Springs of Life

Carolyn Waddell

I was born into a conservative Christian family.  The circumstances of my birth were quite traumatic for both myself and my mother, and I was told all my life that it was a miracle that either of us lived.  God intervened, in answer to the prayers of many.   I grew up knowing that God had saved my life for a purpose, and determined to live for Him.  At the age of 5, my mother was teaching me at home, and as part of the displays on the wall had posted "Five Things God Wants Me to Know" (from Child Evangelism Fellowship):

1. I have sinned.  (Romans 3:23)
2. God loves me.  (John 3:16)
3. Jesus died for me.  (Romans 5:8) 
4. I receive Him.  (John 1:12)
5. I have life.  (Romans 6:23)

I would read this many times, and was memorizing the verses that went along with it.  One day, during recess play time, I knelt down beside my doll's bed and asked Jesus to come into my heart.  I described what happened as "something went click" and kept talking about it almost constantly for days afterwards.

Although I grew up in a Christian home, and received a solid foundation in the Word of God, for which I am thankful, there were also many not so good experiences.  As a young child, I was frequently ill (which cleared after my tonsils were taken out), my mother became seriously depressed when I was 6 and went in and out of depression throughout my growing up years, as well as having some physical illness issues of her own, which left me as the oldest child with significant household responsibility, and later I faced the experience of abuse and serious family conflict.

During my growing up years there were many positive experiences as well, with friends, family, school, and church life.  My younger sister was born when I was 7 1/2 years old, and in spite of the difference in our ages, we got along very well.  We even had a puppet and music ministry together during my teen years, along with our parents.

At the age of 7, I first experienced God's call on my life to Christian service.  The Lord kept reaffirming this to me in many ways over many years.  At age 11 I was baptized.  As part of the baptismal class I also learned about the baptism of the Holy Spirit, and after being baptized, I experienced a deep and overwhelming sense of God's Spirit coming over me, resulting in increased praise and worship of our awesome God.  At age 13, I first made a public stand of my committment to serve God in ministry wherever He may lead me, and at age 17, I recommitted my life to the Lord.  When I graduated from high school, I entered Bible College, with my father's support, but my mother struggled with my decision.

I met my husband, Rob, during my second year at Bible College.  His background was very different than mine, and my parents disapproved, ordering me to break up with him as he was "not the right type of Christian" because of this.  I respected my parents, but something about what they were saying did not seem right to me spiritually. 

So, I sought the Lord in prayer for several days, to show me the truth.  He showed me from Scripture that those in authority over us are to be obeyed, when what they command is in line with God's Word, but when it is not, that we are to obey God rather than man.  I respectfully refused to follow through on my parents' command, as it was based on the prideful idea that some Christians are better than others, because of their natural heritage, instead of recognizing that none of us brings anything of our own to make ourselves better with God, all who believe are accepted as equal in Christ, and that our level of spirituality depends on our walk with Him, not on ourselves or our ancestors. 

I asked my parents to pray about this matter as well, and be willing for God to show them the truth, while I also remained open for the Lord to show me if there was indeed some reason to end my relationship with Rob.  Within a few months, my father was supportive of our relationship.  My mother maintained her stance, and deepened her resolve to fight our relationship, until we were married over 3 years later. 

So, as I moved out of the family home, it was in the face of much difficulty and pain.  This resulted in post traumatic reactions for me, although I did not know what they were called at the time.  My emotions were numbed, except during flashbacks, during which I experience severe emotional pain, with no words to describe it.  Life seemed bleak, and my prayers were often reduced to a single word:  Help!  One day, as I was reviewing the events of my most recent past, I experienced the Lord Jesus Himself stepping into the flashbacks with me, showing me where He was when bad things happened to me, how He had protected me from even worse, how He had led me when I did not know what to do, revealing to me how much He cared for me, and assuring me that He was indeed there.

After that, I was released to move forwards into further healing.  I did not know how God could bring good out of my bad experiences, but I trusted Him to work everything, good and bad, together for good, according to His purpose (Romans 8:28).  Now I was able to handle facing the issues, and I read and studied about recovery ... and the healing increased.  I found that I had special compassion for those who were hurting that I had not had before, and that sharing with them as the Lord led about my experiences could even help them ... and the healing continued.  I learned how to decrease and diffuse triggered reactions, by knowing and reinforcing the truth in my life ... and the healing continued.

Then came the day when I was praying at the front of the church for some of my concerns, and the Lord led a woman there to come pray with me, and she invited me to join a support group she was leading.  I did ... and the healing continued, and deepened.  During this time, I was also healed of infertility, and became pregnant with the first of our 4 children. 

People began to come to me for help.  Some of them knew me and had heard some of my story, but others just seemed to come across my path, as divine appointments.  I knew I needed more training, beyond just my own experience, to help those the Lord was bringing to me.  He opened the door for me to go back to school for additional counselling training ... and the healing continued, while I also grew in my ability to help others. 

