In recognition of the first anniversary of my husband’s passing; I lay before you my heartfelt thoughts and admiration of the character of my better half, Scott Brodie, and the gracious God he served. The Lord has used the last year to comfort me in the finality of losing my spouse who now lives beyond the veil. Scott’s gallant race to the finish in natural life has helped me to keep perspective on my grief. Feelings of having been denied have evolved to an ever increasing appreciation of the freedoms he must now enjoy in heaven.  

Initially, the overwhelming sense of loss was his physical presence, especially in view of the ways our lives were so interwoven. Life, as I formerly had known it, ceased to exist and my everyday reality was drastically changed. His absence affected every part of my being. Thirty years of inseparability didn’t ensure me another day or retrieve Scott’s soul back from the grave; I could do nothing but accept God’s decided Will. I’m sobered considering the fleetingness of time and brevity of life. Surely we need to redeem each day for our generation while we still have breath.

I’m mindful of Scott throughout my day and dismiss feelings of leaving him behind. I resist hesitations of the “great unknown” in my future and wrestle with a slight sense that moving on betrays the plans Scott and I had made together. In the coming days, I have determined all the more to allow peace to rule my heart and protect and confirm my steps. The Comfort of God will give me assurance of His guiding hand.

I empathize with all who have lost a loved one, especially those who have experienced the death of a spouse. We grieve two losses; one of our soul mate and one of our marriages. The unwilling separation by death ends the godly union of marriage; divorcing lives from one another.  My precious husband was the center of my world in so many ways; it’s foreign for me to live without his companionship. I am consoled with the thought that although Scott is no longer accessible in the land of the living he is partaking of an immortal, heavenly estate. Not a day goes by when I don’t think of him, miss our conversations and accept his absence. The memory of him continually abides in my heart and mind. My consolation and firm belief is in my faith that the Word of God is true and I will one day see him again. I rejoice in the spiritual hope of the splendor of heaven; a Hope that will not disappoint.

Despite new and persistent battles we had faced in Scott’s 16 year health crisis; I witnessed the Holy Spirit quicken his human spirit with renewed energy for each day’s challenges. Throughout the difficulties, when his natural capacity was tapped, he kept himself from feelings of bitterness and pity. He determined not to try to figure out life by his own reasoning and decided against accusing thoughts, projections and condemnations competing to discourage him. When exhausted from the all-day struggle of mind and body; Scott clung to the promise of sleeping peacefully (Ps 4:8). Notwithstanding constant interruptions, he rested in God’s faithfulness to equip him and looked forward to fresh mercies in the morning.

As the Lou Gehrig’s disease progressed, the Holy Spirit developed Scott into a gentle soul. Without the use of his voice and with little ability to breathe, he still found ways to express love and concern for others. The demands of critical health became increasingly difficult both physically and emotionally. What Scott lacked in his own willpower he went to God for enablement. He resolved not to battle against his own limitations but trust in Christ’s supply. Irrespective of Scott’s physical dependence he grew in selflessness and patience. He daily bore a cross of suffering and vulnerability and defeated many enemies by the power of Christ Jesus. I imagine angels desired to observe this marvel of faith in action.

Years went by and Scott’s nerve loss and muscle function continued to decline. This caused a type of progressive paralysis that robbed all aspects of his independence. In his great need, he came to a fuller recognition that God was searching his heart to apprehend his inner man (Prov 20:27). Scott’s outward man didn’t impress God anyway and often became an interference in the pursuit of Christ’s call. By prayer for others and in identification with his Savior, Scott shared in sufferings that remain for the sake of the Church (Col 1:24) anticipating God’s purposes would (and will) be revealed.

In the last years of his life, the intensive demands of physical care required concerted efforts day and night for me, our children, and the help of a few devoted caregivers. Scott had always wanted to give, and was greatly humbled to be the one constantly needing to receive. He appreciated all of our efforts and wished he wasn’t a burden. We never considered him a burden and saw how much he gave. There was nothing I would not do for him and still cherished the man I committed my life to in sickness and in health. Even now, I highly esteem the godly leadership and precious contributions he demonstrated.

