Strength to Fainting Hearts

Sgt. William Winfred  "Shep" Watson, Sr.
Saint-Denis-de-Gastines, Mayenne, France
WWI





"...I will strengthen you, yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand." (Isa. 41:10)

I never met him, my grandfather. But I know stories.

In the middle of a dark, World War I night, his mother (my great grandmother) bolted straight up in bed and said, "Shep's been hurt." A letter later confirmed injury on the battlefields of France. 

He lived...

then died in Ohio from influenza before his 30th birthday, leaving a young widow (my grandmother), a three-year old son (my daddy), and another baby on the way.

Life is hard, beloved. 

God is good.

God is faithful.

"Watch, stand fast in the faith, be brave, be strong." (1 Cor. 16:13)

God is the refuge of His saints, 

When storms of sharp distress invade;

Ere we can offer our complaints,

Behold Him present with His aid.

Loud may troubled ocean roar;

In sacred peace our souls abide;

While every nation, every shore, 

Trembles and dreads the swelling tide.

That sacred stream - Thy holy Word -

That all our raging fear controls;

Sweet peace Thy promises afford,

And give new strength to fainting souls.

~ Isaac Watts ~