Tragedy to Triumph continued



After i came to know the Lord, i learned several of His Scriptures concerning being thankful in all
things, and how HE turns sorrow into joy, tragedy into triumph, and causes all things to work for
good, etc; well, i tried to apply it to the loss of my cherished Papa. Psalm 119:105---Thy Word
is a lamp to my feet, and a light to my path. His loss deeply, deeply affected both Ed and me!!
We had gone to church as children, but i never really liked it---except for singing in the choir.
GOD's glorious hymns and songs of praise and worship sunk deep into my spirit, soul, and sub-
conscious; i denied it at the time, but even back then, HE was working on me!!! We both tried to
sort it out and move forward, both of us coming to seek the Lord and His Word and His Holy
Spirit to make sense of it all. i leapt in heart first, head later; Ed was head first, and many years
later, fully with his heart---Hallelujah!!! Psalm 95:3,4---For the Lord is a great God, and a great
King above all gods, in Whose hand are the depths of the earth; the peaks of the mountains are
His also. Had i really truly let Him be Lord of my life, and followed His laws and precepts, i
wouldn't have gotten into so much heartache and troubles with men in my pursuit of the love of
my adored Dad. Because both of us had so many troubles associated with his death (Ed's search
for him in becoming an MD; and then having his manic episode in 1994, at the exact moment
when he reached 44 years, 4 months, 14 days, Daddy's age when he was born), it was hard to see
the good in such a loss, even though i knew that i must believe the Lord in faith, no matter what.
2 Timothy 2:13---If we are faithless, He remains faithful; for He cannot deny Himself. Psalm
27:13-14---i would have despaired unless i had believed that i would see the goodness of the Lord
in the land of the living. Wait for the Lord; be strong, and let your heart take courage; yes, wait
for the Lord. When i discovered that Will was not only on the expedition, but that his life had
taken on a course of action just because of that accident, things began to fall into place a lot more.
When Will and Shaklee joined forces, the influence of both in a global context became even more
powerful. Will's main interest is in educating people about the environment, how to better
understand peoples from other cultures, and our personal responsibility as travelers on, and
caretakers of, this planet. He is especially interested in the early education of children, so that
they can impact their world in a real way. Shaklee is also interested in helping individuals all over
the world improve their health as well as their environment; that the two of them should come
together was a match made in heaven! Psalm 30:11, 12---Thou hast turned for me my mourning
into dancing; Thou hast loosed my sackcloth and girded me with gladness; That my soul may sing
praise to Thee, and not be silent. O Lord my God, i will give thanks to Thee forever!!! Psalm
116:15---Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His godly ones.

Will has just received the laGorce Award from National Geographic, only the 18th person in
history to receive it!! The award was initiated over 100 years ago, and named after John Oliver
laGorce, one of the first presidents of the National Geographic Society. It is given for
Geographic Exploration, The Sciences, or for Public Service To Advance International
Understanding. Among the early recipients were Amelia Earhart and Admiral Perry. The only
other contemporary recipient was Jacques Cousteau!!! And Will is the first to be recognized for
major contributions in all three areas!!! Some of Will's other projects include a 4000 mile Kayak
expedition on the MacKenzie, Peace, and Yukon Rivers in 1969 (taking time off from being a
secondary school teacher); in the 80's, he took an 18 month, 7800 mile trek through the High,
Central, Western, and Alaskan Arctic; in 1985 he went 5000 miles from Northern Minnesota to
Point Barrow, Alaska; he has also traversed Greenland, the Antarctica (7 months and 3741
miles!), and taken several training expeditions for the 1995 IAP. And all of these using only
dogsleds, dog packs, or canoe-sleds; and many times they were completely unsupported by
outside sources or resupply. On the Antarctica trip, they had a 60 day blizzard, even having to
endure -113 degrees F. windchills, and total whiteouts. At the expedition's completion, the fall of
1991, Will and his team reviewed critical preservation issues in meetings with many world leaders,
resulting in the renewal of the 1959 Antarctic Treaty with a new protocol of prohibiting mining
exploration!! And during the summer of 1997 he is going to take a solo trip across the Arctic,
with nothing but a canoe-sled, his computer, and the internet. As he said, he'll be the loneliest
man in the world, yet able to communicate with millions of people!!! Now that i have joined the
world of the internet, i too will be able to one of those millions travelling along with him!! i still
want to know whether he took the accident in Peru to mean that mountain climbing was too
dangerous and deadly, or whether he took it as a sign for the direction of his life; for i can't
imagine that what he's doing now, and will continue to do, is much less dangerous, if any, than
mountaineering!!! The January, 1996 issue of National Geographic Magazine has a 14 page
article about the IAP, and the article about the LaGorce Award will be coming up soon!! Shaklee
has also put out a fabulous 12 minute video with exciting highlights of the IAP--- check it out!!!!!