Despite the adversity, the Holy Spirit continued to enlarge both our capacities. Scott began to recognize his value in the plan of God and he grew in purpose.  I assisted behind the scenes to help him fulfill his ministry of encouragement. In no small measure, the impartation working in Scott was profoundly worked into my family and me. With the passing of their dad, our children face a distinct loss of their own yet have received a great heritage of faith in the Lord. I am confident our posterity will preserve Scott’s legacy and the testimony of his utter dependence upon the provisions of God.

Scott had received newness of life, late in his teenage years, through the belief of the Savior’s atoning sacrifice. Born to new life, his soul had been crucified with Christ in identification with the Son. Grasping the exchange of realities from natural to supernatural is paramount to rising above our challenges and overcoming evil. By of our invitation, God makes His home in us and we become the Temple of God. Our flesh no longer has jurisdiction to dominate us, God has legal reign! We choose to allow the Holy Spirit to take control of our lives and multiply the witness of Christ’s love to the world.

 Battle of our Soul

Scott had always trusted and sought the Lord for a healing miracle. I believe Jesus was well pleased in his faith. If the Father’s sovereign will was for his visible, miraculous healing in this life; He would not have been limited by doubt or unbelief in Scott’s expectancy.  In fact, many miracles were carried out to deliver Scott from an earlier death. God prolonged his life eight times the prognosis neurologists gave him in 1997. I’m persuaded that Scott was entrusted with a specialized assignment; one that might cause many others to become offended and confused. The Father knew he could take this godly man through fires of affliction and he would come through as gold. Disease did not prevail against Scott by slowly taking his life but instead, by divine design, Scott amplified Jesus in the earth. God healed him entirely; giving him everlasting life and the promise of a resurrected body at Christ’s Second Coming. Friends, the enemy has been defeated, no longer having dominion over a believer, we are to have already reckoned ourselves dead to our flesh. The battle that reconciled us to the Father has already been won and the grave has no victory. By the Blood of Jesus Christ, the Firstfruit of the Resurrection overcame death and the grave. Hallelujah!

By accepting Christ’s substitutionary death, Scott had already been spiritually resurrected from sin & death at the point of his salvation. Beyond his natural ability, through prayer and seeking God, he accessed the joy of the Lord for his inner strength. Scott’s spirit, soul and body had to align with the Will of God for his life and be daily sustained by His Grace. Scott sincerely wanted to be able to stand before his Maker with a pure heart and no regrets. He yearned to hear the Father say “well done, thou faithful servant”.

There is something for us to examine in one’s knowing their impending death that shakes them out of the slumber of the world. Even as a devote follower of Christ, upon hearing of his terminal prognosis, Scott desperately aspired to please God, no matter the cost. We should all be so alert knowing our days are short. I remember those early years and know our journey took us through a perilous and desolate wilderness of heart. Time and again, we were supernaturally equipped for our challenges by His mercy and grace. God’s Word tells us He does not refuse a broken and contrite heart and hears their plea (Ps 34:18).  In turn, we have opportunity to delight the Father’s heart by our acknowledgment and praise of His work in our lives. Scott had a lot of time to contemplate the Life of Christ that enabled him. He would want you to fight the fight of faith with everything within you, believing God for His Promises.

 “The secret of the Lord is with those who fear Him, and He will show them His covenant” Psalm 25:14

 An example of faith

 The Apostle Paul wittingly boasted in his infirmities to the Corinthian believers seeing they boasted in their flesh. (2 Cor 11:18, 30). Later the Lord told him “… my grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness” therefore Paul was able to state “… I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong” (chap.12:9-10). We see in Paul’s example, although he was commissioned by God, he suffered many adversities. Consider the follow passage:

 “We are hard-pressed on every side, yet not crushed; we are perplexed, but not in despair;  persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed—  always carrying about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body. For we who live are always delivered to death for Jesus’ sake, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh. So then death is working in us, but life in you.

…Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day. For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal”.                                                                                       2 Cor 4:8-12; 16-18

 My boast

In our private lives, I was a recipient and eyewitness to a particular outworking of inner strength and ability. By observing Scott’s personal fortitude and abundant life, my perception of reality has been altered in ways I cannot deny. I have come out from a wilderness leaning on my beloved Christ. I am passionately assured of God’s faithfulness regardless of how circumstances appear, and boast of the Lord’s delivering power through the Cross of Christ. Jesus will do more than you could ask or imagine when you commit your whole heart to Him. Believe for yourself, fellow traveler, God is the source of all life and an ever present help in the time of your need.

By Chuck Goldberg

“… Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day.” (2 Cor. 4:16, NIV).

Saddled with Lou Gehrig’s disease, Scott Brodie is far removed from his days playing basketball, football, and softball. Long gone are health-club racquetball, working out, and coaching the church men’s and women’s softball teams.

Today, he cannot fend for himself at all; he is incapable of independently eating, dressing, or bathing. Nor can he use his arms, but he can type with his toes and communicate a form of sign language with his feet. Even blinking is difficult, requiring the help of his wife, Glennis, who also serves as interpreter, since his voice is reduced to sounds unintelligible to anyone else.

Such are the ravages of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), which came to prominence when it killed New York Yankees great Lou Gehrig in 1941, a tragedy immortalized in the 1942 Gary Cooper movie, The Pride of the Yankees. Occurring in two of every 100,000 people, ALS is a degenerative disease that affects the brain’s ability to initiate and control muscle movement. No longer able to receive nourishment, muscles atrophy, eventually leading to death, according to the ALS Association. There is no cure.

Though Brodie received the standard life expectancy of two to five years, he is now in his 16^th year with ALS. That puts him among about 10 percent who survive more than 10 years. Just 5 percent make it to year 20.

Yet, as Brodie helplessly watches his body waste away, he is beholding another phenomenon: His increasing reliance upon God and His Word has enlivened his spirit, taking him to greater spiritual heights.

“I’m a guy whose voice cannot be heard, whose body is supported by a brace, having no ability to take care of myself, living in a world that champions and celebrates strength, perfection, and achievement,” he says. “Daily, the Holy Spirit reminds me that through my weakness God’s strength is perfected and my imperfections have the ability to put His glory and His grace on display.”

Born in Iron Mountain, Michigan, and raised in several Wisconsin towns, Brodie attended the University of Wisconsin and moved to San Diego in 1982, later working in a gym health bar selling organic food products. In 1983, he moved to Tacoma, Washington, to start a new health bar in a gym, and it was there that he met Glennis. Both physically active, they frequently exercised together and fell in love, marrying in 1984.

Leaving the health bar business, Brodie worked a variety of jobs until 1985, when he began learning mobile vinyl repair and auto pinstriping. He then got the idea to launch his own mobile upholstery company specializing in health clubs and restaurants. Brodie Upholstery began in 1986 and is still going today, based in Puyallup, Washington, with son Justin running field operations and Glennis managing the office.

Brodie obtained a bachelor’s degree in theological studies in 1997 from Maryland Bible College & Seminary in Baltimore, which was affiliated with Greater Grace World Outreach. He taught Biblical studies in Tacoma at Greater Grace Bible College, where Glennis earned her degree in Biblical studies in 2003. Both remained active in ministry with Greater Grace, now known as Living Grace Ministries.

They attended Greater Grace Church in Tacoma from 1988 to 2008, until Brodie’s health made it impossible to attend, so they now listen to daily messages online and host Bible studies in their home and an occasional speaker.

