Women of Hope: Major Beth Sturdivant

Hi this is Bernie doing welcome to the Salvation Army's words of life.

Welcome back the words of life. I'm Bernie Dake are serious studying 12 women in the Bible God used to do the extraordinary ended last week but before we launch into our new series on leadership wanted to share a few testimonies of incredible women. God is using today and joining us for these episodes is our friend Ashley Escobar hey thanks for having me come.

It's good to have your Ashley full disclosure.

She is a friend and she has a very cool husband named Ed he's all right and a beautiful son named ever since. The best is the best and I love your social media thing.

They are sharing it with a very talented woman.

She's a dancer stance as an artist absolutely she's a singer. Anything else you want to lead a woman of God. I actually have a new passion which has been interviewing people, which is actually a part of what were talking about today but I think there is such value and allowing people to be heard and because a lot of people may not feel heard or may feel that their story doesn't matter, but you're getting someone power when you just sit there and listen to them and that's not something I've always been good at doing that. I'm just in this season of life where I soaking it all in hearing someone's story so yeah that's my new passion and I watched some of that interview is beautiful and count done think you done so today we're going to hear from Maj. Beth Sturtevant and so Ashley can you kinda set up this testimony for us.

Yeah so major that Sturdivant, I did not know her very well.

Prior to the interview that if you know Maj. Beth Sturtevant if you've heard her story. It is very focused on her husband when he got cultivated and was not looking like he was gonna make it. When that happened, and during that time she also had COBIT and was hospitalized and they were separate on their separated from each other, and one was in one hospital, one was in the other and it just was looking like a very hopeless situation that will put the play called the family yes yes they mean they were making plans for his departure from this earth.

And so to go through that experience and to make it out to where they are now. They're both happy and healthy and I think that's incredible. So when I heard her story.

The focus was on him, but I thought in my mind I want to hear her side. I want to hear what she has to say and started to most people know me young and old. I am starting that sums up I just want another body that may be said that maybe a flaw. I'm not sure, but for me that is exactly who they just want to take care of people, where does that come from. It probably comes from my childhood, my biological mother abandoned me when I was just a tiny baby and so I had a mother who ranks me who did not biologically give birth to me and said she loved me and asked my mother what she was my mama and so I believe that from early on that I knew that I could do that that I could love people. I didn't have to burse them to love them and said that has just grown in me over over time in and just people I come in contact with what is hoped to me is knowing and feeling that things are going to be all right. No matter the process of that sometimes it is the most hurtful process that we have to go through and sometimes is the best process we can get that to know that in the and God has a plan for each of us and we don't always know what that looks like having hope he sees the big picture.

My first choice always have hope that I had a family that raised me and left me. I think there's something primal in you and that knowing that your mother gave you away and you know I grew up thinking I always need to be smart enough to chat fell short or pretty enough wrap fell short all the things that I thought I needed to do in order to make people left me and it took me a long time to realize first of all, there was a heavenly father who loved me so much.

It didn't matter what earthly people dead and that was a long road for me to realize that when I had my first child that turning point for me came and because I need then I could begin to pour in to some one else I realize with each child that I had that was God saying to me each time he is more left for you here, you got here about three children have raised no more than that but have birthed three children.

So each time God just showed me he was pointing that much more out to me and he would say to me each time.

Here you go. After that you have so much love for you. I'm sure people that know me very quickly and Gary's wife. Not only am I children's mother and wife. You know that people who know him know me. Some of the darkest days of my life is dinner time when he was. Not that I doubted God, but I was afraid because for so long I have been an Gary's wife and what what what to do when I was not Gary's wife anymore. What would I do if God saw fit that he needed to be on this earth anymore and I kept saying to the doctors and the nurses entered God as if God didn't know that Gary is my world. You know my family is my world, but he had me in my life just won't even admit we we won't people in our last that my lowest day. He keeps me going to the hospital. He was sick and I couldn't go and see him.

You know I couldn't get to him when our son called to say that is not in a make it and now I remember thinking as I have to get to the hospital. I have to get to where he's at.

I had a nurse and trying to get if he could picture this me trying to get out of the room and she is physically restraining me to prevent me from getting out of the hospital.

I had no idea which direction I was going that I was and I and she was there for me and I know that God placed her there just for me. I was absolutely scared, terrified when Gary was sick and people often ask me how did I know that moment that I knew that he would be all right when I was released when Gary got sick we were separate hospitals and once they stabilized him several days. He was brought to the same hospital that I was in so I thought oh they'll let me go up to be with him at that it happened and so I left and he was there and so for almost 40 more days.

I didn't get to see him.

I only got three calls in the hospital and each time they were early morning and it meant something had gone wrong something and so this was the third call and it was early in the morning. I was very afraid to answer the phone and she said to me, I just want you to know that it is because Vitesse was clear today and it took me just a second and said, does that mean I can come and see him now and she said yes and I probably busted her eardrum because I literally screamed into the phone and she laughed and I laughed and I was so excited that I was going to be a giddy girl and you know because I quickly got ready and was trying to get to the hospital as quickly and I walked in and I saw him and he said he knew me. I was really afraid that he wasn't in the know who I was, because it been so sick and he saw me on my knee. I knew that he was going to be out for those who may be going through the same thing that I went through or something similar. I would say first of all, listen to God. I really believe that had it gone a different way. God would've told me God would've prepared me that he was gonna take airy and there are instances in our life that things happen to us. It may seem odd to other people or may go against the grain, but I would always say listen to God because he always has your back. He always has your best interest and when things don't seem probable, and I know with our story with Gary know what no one that he was going to leave the hospital. We look for answers in other people and they don't often come from other people, but the writing always comes well. I love almost 30 C with all those things she is. She's an inspiration to me. As you know is I was. I know Beth very well, but as I was sitting there listening to her story is kept on thinking only in God's economy can you go from being an orphan to a mama who love everybody.

I mean God totally redeemed her story and that way to be used for his purposes to to love the world that needs a mama's sturdy and so I was just awestruck by that. God just flipped her story around and through her shows unconditional love to so many people I piggyback off of what you just said because I think a lot of times we think that something is on unattainable. We can become something because because it hasn't been displayed to us in our lives, but that's obviously not the truth. Based off her testimony that we can be who God called us to be because we are his child, and it's not dependent upon the family that were born into or even the one that we have our friends whatever status but that God called us and he chose us. That's why were here and that's an opportunity without alone.

We hope that you're encouraged by mama's sturdy's story.

She is awesome and we got a few more weeks of more stories just like this.

Hope to turn in the encouraged Salvation Army subtest for publishing the Salvation Army's mission doing the most good means helping people with material will needs to become a part of this mission every time you give to this operation Army visit Salvation Army USA.org to offer your support and love to hear from you. Call one 800-2299 65 email us radio USS.Salvation Army. Tell us how we can help your prayer request your testimony. Would love to hear. You can also subscribe to a show on iTunes.

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