Ready For Something New And Real
It was the last night Abbey (Fedje) Menth was going to make a fool of herself. She had spent many nights out drinking with friends while her then soon-to-be ex-husband cared for their son, Benjamin. But this was the last time she was going out.
Her marriage was dissolving, her son was diagnosed with a debilitating illness and she said she wasn’t making good decisions for herself or her family. Her mother, Deb Peterson, had been praying for her. So when Abbey told her mother she felt like she was missing something in her life, Deb knew it was Christ. She suggested that Abbey go to Substance Church, where her step son attended.
Abbey called her step-siblings, and asked about service times. Though Abbey had grown up going to church, she hadn’t had any interest in it in a while. “I stopped going to church when I didn’t have to anymore.” So when she woke up on that crisp December day three years ago, Abbey didn’t know what she was getting herself into.
Abbey said she remembers clearly what made the difference between just attending a church service and knowing God. The sermon was entitled God’s Care for a Bad Day. It seemed fitting because she had recently been having a lot of bad days. Her marriage had fallen apart, her son was diagnosed with a debilitating illness and she wasn’t living how she wanted to be. During the message, Pastor Peter Haas preached on Lamentations 3:22-23. It said, “Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for His compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is “His” faithfulness.” This verse made God’s love a reality. “It was the first time that a personal relationship with God was a real thing.” From that day on, Abbey was ready for something new and real. “[My relationship with Christ] makes me want to be a better mom, to take my life seriously.” Changes began taking shape in Abbey’s life. She quit smoking and drinking within the first few months after coming to Substance. She joined a mom’s group and added Christian friends to her life, something she attributes to the countless sermons given by Pastor Peter. In the past, Abbey would party with her friends from high school. “I was the life of the party. Now, I’m still a good time, but not the same way.”
While she remains close with her old group of friends, she has formed new relationships with women at Substance and found community in the body of Christ. Through the Wednesday night mom’s subgroup, Abbey met Kaaren Tyvoll. Kaaren remembered meeting Abbey at a parenting seminar at the New Brighton Family Service Center. “I saw the back of her hair and thought, ‘I want to meet that mom.” She introduced herself, and the pair connected instantly. Though she thought it would be difficult to be a divorced single mom in church, Abbey said she “didn’t feel judged” the way she had expected to feel. Instead, she felt loved. Kaaren said Abbey’s faith and steadfastness has rubbed off on her. “What has brought me closer to God is [Abbey’s] need for God. It’s encouraging.”
Things in her life were beginning to come together. However, her son Benjamin, was in a tough spot. Around the same time she started at Substance, Benjamin was diagnosed with a Specified Immune Deficiency. With this condition, Benjamin’s immune system was seen to be absent, causing his body to be vulnerable to illness and unable to fight against an attack. What would take a healthy child one week to heal from a sickness would take Benjamin months.
Strength in PRAYER
Immediately, Benjamin began treatments in hopes of curing his disorder. The doctors put in a permanent IV to streamline remedies into Benjamin’s body. “He calls it his ‘Robot Part,’” Abbey said. After a year of treatment, the doctors saw no change in Benjamin’s health. During this time, Abbey was seeking the Lord for healing in a spiritual warfare subgroup, led by Deb Calhoun and Renee Buss. Since the medicines weren’t working, Benjamin was going off the treatment for the summer.
After a meeting, Deb and Renee stayed with Abbey to pray for Benjamin’s health. Abbey remembered leaving the meeting unsure of what the Lord was doing but with faith that He was with them. When she returned home, Benjamin was hot. He seemed to be running a fever. She instinctively went to the medicine cabinet to get the Children’s Tylenol and a thermometer. But something held her back. “I felt like I was going to vomit,” she said.
Spiritual HEALING
Abbey felt that God didn’t want her to do as she had done in the past. She said he was calling her to have faith in Him. Within the next week, Benjamin went in for another doctor’s appointment. Instead of returning no results, Benjamin’s blood work was “robust.” The doctors tested again to be sure Benjamin was fine. His blood levels had come down, but were in a good place. Benjamin was taken off treatments. He was able to enjoy the summer like the healthy kid he was. Abbey said he grew into age appropriate sizes, something he had never experienced before. The illness that had held him back in the past, was now gone.
After testing him again in the fall, the doctors found the same results. On October 23, Benjamin’s robot part was removed. Abbe said, “I stick with my belief that [Benjamin] was healed at Deb’s house.” And as Abbey’s life keeps moving (she married Gus Menth on November 7, 2009) she attributes life’s everyday miracles to God.
