Karla Podlucky doc Living Beneath The Tapestry and Within The Veil: God's Sanctifying Work in the Lives of His Suffering Saints

What is my theology of suffering? Does it matter what I believe? When the unexpected death of her 16-year-old daughter came crashing into her life, it mattered. When she found herself falsely accused of a crime she didn’t commit, facing a litany of bad press that tainted her witness and testimony for Christ, it mattered. Karla Podlucky has encountered an array of variegated trials in her life, yet each seemingly loose thread in her tapestry the Master Weaver is using for her good and His glory. In this book, Karla repeatedly urges readers to cement their theology of suffering in the truths of Scripture before inevitable trials come into their lives. Upon that firm foundation they will be able to stand in their darkest storms and glorify God. While learning to walk in a manner worthy, they will not be hurled down when they fall but will know it is the Lord who holds their hand. The crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him awaits those who persevere under trial. Five years after her daughter was killed in an automobile accident, the author finds herself swept up in another major trial. A scandalous ordeal involving allegations of fraud hover over her family’s business of nine years. Enduring the humiliation of being publicly displayed in an inordinate number of newspaper articles over the next five years, she continued to homeschool her two youngest children and teach the ladies’ Bible study that began shortly after her daughter’s death. In the end, her husband would be forced to take a plea deal, she and her oldest son would be indicted, go to trial, be found guilty by a jury of their “peers”, and all three would serve federal prison sentences. Through it all, the Lord was teaching Karla to abide in Him. What do death and a prison sentence have in common? They both involve suffering, separation, and loss—resulting in sanctifying grace for the believer. First, in her profound grief, and then in her repugnant “prison trial”, the author focused on learning how to suffer in a way that most glorifies and honors Christ. When her daughter died, the Lord began to teach her how to rest in His sovereignty. Before her husband was indicted, Karla had been working on writing a book on suffering endeavoring to tie together themes of humility and what it means for the believer to love the Lord God with all her heart, soul, and mind and her neighbor as herself. She never dreamed the “neighbors” He would call her to love would be those she would be forced to live with 24/7 in the close quarters of a prison environment. While maintaining her claim of innocence to the charges brought against her, she had a head-on collision with her own human depravity in prison. The lessons the Lord had been weaving together throughout her trials gave her a better understanding of Calvary’s love. Daily dying to self in prison, the Gospel message was sustenance for a life that looked to Him alone to meet every basic need.  In Living Beneath the Tapestry and Within the Veil: God’s Sanctifying Work in the Lives of His Suffering Saints, the author shows how she came to answer the question that was so offensive to her flesh: Who me, go to prison? with Why NOT me? The great hope for the Christian is that all suffering can be a vehicle that moves us ever closer to glory. Suffering can be used by God to sanctify us in a way like none other. In fact, the grandest stage upon which the Lord gives the Christian opportunity to shine most brightly is the most uncomfortable one because it is set against the backdrop of humility. Humility, the greatest of all virtues, is produced in us when we suffer in a way that honors and glorifies God. Rightly responded to—embracing trials from His loving hands—suffering, separation, and loss in this life can lead to joy, fellowship, and great gain. In a word, glory!