When I graduated, I started a Christian counselling practice.  You can find out more about that online at http://www.gracecounselling.com/  which is my counselling website.  The healing has continued and deepened over the years, through the support and counsel of others, my own reading and study, prayer ministry, and the work of the Lord Himself in my life through it all.  And the healing continues today as well.

We have also recently experienced even more of the healing power of our God, as our daughter Hannah Faith was healed in May 2008, after suffering for months from a medical condition which produced numerous serious, potentially life threatening symptoms, for which the doctors could find no cause.  The Great Physician knew what the problem was, and exactly how to fix it, and He did.

"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God."

Rob Waddell

At the age of fourteen I accepted church. I began attending First Missionary Church in Pembroke. During the summer I began reading the Bible. On October 2, 1982 while attending an evening service, during an altar call, I felt a tap on my shoulder.  No one was standing around me. Then I felt pushed into the aisle and up to the front. I talked to someone then returned to my pew.

The next night I accepted Christ Jesus as my Lord and Saviour. I did this in my room, as I was getting ready for bed. I was raised in a nominal-Christian family, so not knowing fully how to accept Jesus, I prayed, “I give my life to you God. I want my hands to do what you want them to do; I want my feet to take me where you want me to go.”  I prayed this for the next two weeks. After becoming a Christian, I was part of the student leadership of the youth group I attended. I even had the opportunity to preach to the congregation during our youth service.

In September of 1986 I began my studies at Emmanuel Bible College in Kitchener, Ontario. Later in that year I met Carolyn. We were married in the chapel at Emmanuel on August 25, 1990. I graduated with a Bachelor of Religious Education in Church Ministries in 1992.

While we lived in Kitchener, we attended Country Hills Missionary Church. While we were there we taught Sunday school, published a Missions Newsletter and helped initiate an outreach ministry called “Friendship Ministry.”  This was a group of people who would go in groups of two and visit those who had requested a visit. One year we helped with the D.V.B.S. As well, we were involved in volunteer Para-church ministry.

In 1994, Carolyn was laid off from the hospital where she worked as a practical nurse and was eligible to have her retraining paid for. We moved closer to Toronto so that Carolyn could attend Ontario Theological Seminary. The Lord provided for us during this time in many amazing ways, as we followed Him by faith. In January 1995, I became the Youth Director and was on the Ministries Committee at Gormley Missionary Church. Some of the highlights of being Youth Director were going to Mission Ontario, starting a Jr. Youth Program, starting a Quiz Team, putting on a dinner for fifty people twice, and being involved in the 30 Hr Famine.

In the spring of 1999 we moved to Lion’s Head where I started a ten-hour per week contract as the Office Administrator for Bethel Church. I was in this position during a pastoral change. I also began volunteering with the youth. In the spring of 2000, I began working at the Tobermory Chamber of Commerce. During the summer, I resigned from the church office, to allow for more time with my family and to volunteer with the youth. Some of the highlights in Lion’s Head were leading the Youth Program, attending a Jr. High Retreat, putting on a dinner, leading a Quiz Team for a season, and having the Youth Builders come to minister to the youth.   In the spring of 2001, sensing that God had other ministries for us, we resigned from our ministry with the youth and began to seek a new church home.

In the fall of 2002 I applied to Southwestern Ontario Youth For Christ. After an interview in February 2003, I was accepted as the Youth Centre Director for the Kincardine Youth For Christ. Prior to starting as director, the attendance at the center dropped to an average of 1 or 2 youth per night and around 5 individuals per month and the centre had inconsistent hours.  While I was at the Youth Centre, the average monthly attendance rose to around 19 youth on weekends, and over 40 individuals coming to the centre each month.  I regained consistency by having the centre open when it was scheduled to be.  Due to a lack of funding I was laid off from Youth for Christ in the summer of 2006.

Carolyn and I joined Chalmers Community Congregational Church in 2004. We continue to be involved in ministry there and elsewhere as the Lord leads.

Hannah Faith Waddell

Hannah Faith, who goes by her middle name, Faith, is in Grade 10 at Centre of Hope Christian Academy.   Her favourite thing is performing arts.  Faith loves the Lord and became a Christian when she was 3.  She is looking forward to going on missions trips.  Keep posted for updates!

Joel Waddell

Joel is in Grade 7 at Centre of Hope Christian Academy.  His favourite thing is hockey.  Joel loves the Lord and became a Christian when he was 4.

David Waddell

David is in Grade 3 at Centre of Hope Christian Academy.  He likes to write, do math and play on the computer.  He became a Christian when he was 6, with the help of his brother Joel.  His favourite Bible story is the story of God creating the earth. 

Noah Waddell

Noah is in Kindergarten and is a very active 5 year old.  He loves to colour and make books.  His favourite Bible story is Noah and the Ark.