MEET BETHANN
BethAnn Long lives in Spokane, WA with her husband Bill, of almost 45 years. They have 5 grown children (3 married) and 2 grandkids, so far! BethAnn is a full time Realtor with RE/MAX of Spokane and a professional musician (singer/songwriter).
BethAnn has had the privilege of leading worship and performing at events throughout her lifetime, mostly in the Northwest. She is a cancer survivor and shares her story of God’s faithfulness with transparency and humor to encourage others in their faith.
She is active in her church and community and enjoys traveling, hiking, and most of all, being a Grammy! BethAnn is an Anchor at Home host and enjoys the time with some fantastic women!
MORNING WILL COME
Reflecting back over the decades at age 64, the common thread of every year, day, and moment of my life is God’s faithfulness, His faithfulness through the brightest of days and the darkest of nights. The hymn “Great is Thy Faithfulness” comes to mind: “There is no shadow of turning with thee”. His consistency in my inconsistency.
I tend to feel the turbulent times so deeply, that I often lose my way in the middle of a night time experience, and while I’m literally tossing and turning, God is working. And without fail, morning comes. It usually doesn’t come quickly or gently for me. It is usually after I have tried taking matters into my own hands, or tried to force my way through a dark patch impatiently. He knows this about me, and yet, morning comes in his perfect timing.
In 1993, we lost our 4th child to stillbirth at 22 weeks gestation. I had three boys (including a set of identical twins), and this loss was a baby girl. I was inconsolable. Ever so slowly, I allowed the Lord to comfort me. As I began to accept his sovereignty and allow the Lord to comfort me, He inspired me to write an entire album of songs in memory of my lost daughter (Grace Elizabeth, 2/13/93). Psalms 30:5b says“ Weeping will endure for the night, but JOY comes in the morning!” The nighttime of that season in my life changed me forever.
Me and my husband, Bill
Changed Forever
Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. The God of All Comfort: Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God. For just as the sufferings of Christ overflow to us, so also through Christ our comfort overflows.
We now have four grown boys and one daughter as I had a second set of (boy/girl) twins! God is so good.
My whole family
In the more recent years, I have lost 4 family members in a brief period of time: my twin brothers, both to cancer, one at age 66 and one at 69; my father at 94; and a nephew at only 18 to a tragic accident. Grief consumed me again. I share this not to lay a heavy burden on you, but to encourage you if you are in a season of hardship, grief, darkness or despair — MORNING WILL COME. The Lord can break through the barriers of the darkest midnight, and you will soon begin hearing the birds at the break of dawn. I am as certain of this as I am of anything.
In my own personal experience with loss, my own cancer & cancer recurrence, depression and complicated grief, the one thing I am certain of, MORNING WILL COME, as you learn to put your trust in Him.
God can take all of our deepest hardships and all of our painful experiences and create something fully beautiful, something light and bright, because He IS the LIGHT. This turbulence in the storms of life that we have all experienced, is the very thing that allows us to cling. Cling to the absolute knowledge that our vulnerable ship has a sure anchor in the storms, our soul has a true comforter, and our nights will indeed turn to day.
This side of heaven, we all experience a series of wonderful seasons and challenging seasons. The Lord is with us in them all!
The following song was a gift from the Lord in one of my hardest times. I share it with you, hoping you will be encouraged!
“Into the Morning Light” | Words and music by BethAnn Long