With an active family of four children, full church involvement, and a growing business, life was good for the Brodies. Then in late 1995, Scott noticed twitching in his right index finger. Eventually, he became unable to press hard enough when writing invoices at work to create duplicates. He detected a loss of strength in his right arm, reducing his velocity when throwing a softball or football. Also, his aim when shooting baskets was off.

Figuring he needed more strength training, he increased his exercise at the gym. Instead, he slowly worsened. The problem expanded to his left hand and left arm, then neck to chest.

Brodie learned from his doctor it could be anything from a pinched nerve to ALS. Because his condition continued deteriorating, Brodie thought the worst, leading him to research ALS. That fall, a neurologist confirmed his fears after just two tests and a physical exam. Brodie, now 53, was 37 at the time.

He refused to believe the neurologist, who delivered the diagnosis with clinical callousness, he says, simply stating the hard facts about ALS, offering no hope. When Brodie said God could heal him, the doctor accused him of “living in denial.” Yet, the diagnosis devastated him, leaving him and Glennis crying and praying together in the parking lot.

“As we left the office, a dark cloud hovered over our heads,” Brodie says. “I could envision Satan standing above me as I clung to the sides of a dark pit. He was gleefully laughing at me in my despair, saying in a mocking tone, ‘Where is your God now, Mr. Faith?’”

They decided to meet with their pastor, who wept with them and had the congregation intercede that night and countless times since. He gave them a verse, Romans 4:18, which has become Brodie’s lifeline: “Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed.”

“I’ve held onto that one truth since that day,” he says. “When questions came, I just kept holding onto hope. God has encouraged me to never lose my hope, to never lose faith in Him. He promises us ‘those that wait upon the Lord shall mount up with wings as eagles.’”

Several other neurologists confirmed ALS, he says, all with the same clinical coldness, leaving him without hope that any doctor could help. So he turned to faith messages and God’s Word to remain encouraged. Satan continued waging an intense battle in his mind, with lingering projections of death and depression.

The biggest hope-builder of all occurred in March 1998 during a visit to Arizona, when Jesus appeared to Brodie one night in either a vision or dream. He told Brodie his healing had already begun and asked three separate times where he would like to serve Him, and he answered Phoenix. Greatly encouraged, Brodie then sought alternative treatments for the next seven years in the United States, Canada, and during three trips to Mexico, spending thousands of dollars on a wide variety of therapies. After all, he had God’s promise he would be serving Him in Phoenix.

While he and Glennis had faith and hope, at the same time they felt they couldn’t simply sit at home and do nothing. Perhaps God’s answer would come through people, they thought, so they had to seek alternative treatments since conventional medicine offered no hope. Each alternative built hope, but each failure became a hard hit. Yet they remained encouraged and hopeful, believing God for healing. Instead, Brodie’s condition worsened.

He became so weak by 2005, he had difficulty breathing, talking, and could barely eat without choking. Realizing he needed intervention to save his life, he followed Glennis’ urging and got a feeding tube, bi-pap machine to help get air into his lungs, a custom neck brace, and a wheelchair.

The following year, the healing Brodie began to see was spiritual, not physical, as God revealed that He could never fulfill His promise of physical healing if Brodie continued relying upon his human effort to seek a cure. Instead, all he had to do was choose to live and God would take care of the rest, healing him on this earth.

“I had to learn that trust was the avenue God would use to reveal His love for me,” he says. “Healing has never been an issue with God; He has assured me numerous times that my healing has already begun and will physically manifest in His time, not mine, where He will get all the glory. I no longer need to be occupied with healing; I need to be occupied with my Savior. The daily struggles remain, but as I grow in my love toward Christ, I rejoice that He allows me to go through them with Him.”

And more trials he would surely endure, including a tracheostomy in April 2009 so he could use a ventilator, and a severe lung infection in June that led to choking because of an obstruction. Glennis had to clash with medical authorities in the emergency room to obtain the necessary antibiotics for her husband.