Adventures run in the Whitney clan, too. My father was named after Roger Sherman, who was
the only man to sign every one of the early charters of our country, including the Declaration of
Independence. He was also the first mayor of New Haven, Connecticut. And my great uncle,
Josiah Dwight Whitney, was, among many other things, a surveyor for the USGS, and the highest
mountain in the continental United States is named after him. Daddy was one of the original
National Ski Patrol members, and a special heroism award was established in his memory in 1967.
He would have been so very proud of Will's accomplishments, and perhaps would have even
joined him on a trip or two.....


Romans 8:28--And we know that GOD causes all things to work together for good to those who
love GOD, to those who are called according to HIS purpose.
Genesis 50:20---And what the enemy meant for evil, GOD meant for good in order to bring about
this present result, to preserve many people alive.

1 Peter 5:10---And after you have suffered for a little while, the GOD of all grace, who called you
to His Eternal glory in Christ Jesus, will Himself perfect, confirm, strengthen, and establish you.

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18--- Rejoice always; pray without ceasing; in everything give thanks; for
this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.

Romans 8:35-39--- Who shall separate us from the love of GOD? Shall tribulation, or distress, or
persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? But in all these things we
overwhelmingly conquer through Him Who loved us. For i am convinced that neither death, nor
life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height,
nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is
in Christ Jesus our Lord. As the years go by, it will become even more evident how my
Father's death was not totally in vain, and how faithful is our Awesome GOD, to turn tragedy into
triumph!!

Phillipians 3:13--- Brethren, i do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet; but one thing i do:
forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead. HIS timing is perfect, even
during those times when it doesn't seem possible.
Hebrews 11:1--- Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.

Psalm 3:3---But Thou, O Lord, art a shield about me, my Glory, and the One who lifts my head.

Psalm 4:8---In peace i will both lie down and sleep, for Thou alone, O Lord, dost make me to
dwell in safety.

Psalm 5:11---But let all who take refuge in Thee be glad, let them ever sing for joy; and mayest
Thou shelter them, that those who love Thy Name may exult in Thee.

Psalm 9:1---i will give thanks to the Lord with all my heart; i will tell of all Thy wonders. i will be
glad and exult in Thee; i will sing praise to Thy Name, O Most High.

Psalm 13:5---But i have trusted in Thy lovingkindness; my heart shall rejoice in Thy salvation. i
will sing to the Lord, because He has dealt bountiful with me.

Psalm 16:11---Thou wilt make known to me the path of life; in Thy presence is fullness of joy; in
Thy right hand there are pleasures forever.

Psalm 18:1-3, 6, 28, 33, 46---i love Thee, O Lord, my strength. The Lord is my rock and my
fortress and my deliverer, my God, my Rock, in Whom i take refuge, my shield and the horn of
my salvation, my stronghold. i call upon the Lord, Who is worthy to be praised, and i am saved
from my enemies. In my distress i called upon the Lord, and cried to my God for help; He heard
my voice out of His temple, and my cry for help before Him came into His ears. For Thou dost
light my lamp, The Lord my God illumines my darkness. He makes my feet like hinds' feet, and
sets me upon my high places. The Lord lives, and blessed be my rock; and exalted be the God of
my salvation.

Psalm 19:7-10, 14---The law of the Lord is perfect, restoring the soul; the testimony of the Lord
is sure, making wise the simple. The precepts of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart; the

commandments of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes. The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring
forever; the judgments of the Lord are true, they are righteous altogether. They are more
desirable than gold, yes, than much fine gold; sweeter also than honey and the drippings of the
honeycomb. Let the words of my mouth an the meditation of my heard be acceptable in Thy
sight, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.

Psalm 23---The Lord is my shepherd, i shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures;
He leads me beside quiet waters. He restores my soul; He guides me in the paths of righteousness
for His name's sake. Even though i walk through the valley of the shadow of death, i fear no evil;
for Thou art with me; Thy rod and Thy staff, they comfort me. Thou dost prepare a table before
me in the presence of my enemies; Thou hast anointed my head with oil; my cup overflows.
Surely goodness and lovingkindness will follow me all the days of my life, and i will dwell in the
house of the Lord forever.

