2A COTTAGE GROVE SENTINEL SEPTEMBER 13, 2017
E
veryone deals with emotional pain to some
degree. Whether it’s a diffi cult relationship,
an addiction, abuse, depression…it can cripple
us and prevent us from moving forward. But re-
gardless of what’s happened in our past, God still
wants us to have a great future.
For years, I thought I had to settle for a sec-
ond-rate life because I had been sexually abused
by my father. I thought my future would never be
as good as it could have been.
That’s what our enemy, Satan, wants us to be-
lieve. He wants us to believe that our past pain
has permanently damaged what God can do with
our future.
Maybe that’s where you are today. You look at
everything you’ve been through and think, My
situation’s just a hopeless mess. Maybe it would
be different if God had done
something sooner, but now it’s
beyond repair.
If so, I want you to know that
God can fi x the unfi xable and
bring dead things back to life!
(See Matthew 19:26.)
If you are brokenhearted—if
you’ve been hurt, abused, disap-
pointed or unfairly treated in any
way—it doesn’t limit what God can do in your
life. In fact, God can give you a future that’s bet-
ter than it would have been if you had never gone
through painful experiences.
Isaiah 61:7-8 has meant so much to me over the
years. It says, “Instead of your [former] shame
you will have a double portion; and instead of hu-
miliation your people will shout for joy over their
portion. Therefore in their land they will possess
double [what they had forfeited]; everlasting joy
will be theirs. For I, the Lord, love justice...”
(AMP).
This scripture helped me understand that no
person could pay me back for what I’d gone
through—but God could! And He’d even give me
double for all the pain I’d been through.
I’ve witnessed this fi rsthand in my own life.
God has used His Word to transform me from the
inside out. Instead of anger and bitterness, I now
have peace and joy. Instead of being a victim of
past abuse, He is using my experiences to help
many fi nd healing and total restoration from emo-
tional pain!
Jesus has already opened the prison doors! We
no longer have to stay in the “prisons” of emo-
tional pain, rejection, disappointment, worry, de-
pression, anger, addictions or bad habits.
If you’ve ever dealt with any of these things,
you know they can have long-lasting consequenc-
es. Pain from the past has a way of lingering and
even affecting your future.
But you don’t have to live stuck in the pain of
your past. You can make an exchange—you can
trade your pain for God’s promise and have beau-
ty instead of ashes.
God offers each one of us healing and resto-
ration, but we also have a part to play in the pro-
cess. We can’t expect to keep our “ashes” and still
receive God’s beauty. We have to choose to move
forward and leave things like bitterness, resent-
ment, and self-pity behind.
Self-pity was a hard thing for me to give up. I
used it for years to comfort myself when I was
hurting; however, the Lord
IN MEMORIAM
Robert Lee Gilman 1950-2017
R
obert Lee Gilman, 67,
passed away Sept. 7,
2017 at home in Albany, OR.
He was born to Donald and
Barbara (Ware) Gilman in Cot-
tage Grove, OR in 1950. He was
raised in Lorane, OR and then
Cottage Grove where he attend-
ed and graduated from Cottage
Grove High School.
In 1968, he married his high
school sweetheart, Judy Brick-
er, and together they raised
their family in Cottage Grove
until moving to Albany in 1988
where he spent the rest of his
life.
At the age of 10 he discov-
ered trapping which started him
on what he called “a lifelong
adventure” which became his
career. He trapped commer-
cially, contracted for Oregon
timber industries and started
an urban wildlife control busi-
ness. He loved the outdoors
and spent his lifetime hunting,
fi shing and camping with fam-
ily and friends. He had a love
of history and family genealo-
gy and passed some of his own
history on when he authored the
book “Bear Tales and Trapline
Trails” published in 2014. His
love for his family was im-
measurable. He had a special
place in his heart for each of his
grandchildren. His friends be-
came family. He was a member
of Eastside Christian Church in
Albany where he and Judy at-
tended together for 30 years.
Robert is survived by his
mother, Barbara Gilman of Cot-
tage Grove, his wife of 49 years,
Judy of Albany, his daughter,
Kelly Rhodes and her husband
Darin of Dorena, his son, Sam
Gilman and his wife Donna of
Albany, and seven grandchil-
dren.
A memorial service will
be held at Eastside Christian
Church, 1910 Grand Prairie
Rd SE, in Albany on Sunday,
Sept. 17 2017 at 2 p.m. In lieu
of fl owers, contributions can be
made in Robert’s memory to
Eastside Christian Church (Mis-
sions fund in memo). Arrange-
ments in the care of Smith Lund
Mills Funeral Chapel, Cottage
Grove, OR.
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Mildred W. Hand 1934-2017
M
ildred W. Hand, 82 of
Cottage Grove, passed
away Sept. 3, 2017.
She was born Dec. 16, 1934
in Marshfi eld, Oregon to Harry
and Grace (Guilliams) Wagner.
Mildred graduated from Cot-
tage Grove High School in
1953.
On May 31, 1953, in Cottage
Grove, she and Donald Eugene
Hand were married. He preced-
ed her in death in 2000.
She worked for the Register
Guard as Circulation Manag-
er and for a video store for 15
years.
Mildred enjoyed bowling,
knitting, crochet, traveling,
making jelly, and spending
time with her family. She was
a USBC member and in the
Bowling Hall of Fame and the
Oregon Bowling Assoc.
She is survived by two sons,
Robert (Becky) Hand of Cottage
Grove and Allen (Stacy) Hand
of Eugene, Ore., fi ve grandchil-
dren and fi ve great-grandchil-
dren.
