This is a letter we received from a current Abiding Word counselee. She wanted to share it with everyone to express her appreciation for the ministry and those who support it. We wouldn’t be able to impact lives like hers without your love, donations, prayer, and support. On behalf of those we serve, thank you.
When I met Vic Smith for the first time, my heart was completely shattered and my spirit was crushed. I was reeling from the death of my 17-month-old granddaughter and distressed from the abuse my children and I suffered from my first husband. I was consumed by fear, guilt, and despair.
That was the woman who sat down in Vic’s office in April 2018. But it was not the woman who left after several counseling sessions. I’ve been to many counselors over the years, but none like Vic. I felt safe, heard, loved, and valued. Our meetings gave me hope, peace, clarity, and purpose.
Vic would be the first to say that he is merely God’s vessel to minister to the hurting and confused, and to help us process our pain by delving into God’s word. Vic continually reminded me to focus on who I’m becoming through Christ.
He told me to let go of what I’ve overcome and what I don’t understand. He encouraged me to press into the high calling of being a wife, mother, and grandmother, by continually interceding on behalf of my family.
The powerful and freeing word of God was being darkened and muddled by the lies of the enemy who comes to kill, steal, and destroy. I was in the battle for my life and the lives of my loved ones. Vic came alongside me to assist in sifting through the chaos until my heart could know that God had been waiting on me.
Vic repeatedly quoted Isaiah 43:18-19: “Forget the former things. Do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing. Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.”
Because of Vic’s ministry, I am walking in the freedom those verses provide. I am trading my ashes for beauty and my despair for praise. To God be the glory.
The Lord is near to the broken-hearted and saved those who are crushed in spirit.
Psalms 34:18