bit about who you are?

Speaker 2: 0:50

Thank you, ana, I appreciate you having me as well. So I am an author and I wrote a book. It's called 21 Reasons for Trusting God and I wrote it after my mom had passed and I just felt really inclined, partially because of my son but partially because I felt really close to God at that time and just love the idea of how it helped me but also to help other young adults understand, or even any age, honestly to understand God and where God is in their lives and who he is, so they can believe that is an incredible book idea, and I did hear you talking about it on a podcast that I listened to you on.

Speaker 1: 1:32

I believe it was the Graceful.

Speaker 1: 1:34

Warrior that you were on and you were talking with her about your book, such an important topic, especially for young people. Today, their faith in God is practically non-existent, thanks to the way school districts are pushing them in a different direction. So definitely a book that's needed, thank you. But yeah, but today we're going to talk about healing, and I have read your extensive what do I want to call it your encounters with various healings throughout your life, in your family's life, on Podmatch, and all I can say is wow, you've been through a lot, and I'm encouraged by how you've stuck by God and trusted in Him and been faithful to Him and just your heart to want to help your son understand the reasons why you should love God and trust him. So why don't we talk about the different healings you've gone through, and then the audience will know just why you have such a deep love and desire to follow Christ.

Speaker 2: 2:43

Well, yeah, it's been a journey I mean it's a journey, I think, for everybody throughout life and to follow God and know that he's there. I think that's what really the journey was about for me is that he was there and constantly helping and constantly giving me direction and giving me hope and giving me peace, and that peace has then ended up translating into stronger belief on my end. So I guess I started out very, very faithful to God as a young girl and then, just as probably a lot of our teenagers hence the book we kind of get distracted, go to different directions, whatever. But my teenage years were kind of influenced, though, by God, because I had a car accident that, according to what the authorities say, I should have died in. I ended up hitting the windshield and I shouldn't be alive today, but I came out just with some bruises, concussion, and that was it.

Speaker 2: 3:47

And what really struck me for that car accident is, while I was unconscious, I saw a man in the window and he just looked. I thought, looking at me, right, and said are you okay? And I said yes, and then he disappeared and I woke up and, if that's not a big influence on okay, what just happened between that and being told they should have died in that car accident and coming out without injury, I mean it's just, it's huge, it's huge. So you get that as a teenager and of course you're going to think. You're going to think about your life and where you're going. Right, yeah, you'd you'd hope.

Speaker 1: 4:19

you'd hope. I actually had a pretty gnarly car accident as well that I should have died in me and probably all three of us who were in the car, because we hit three oak trees going 80 miles per hour. We hit it head on and the driver had passed out unconscious before it started, which is what started the accident. I was in the passenger seat. I just had back strain which felt really like I broke my back. I mean, the worst of it was our friend in the back seat who ended up having to have surgery on his spleen, but as far as I know, he's still alive today. He's doing well. So I mean, god was definitely in that one too. So how did you, as a teenager, react after that? Did you chase after God or was there still some pushback? You know?

Speaker 2: 5:14

it's interesting because as a young girl, I was like, oh, I believe in somebody watching over me, I believe somebody's there constantly protecting me and helping me. I should have probably at that point gone oh see, there you go, there's your protection, right? I was going to say that's exactly what happened. I mean, I did at the moment and maybe I did for the next couple of months, and it's not that I forgot about it, it's not that I didn't still believe that it's just once I hit college, which wasn't long after that.

Speaker 2: 5:48

You're exploring, right, you're on your own and you're exploring so much that I didn't even go to church on a regular basis, which I could tell. I mean, I could tell that that was affecting me. I guess that I missed it. I guess is the right word to say but yeah, I never left God, I just wandered around a little bit. I guess is the right word to say but yeah, I never left God, I just wandered around a little bit, I guess yeah.

