Life looked good for Punky Tolson. She was in movies, she
was modelling and even co-starred with Julia Roberts. Yet there was a
train-wreck inside. She was worn out.
One night, she was faced down in her bedroom and just said, "Lord,
I gave up."
Those 3 words set her free and saved her. It began a
beautiful dance with the Lord.
Punky often says that it is very crucial to have someone
walking alongside the young lives and guide them through life by the ways of
the bible. Even though she had people encouraging her along the way, there wasn't
really one person who took her under the wing and show her how to walk out her
faith in this day and age.
Everyone needs help to navigate through life and that help has
a name - Jesus. And He put us here on earth to come alongside the young ones.
We need to be spiritual moms and dads to walk them through.
Punky surrendered to the Lord early in her life. However,
she took many many wrong roads along the way. Through everything, God never let
her go. Neither did He answer the prayers that she begged Him for because He
knew His plans for her. Finally, she said to the Lord, "I want what You want
for me more than what I want for me" and surrendered to the Lord. It was 4
years after that prayer that she met her husband and got married at the age of
43.
And it was then that she realized (and grateful) that God
loves her enough to say "No". Sometimes, His "No" is a big mercy because He has got
a better "Yes" for us.
In 2009, Punky received the diagnosis of breast cancer. In the year that
followed she underwent several surgeries, a double mastectomy, and
chemotherapy.
It was a scary thing. She got scared. However, somewhere in her heart,
she knew that God was in control and Punky just surrendered it.
"Lord, if we are going to do this, let's get it all done. If there is
anything else in here that needs to be cleaned out or refined in me, then let's
do it. I don't want to miss one single lesson of what You have for me." That
was her prayer to the Lord. Punky was determined that she will not be the same
girl coming out of this ordeal.
A year later, she can truly testify of the Lord's sweetness - a sweetness
that she would not have known or experienced had she not gone through this
season.
We have to realise that sometimes God's most beautiful and life-changing gift
to us, comes in a horrible looking package. We need to look past that package
and know that a long time ago, God had already seen this situation in your life
and He allowed it to happen. He allowed it to touch your life because it is for
your own good, for the good of all who are watching it unfold and for His great
glory.
Remember, "all things work together for good to those who
love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose"
(Rom 8:28) God never waste any moment of your life. Punky Tolson is an exemplary
model for this. Every season that she has been through had shaped her and brought
her to where she is today - a spiritual life coach, a speaker and most importantly,
a lover of Jesus Christ
