In her book, Dancing in the Valley: Finding Life and Joy Amidst the Shadow of Death Nipping at My Heels, Rose Booth shares how she wrestled with her faith going from a Christian Pollyanna to a battered warrior. Facing death throughout her life - and three times in two and a half years - Rose gained a new perspective on eternal life and her purpose here on earth.
Born to a couple who waited eighteen years for a child, Rose was always told she was a miracle. Her parents had three miscarriages and lost a premature son before she was conceived. As she grew up, health challenges became evident that were deemed undiagnosable, yet she persevered in life, learning to adapt. In 1972, her family was in a horrific car accident that should have taken their lives. Instead, this miraculous survival was used to draw Rose to Christ. She realized at that moment she should have died and, had that happened, she would be separated from her parents, and most especially God. Facing death allowed her to see her need for a Savior that gives eternal life.
Her life took a drastic turn in November 2019. In severe pain, she headed to the ER and began a health journey lasting more than two years. Rose spent months in hospitals and rehabs battling her health and wrestling with her faith. Through this journey, she faced death three times: fighting a septic infection, enduring a heart attack, and coding as her body began to shut down. Taking each step of this journey caused her faith to falter, yet she battled forward. Rose remained resilient even though she wondered where God was in the midst of her suffering. Fourteen surgeries, two heart catheterizations, and more than a year in hospitals and rehabs, Rose was still surviving.
Now living life as an amputee, she has a renewed perspective on life. Reading her story will shine a light on how to see God when He's silent, and continue to follow God even when the outcome of circumstances is not what was expected.