Speaker 1: 6:08

No, I completely get that, because I feel like that's a little bit of how I started my journey, because I didn't have my rebellion until I was in my early 20s and going through a divorce. But I had the same. I knew God. I knew God was watching me when I was doing things I knew I shouldn't do. I just I was very aware that he was there. He was not happy with how I was doing it, but I was still doing it anyways. Yeah, that's just how I was. So I was very aware and in tune to God, I was still going to church and stuff like that too. So I get what you're saying. Well, you did better than I did. Then At one point I did stop going to church, but God didn't let that happen for too long before. He's like no, we're done, we're reeling you back in now.

Speaker 2: 7:00

And church is important. I don't think that I understand. There's a lot of things that have happened at churches, a lot of things in the news. We hear more about it nowadays. But, boy, if you can't get together with other people in order to relate, to hear testimonies, to a place, to do service and witness and be accountable all those things need to happen and if we're not actively involved in a community that helps support us, then I think that's it. You got to realize there's people. It's people that are messing up at these churches. It's not God that's messing up, it's the people. And yeah, it's going to be everywhere, it's going to be at any church you go to.

Speaker 1: 7:42

Yeah, I completely agree. So how did you come back to God? Did it take another miracle before you realized that you needed him back, or was it something a little more simple? I was very hardheaded, so he always had to show up in a big way to get my attention. That's why I asked you know what?

Speaker 2: 8:05

I think you're absolutely right. Sometimes, when we're being hardheaded or distant or too involved in our worldly life and not paying attention to God and our relationship with him, yeah, there's some big things that have to happen sometimes. I'm not saying it's purposeful, I'm not saying I'm just saying that God uses those things in order to redirect us back to him. So I went through the whole, I did Bible studies, I did all my what you should do, you know type things, the plan Okay, you're doing the plan, but that doesn't mean you're focused. Right, you're not focused, you're not having that relationship. So I would say it started. The big thing started when my husband had an accident.

Speaker 2: 8:49

He was a plane adjuster and was on top of a roof and trying to get down from the roof on a ladder and the ladder gave way and started pulling away. He was trained what to do in order to not get tangled in the ladder and get serious injuries, so he jumped yeah, when he jumped, he landed on his feet, but his leg just shattered inside His right leg shattered. And through the process of multiple surgeries, multiple hospitalizations and repairs on his leg my view or whatever God spoke to me and said I'm showing you you can handle this, these tasks, these challenges, these tests that are coming up. And I even told my husband. I said I think God's just preparing us for something more. And he certainly was. He was preparing us for a lot more.

Speaker 2: 9:42

And I don't want to say that we haven't had good stuff too, because we've had a lot of good stuff too, but there has been after that, just like you said, there's been a constant kind of flow and I'm not sure that God is doing it. I think the devil is doing it, because he knows where I'm headed. I think sometimes we want to blame God for things that are happening in our lives. There's evil in this world and sometimes that when the devil knows that we are headed towards something better, something bigger, closer to Jesus, we're going to attempt to help other people become closer. That's when we start experiencing these hits that are just. He's trying to get us to not believe. He's trying to get us to pull away from God, he tries to trip us up and keep us off track, forgetting what our mission on earth is.

Speaker 1: 10:32

Yeah, I completely agree with that. He's crafty little booger.

Speaker 2: 10:37

Definitely. That's a nice way to put it, and isn't that you know? I've heard a lot of people say this world is his realm. Right now, His realm is here, and that's why we have to constantly refocus ourselves on God in order to protect ourselves from him. And it's just. The realm here on earth is us proving that we belong with God and Jesus and in heaven, and that proof is going to be tested. Otherwise we wouldn't be here, right?

Speaker 1: 11:22

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Speaker 1: 11:51

Well, what happened with your husband after he shattered his leg? I can feel that I wouldn't say that I would have before. I was really close to my 40th birthday, but two days before my 40th birthday I broke my elbow roller skating with my daughter at a friend's birthday party. So now I can. Unfortunately, I can relate. When people say they broke something, they shattered something. I just cringe. I'm like I can feel that I know what they're going through. So how did that all get worked out, I guess? How did he handle it? And what did he get his full range back? I mean, with my elbow I still have some issues with it, but I've got most of my range back, but it was not nearly as bad as shattering your whole body part. So how did that?