Psalm 24:1-5, 9,10---The earth is the Lord's, and all it contains, the world, and those who dwell in
it. For He has founded it upon thee seas, and established it upon the rivers. Who may ascend into
the hill of the Lord? and who may stand in His holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure
heart, who has not lifted up his soul to falsehood, and has not sworn deceitfully. He shall receive
a blessing from the Lord and righteousness from the God of his salvation. Lift up your heads, Oh
gates, and lift them up, O ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in! Who is this King of
glory? The Lord of hosts, He is the King of glory.

Psalm 27:1,4---The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall i fear? One thing i have asked
form the Lord, that i shall seek; that i may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to
behold the beauty of the Lord.

Psalm 33:18-22---Behold, the eye of the Lord is on those who fear Him, on those who hope for
His lovingkindness; to deliver their soul from death, and to keep them alive in famine. our soul
waits for the Lord; He is our help and our shield. For our heart rejoices in Him, because we trust
in His holy name. Let Thy lovingkindness, O Lord, be upon us, according as we have hoped in
Thee.

Psalm 51:10-12--- Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do
not cast me away from Thy presence, and do not take Thy Holy Spirit from me, Restore no me
the joy of Thy salvation, and sustain me with a willing spirit.

Psalm 95:1-7---O come, let us sing for joy to the Lord; let us shout joyfully to the rock of our
salvation. Let us come before His presence with thanksgiving; let us shout joyfully to Him with
psalms. For the Lord is a great God, and a great King above all gods, in Whose hand are the
depths of the earth; the peaks of the mountains are His also. The sea is His, for it was He who
made it; and His hands formed the dry land. Come, let us worship and bow down; let us kneel
before the Lord our Maker. For He is our God, and we are the people of His pasture, and the
sheep of His hand.

Psalm 100---Shout joyfully to the Lord, all the earth. Serve the Lord with gladness; come before
Him with joyful singing. Know that the Lord Himself is God; it is He Who has made us, and not
we ourselves; we are His people and the sheep of His pasture. Enter His gates with thanksgiving,
and His courts with praise. Give thanks to Him; bless His name. For the Lord is good; His
lovingkindness is everlasting, and His faithfulness to all generations.

Psalm 8:1-9 --- O LORD, our Lord, how makestic is Thy name in all the earth,
Who hast displayed Thy splendor above the Heavens!
From the mouth of infants and nursing babes Thou hast established strength,
Because of Thine adversaries, To make the enemy and the revengeful cease.
When I consider Thy heavens, the work of Thy fingers, The moon and the stars, which Thou hast
ordained; What is man, that Thou dost take thought of him?
And the son of man, that Thou dost care for him? Yet Thou hast made him a little lower than
GOD, and dost crown him with glory and majesty! Thou dost make him to rule over the works of
Thy hands; Thou dost make him to rule over the works of Thy hands; Thou hast put all things
under his feet, all sheep and oxen, and also the beasts of the field, the birds of the heavens, and the
fish of the seas.
O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is Thy name in all the earth!!!!!

Psalm 115:18---But as for us, we will bless the Lord from this time forth and forever more.
Praise the Lord!!!

Psalm: 117---Praise the Lord, all nations; loud Him, all peoples! For His lovingkindness is great
toward us, and the truth of the Lord is everlasting. Praise the Lord!!!

Psalm 118:24---This is the day which the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it!

And i pray that i, too, will be able to further HIS cause, strengthen the faith of others, and Glorify
HIS Name in this entire situation!!!! For GOD's love is perfect, and HE perfectly loves us; to be
able to know that and feel that is one of the greatest blessings any of us could receive; and a
blessing that is available for each and every one of us, right now!!! No matter the number of
years we have on this planet, our lives are as fleeting as vapor, and we will be gone in the
twinkling of an eye. Whether we die in youth, middle age, or at 150, time still flies by and speeds
toward Eternity. For only in Eternity will we have perfect peace, perfect love, no more tears and
sorrows. Such a Glorious and Awesome day that will be, the day in which we leave our earthly
bodies and go to live with our precious GOD, our Three-in-One, our Heavenly Father & Messiah
Jesus & Holy Spirit!!!!!!

1 Corinthians 2:9 (Isaiah 64:4, 65:17)---Things which eye has not seen and ear has not heard, and
which have not entered the heart of man, all that God has prepared for those who love Him.

John 3:16---For GOD so loved the world that HE gave HIS only begotten Son, Jesus, that
whosoever believes in Him should not perish, but have life everlasting.

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