A visitation will be held from
5-7 p.m. on Wed., Sept. 13
at Smith-Lund-Mills Funeral
Chapel and her funeral will be
at 10 a.m. on Thurs., Sept. 14 at
Smith-Lund-Mills, with burial
to follow at Fir Grove Cemetery
and a reception will be held at
noon at The Cottage Bowl fol-
lowing interment. Memorial
contributions may be made to
the American Cancer Society,
the Parkinson’s Society or to the
Cottage Grove Bowling Club,
740 Row River Rd., Cottage
Grove, OR 97424.
Arrangements under the care
of Smith-Lund-Mills Funeral
Chapel, 123 S. 7th St., Cottage
Grove, OR 97424.
showed me that it’s actually idolatry—it’s turn-
ing inward and pitying ourselves when we should
have compassion fl owing out of us to other peo-
ple.
Self-pity is a major trap that will keep us stuck
in our pain. It’s the same with bitterness and re-
sentment. It took me a long time to get past the
point of thinking, Someone owes me. I was bitter
and angry about my past, and I ended up taking it
out on the people around me, trying to “collect”
from those who had no way of paying me back.
I had to decide to let go of my anger and resent-
ment and trust God to restore what I had lost. He
alone could make wrong things right…in His way
and in His timing.
God can take any situation and turn it around
for His good.
If your life is a fragmented mess, let Jesus gath-
er up the pieces. Be determined to maintain a pos-
itive, grateful attitude, focusing on God’s bless-
ings and the great things He is doing in your life.
As you do, your pain will become someone
else’s gain, your mess will become your mes-
sage, and what you’ve walked through will be-
come someone else’s miracle. You’ll have a life
of beauty, joy, and praise!
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Please Celebrate the 4th of July Safely!
123 South 7th,
Cottage Grove, Oregon
th
123
South
7
,
Cottage
Grove, Oregon
541-942-0185 •www.smithlundmills.com
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‡ www.smithlundmills.com
Aaron Michel Wafer 1983-2017
Born
Decem-
ber 13,
1983 in
Rose-
b u rg ,
O R ;
Died Au-
gust 5,
2017 in
Eugene, OR at 33.
With great sadness we say
goodbye for now.
He leaves behind his moth-
er Juline Wafer, beloved Cole
Clement, Grandmothers, Aunts,
Uncles, cousins and many
friends.
Aaron attended school at
Tiller, Reedsport and Cottage
Grove, Oregon. His work in-
cluded labor and construction.
Aaron loved family, friends,
cooking, camping, snow, moun-
tains, 4-wheeling, bonfi res and
sitting by a fi re.
An informal BBQ & potluck
and celebration of life for his lo-
cal area friends will be held at
his fi nal residence: 72751 Shoe-
string Road, Cottage Grove.
Saturday, September 16, 2017
at approximately 3 pm.
A family centered gathering
will be held at a later date in
Camas Valley, Oregon.
For more information re-
garding the celebration contact
Erica Mitchell on Facebook, or
Juline Wafer. Condolences may
be sent to the address shown
above.
Orpha Irene Hales
1926-2017
Orpha Irene Hales born to Frank and
Louella (Vanderburg) Willis on June 13,
1926, died Sept. 6, 2017 at the age of 91
of Congestive Heart Failure. She was
married in 1945 to Vilas Robert Hales who
preceded her in death in 1986. She was also
preceded in death by her parents and son
Garland V. Hales, a grandson Kevin Lamm
and great grandson Nathaniel and a great
granddaughter Clair. She loved the Lord and her family very
much and praised him by playing the piano and going to church.
She is survived by daughter Laredon (Lare) F. Lamm and her
husband Lynn; Son Ron and wife Kelly and grandsons Ken and
Jake and their blended family-son Steve and grandsons Don and
Craig and numerous other relatives and very close friends. She
always believed her Savior would come back for her someday
and we believed he did as she demonstrated the last few days of
her life with her outstretched arms She would say to everyone “I
Love You!” A memorial services will be held at the First Baptist
Church in Cottage Grove on Friday September 22nd at 11am.
Burial will be held at the Roseburg National Cemetery. In lieu of
fl owers (all though she loves them) she would say to all “give as
you are led, to those who are in need of Love!” Burns’s Riverside
Chapel Florence Funeral Home was in charge of arrangements.
Grant Gording, BC-HIS
Board Certifi ed in
Hearing Instrument Sciences
Jenna Buetow
Hearing Consultant
Free Hearing Screening
Same Day Appointments Available
www.grantshearing.com
1498 E. Main St., CG
541-942-8444
Just 30 minutes
That’s how long the average mammogram appointment
takes. One 30-minute screening appointment could
save your life. Now that’s time well spent.
Prevention O Screenings O Treatment
Death Notices
Edmiston-Larry Dean Edmis-
ton, 77 of Cottage Grove, died
September 3. Arrangements
by Smith-Lund-Mills Funeral
Chapel in Cottage Grove.
Thrasher-A memorial will be
held on Saturday, September
16 at the Cottage Grove's Elk's
Lodge at 3 p.m. for Jim Thrash-
er who passed away on August
12. All of those who knew Jim
are welcome to celebrate a life
well lived.
peacehealth.org/mammogram
The project described was supported by Funding Opportunity Number CMS-1L1-15-003 from the U.S. Department
of Health & Human Services, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. The contents provided are solely the
responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of HHS or any of its agencies.
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