Speaker 2: 12:49

play out Absolutely. So when he was taken to the hospital he ended up having what they call compartment syndrome. If people don't know what that is, it's basically your body trying to shut down that part of your. You know, that part that's injured and it tries to cut it off because it's so damaged and so injured that it just basically cuts off that area. So he had to have immediate surgery, cut it open on two sides in order to just like, let the I don't have a good word for it the liquids, the fluids kind of come out.

Speaker 2: 13:24

So, and when the doctors went in to try to figure out how to repair his leg, I mean they couldn't even count the number of pieces of bones that were in there. There was just so many pieces and it was right below his knee, right knee, and both of the big bones down there. Don't ask me the names of those. Both of them were just, it's okay, I don't know them either. They just were shattered. So they ended up putting in numerous pieces of metal, two of the big long pieces of metal, then all these little screws, and the count was enormous and I really should write all that down so I can say it could be. I don't know, but, um, it was a. It was a good two-week process to begin with and four surgeries in order to get him to be in a spot where he could come home and start healing. But that wasn't the end of it, unfortunately, because he ended up getting an infection and that was huge too, and he was just starting rehab because it was like a couple months in.

Speaker 2: 14:23

He had to work on just being able to walk and being able to do all this stuff and that infection caused him to have to go back in and take all the metal out. That infection caused them to have to go back in and take all the metal out. They ended up having to do two surgeries at a time, with a week worth of stay in the hospital, and they put in a ball of cement. It's a crazy thing. They make these cement balls with antibiotics in them and a bone formed around this ball. So he lost like 15% of his bone and I put this in and it worked.

Speaker 2: 14:59

But as we went back to the doctor and he started walking again, I mean the doctor this whole time was telling me shouldn't leave this part out. The doctor this whole time was telling me be prepared, we're probably going to have to amputate his leg. Yeah, that's what I was thinking. Through the grace of God and my husband's determination, he's a positive man and he wasn't going to think about not being able to walk again. I mean they said if he even walks again, that he's going to have pain, he's going to have less ability to move, less ability to function and that type of thing. That's why they were saying maybe we do a prosthetic instead. The doctor knew that my husband was determined and he kept going. He kept going and, amazing doctor, I give this doctor 100% credit.

Speaker 2: 15:46

My husband. He's going to have problems because he's a little uneven and he's got a weird like he can't feel his leg so he gets like a scrape even and he's bleeding. He doesn't know it, so like he doesn't feel his leg, the bottom half of his leg. But he can walk and he walks fine. I mean he gets a little limp because it's uneven. But he's gone back to work full time, able to do his job, switch jobs. He's not on top of buildings anymore.

Speaker 1: 16:18

That's a good thing. That is a win right there.

Speaker 2: 16:22

But the doctor was like that wasn't me, that wasn't me, you had somebody looking over you. And it's prayer, it's prayer through family, the church prayers. You go out. When that happens, when something big happens, you ask for your community, your tribe, to go. Please pray for this.

Speaker 2: 16:39

And I mean not to jump fast forward, but we did that three days ago for my dad and he's getting out of the hospital and he was about ready to go into a long-term care situation to be able to breathe because his oxygen was so bad. And within a day or two, after asking for prayers from other people, god hurt. I mean, it's just, it's amazing what God can do. And it's not that we can't just pray ourselves, it's that the community and that community praying and shooting all those prayers up you know, I don't know it. Just you know, I don't know it just makes it stronger. I don't know my dad, so he's in the hospital, he's about ready to get out. But my dad, he said you know God's helping me right now. And that was only two days ago when the prayer started. I'm like there's something about prayer that just can change. It can change. It's just God's hearing you.

