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By Rita Lebleu

American Press

There was a point in Kathy Boykin’s life that she didn’t think she would make it. Her husband (at the time) was physically abusive, addicted to alcohol and drugs. He and other family members were suspected of committing violent crimes, including murder. She sold aluminum cans to buy food for her children while living in “a trailer duct taped together.”

“I felt like I was going out of my mind,” she said.

But she had a vision. “I saw Jesus above me, and I was connected to his robe by a thread,” she said. “I thought if this thread ever breaks, I’m gonna die.”

For three years, she didn’t leave the house, consumed by a gripping fear.

“One morning I woke up to the sound of the Newton County Sheriff’s Department searching my backyard for bodies,” she said. “My husband had shot his brother.”

In addition to what was going on, literally, in her own backyard, she realized her mental state was the result of something more. She felt like she was “under spiritual attack.”

“The way to fight a spiritual enemy is with the Word of God,” she said.

She began to read the Bible and memorize certain passages in an effort to find peace and familiarize herself with the enemy’s tactics.

“In Proverbs 4:20-22 it says, ‘My son, give attention to my words; incline your ear to my sayings. Do not let them depart from your eyes; Keep them in the midst of your heart; For they are life to those who find them, and health to all their flesh.” (NKJV).

All four Gospels contain the story of the temptation of Jesus, and his response was to use God’s word. 2 Corinthians 10:4-5, Paul says the weapons used to fight are not from this world. In Ephesians 6, he says to “put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm….”

In addition to reading her Bible, Boykin watched TV evangelists on her black and white TV with rabbit ears. She prayed.

Nothing changed, not right away. Her brother, a minister, dropped off some helpful booklets. She read those and asked for more. “

It was a slow process,” she said. I had to walk it out day by day and I had to do it even though I was afraid. It’s still a day-by-day battle.”

Finally, she moved out. In hindsight, she realized God was with her throughout the journey. Then came the challenge of supporting her children on her own. She still faces battles today, and she still believes in God’s word as a weapon to use against attacks.

“Sometimes you don’t see him until you come out of the trial,” she said.

She shares the experience of the vision, her home life 40 years ago and more about how God has shown up right on time to answer her needs – jobs, the right word at the right time, health insurance and other blessings – in “Power of a Thread, Surviving the Unthinkable with a Thread of Hope.”

“One day I was having a pity party,” she said. “I wanted God to send somebody to knock on my door and give me a job.”

The phone rang. Someone on the other end knew someone who knew a property manager had just quit. She felt that was God’s way of  telling her he may not have sent someone to the door, but he heard her.

“I had to learn to walk it out with God. You gotta wait on God. You can’t do it. Seek the word. Hold on. Don’t be anxious. God has your tomorrow. If you have been through struggles and feel you can’t make it, I’m here to tell you you can.”

Kathy Boykin is having a book reading of “Power of a Thread” Saturday, Feb. 11, 9 a.m. at Louisiana Cajun Culture, 515 N. Pine St. (next to McDonalds) in DeRidder. “Power of a Thread” can also be found at Amazon.com.