Jill Biden surprises the stranger who helped her rediscover her faith in God

[riversedge]

I enjoyed this article. It gave me a sense of peace.

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In this September 15 file photo, first lady Jill Biden speaks during a visit to Des Moines Area Community College in Ankeny, Iowa.



Jill Biden surprises the stranger who helped her rediscover her faith in God


By Kate Bennett, CNN Updated 5:06 AM ET, Mon October 18, 2021


(CNN)In May 2015, emotionally hobbled from watching her son, Beau Biden, fight and then succumb to brain cancer, Jill Biden said "goodbye" to God.

"After Beau died, I felt betrayed by my faith, broken," the first lady said Sunday during a publicly unannounced visit to Brookland Baptist Church in Columbia, South Carolina, where she spoke at a special service honoring the 50th anniversary of the church's pastor, the Rev. Dr. Charles B. Jackson.

Biden talked about how lost she was after Beau died, how her consistent and abiding prayers for him to live ended up not coming true, leaving her angry and distraught. "Chemotherapy, operation after operation, weight loss, still I never gave up," said Biden. "I kept going, every day, I put one foot in front of the other, and despite what the doctors said, I believed that my son would make it," Biden said of her unwavering belief in her higher power. "In the final days, I made one, last desperate prayer, and it went unanswered."

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"But I just couldn't go, I couldn't even pray," said Biden. "I wondered if I would ever feel joy again."
Biden stayed away from regular church attendance for the next four years.

Until she made her first visit to Brookland Baptist.
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Two strangers, connected by faith and text messages

[lark]

1. What a lovely story and I'm not even a believer.

Color me firmly agnostic, but this is a lovely story of friendship and trust and I love it.

[niyad]

2. Such a beautiful story. And of course our FLOTUS would do something this

special.