Speaker 1: 17:32

Yeah, it can change. It can change. It's just God's hearing you. Yeah, it may not change your situation, but it changes you. And I don't remember if it was the pastor at my church who said that or if I heard it from all the many different podcasts I listened to, but that really changed my heart posture when it came to prayer, hearing that Because it's true, you don't pray because you're trying to get God to do what you want him to do. You're praying because you want him to, you want to align with his will and your heart is the one that needs to have the change, the transformation, the surrender. He's not here for us, he's not our genie. We can't rub the lamp and say, hey, do this for me. We're here for him to give him the glory.

Speaker 1: 18:17

And I always love hearing these stories of when people are either getting healed or mostly healed, or just something happening, even through a tragedy. There's usually somebody there who's saying there's no hope, prepare for this, this is how it's probably going to go. We're like 99% sure. And then boom, god does something. And it may not be what you were even expecting it to be, maybe it's still a tragic situation, but God works, he shows up, you see it, and you can give him the glory, and that's why we pray is to give him the glory, to set our hearts right and to be in community together.

Speaker 1: 18:59

Praying is very significant. The Bible talks about the significance of it. That's what the church is supposed to be there for is for each other to help each other through situations. We should not have to go through painful things alone, and that's awesome to hear that your father just had that peace, knowing that God's taking care of the situation that he's in. And that only comes when you are focused on God, when you have had a strong prayer life, and whether you've seen him work things out in the way you wanted or not, you've seen him work.

Speaker 2: 19:37

Yeah, I mean you said two things just now, between the surrender and then seeing God work. Those are two big things that, people. I think it's what we need to do and what we need to have in our life in order to really. Number one, you have to surrender in order to feel God coming into our lives. I think sometimes, if we're trying to control it too much, we're not giving number one, god the glory, but you're also not giving God the chance because he's controlling and we're fighting him, then we're fighting him if we're trying to control, um, but then once you surrender, once you start, you know, going deeper into your prayer life, your relationship with jesus, you're going to start seeing him working in so many ways, just simple ways, even just simple everyday ways, that you know whether it be a big healing, like my husband's leg or my dad or whatever it might be, that happens all the time.

Speaker 2: 20:41

People don't always see it, that happens all the time. But there's small things. There's small things, like I didn't leave for work on time, so therefore I missed an accident, or even smaller than that, but seeing God working in your life and just you know whether you needed a hug from your husband and he came home and directly gives you a hug. I don't know.

Speaker 1: 20:59

You know, thank God, throughout the whole day just seeing those small wondrous things that he does, and you don't see it unless you have that eye for it yeah, no-transcript for allowing me to have this breath, allowing me to be here, be with my family, just trying to be more intentional on thanking him for the little things, because those in and of itself can be sometimes everyday miracles. I mean, nobody knows completely how the brain works, all the different ways it can do things. There's still things we don't know how it works, how the body works, all these things that it's doing right now. And God did this. He spoke it into existence. Our bodies and here we are, the amazing things that women can do, growing another body inside of us.

Speaker 1: 22:20

You know it's like, well, only God could do that, speaking it into existence. We can't do that and we should always be thanking God. We should always be sitting there thinking about the many ways we're blessed, the many things he's done for us. Dying on the cross for our sins should be enough anyways, because that's like the biggest sacrifice ever, biggest miracle of all, is that a perfect God thought we were worth that sacrifice and he already knew what we were going to do. He knew what kind of culture we were going to be before he even did it, and he still did it. I'm just saying Isn't that amazing?

Speaker 2: 22:59

Yes, and I think because the distance from when Jesus was here on earth and where we are now. It's so easy, just like when Moses was in the desert and all the people were down there just having a party and doing things they shouldn't be doing and not listening to God. Sometimes I feel worse. It's that distance now has happened again, and now we're going into a state of people are doing things they shouldn't be doing and not paying attention to God. And definitely, definitely, that's why I wrote the book.