Today, Brodie continues to use a ventilator, back brace, and wheelchair, though he can do some walking. Unable to eat or drink, he receives puréed food and vitamins through a feeding tube. Every couple hours he needs help to blink because his eyes are dry and unable to shut completely. His lungs function at just 20 percent capacity, so a lung infection becomes critical since he has such low breathing capability.

The Brodies’ children are Justin, 29; Jessica, 27; Ashley, 24; and Kylee, 21. Jessica has given them two grandchildren: Korbyn, born December 2008, and Brodie, born July 2011. Ashley and Kylee still live at home in Puyallup and help with care, running errands, and maintaining the house. Jessica comes over four days a week to help with care and work in the family business. One of Brodie’s brothers, Boo, 50, lives in Tacoma and also helps Justin in the business. Brodie has two other caregivers to help Glennis with household chores.

Glennis says that although the kids have lived with the uncertainty of their father’s condition, they have not allowed it to weigh them down and have pursued their futures with an enhanced view of the world, more alert to others with limitations.

“I’m really, really very proud of them, and I’m proud of Scott for every day that he commits his heart and he commits his day,” she says. “Because he doesn’t quit, I don’t quit.”

Satan hasn’t quit either, however, telling Scott he’s a burden, without dignity, and dependent on everyone. He tells him he will never receive his promise, that he’s done enough, and has even said, “God told me to tell you it’s your time—time to die.”

Some friends have departed because they either did not know how to talk to Brodie or had too much difficulty communicating and relating. Yet the Brodies remain undeterred in their focus upon God, who encourages them to keep pressing on. “None of this seems to bother us anymore,” Glennis says. “We just have to know we are in the will of God, pursuing Him wholeheartedly. We’re hanging onto the God of all hope.”

As Brodie continues to wait for deliverance from an impossible situation in the natural, he draws upon a host of relevant Bible passages, as well as the lives of Abraham, Daniel, Joseph, Nehemiah, and Hezekiah, who all faced waiting and adversity before receiving their answers. The Brodies know that God is accomplishing something special as they wait.

Video of Scott’s daughter Ashley Brodie lovingly taking care of her father

“God has His timetable,” Glennis says. “He’s making all things beautiful in His time, and He’s refining us in this process. We’re drawing nearer to Him. He uses even our waiting to help us develop our relationship with Him.”

Brodie says he is tempted to view his weakness as a liability that should be removed but realizes it may be his greatest asset because God is using it both to refine him and increase his dependence upon Him.

“It’s not the weakness we may have that is significant; it is what it can potentially produce in our soul that is of value,” he says. “I like to consider my back brace as God’s golden treasure, my feeding tube as God’s silver cup, and my tracheostomy as His diamond. They each represent a time of difficulty, a season of seeking and God’s provision. Each scar, whether visible or not, can become an ornament of His grace.”

For more on Scott Brodie’s journey of faith, check his blog at www.deathvalleypromises.org.

Chuck Goldberg has a degree in journalism and a Master of Divinity in Christian education. A former newspaper reporter and magazine managing editor, he is now an ordained minister and freelance writer-editor. He and his wife Dolly have three children and live in Layton, Utah.

A conversation with Scott & Glennis Brodie about Scott’s Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) diagnosis, how he is living with it, living longer than the prognosis, life and everything in between …

As the disease tries to wear Scott down, he tries to stand tall, toe-to-toe, ika ese si ika ese, mano-a- mano, pound-for-pound to it.  In doing this, he spoke again through an interpretation from Glennis, “Romans 4:18 [Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed …]” Glennis would add that this has been their motivational verse in the sense that, “God is good and you can hope. No one can take that away from you. You can hope till the end. When you don’t know if you have the faith, you don’t know you have the means, you can say, I can always believe for something more and be hopeful. Especially, [those] early years, hope was just a foundation for us.”

Ashley talks about living a lifestyle of Faith with her dad, Scott Brodie.

http://www.livingjoyfullyfree.com/audio-items/scott-and-glennis-brodie/

Visit Lisa at: livingjoyfullyfree.blogspot.com