Speaker 2: 23:34

I need people to see that this is real. This is real and Jesus came, like you said, died on the cross for us, to save us. Even though we're continuing to do things wrong, continuing to sin, he will forgive you. You just have to know him, love him and ask for that forgiveness. And he has a purpose for us here on earth and otherwise, otherwise I wouldn't still be here. I mean, he saved my life, he brought me back right, he didn't let me die that day and so, as long as I'm breathing air, he has a purpose for me. And what that purpose is, I just have to let him lead me day to day, to take me on that journey and just praise him in between.

Speaker 1: 24:11

Yeah, my pastor says, if you're not dead, you're not done. There you go.

Speaker 2: 24:16

I love it. I need to know what church.

Speaker 1: 24:17

you go to Revelation Church in Connecticut.

Speaker 2: 24:21

Wonderful. Tell your pastor I like the things that you've been saying. I will, yeah.

Speaker 1: 24:29

I'm really trying hard to have a more deep and rich prayer life. To have a more deep and rich prayer life. That is unfortunately, I feel, for a lot of people, depending on what season you're in, having little kids always running around, working, whatever it is. I feel like that's the first thing to go is I don't have time to pray because we see it as we gotta be kneeling down by your bedside or we have to have our eyes closed All these parameters that throughout our lives, we've put on prayer where we feel, oh, I can't do that, I don't have time, I got to run to the office now. Or, oh, I have to get the kids to school right now I can't pray, but you can pray While you're in the car. Ask your kids to pray or pray with your eyes closed while you're driving.

Speaker 2: 25:18

Say something out loud. Wait a minute. Pray with your eyes closed while you're driving. Don't do that.

Speaker 1: 25:22

No Pray with your eyes open. I think I said closed, but I meant open. Guys, don't take that advice. Switch it around. We don't want to have any accidents, not today. Switch it around, we don't want to have any accidents, not today. No, I get it.

Speaker 2: 25:44

I'm glad you caught that, because apparently I didn't. No, that's what I tell. Like people think there is some sort of you have to do this in order to be praying and you don't. You can pray in so many ways. You can pray and just say a thank you, that's a prayer you can sing at church. You're praying, you can be, like you said, driving with your eyes open and just you know, think of God and let him talk to you, let him speak to you. There's not one set way of praying and we come as we are. We do not have to go to God and say okay and try to hide things. He knows, he knows, he knows where we are. Just it's okay. It's okay, just do it.

Speaker 1: 26:24

Yeah, yeah, I couldn't agree more. Well, laura, thank you so much for coming on today. I have had a blast talking to you. You're so fun. Thanks, anna. I appreciate that and I'm so glad to hear that your dad is doing well and able to come out of the hospital. I was praying for him and if there's one thing you can say to the audience today about the topics we've talked about with healing, you know, little miracles and just prayer. What would you want to say to those who are maybe on the fence about trusting God with whatever situation they're going through, or maybe they're just they're not following him right now? What would you say to them?

Speaker 2: 27:05

I always say you have to start at the beginning. You have to know that God exists. So hence again, the book is you have to find a way to know, you have to see those things and believe and then, once those things take baby steps, start with a prayer, start with going and figuring out church to just go to. There's no perfection here. There's no perfection. Just start somewhere and let it grow from there. It's not a all of a sudden. I'm a Christian and I believe it's a journey, and the journey never ends until God brings us home.

Speaker 1: 27:43

Yep, I agree. So remind us again what's the name of your book and where can people find it.

Speaker 2: 27:49

Sure, it's 21 Reasons for Trusting in God and Finding Inner Peace in His Existence. They can find it on Amazon. That's the best place. You can go to my website as well, lafuckleycom, and there's a link there if that's easier for you. So those are the best ways that you can go to a bookstore and ask they have ways of getting it in as well. Okay, awesome.

Speaker 1: 28:16

Thank you again, Laura, for coming on today. I've enjoyed our chat, Same Ana. Thank you for having me.