Mary Geldof Lambrechts

Profile Updated: September 3, 2009
Mary Geldof
Residing In: St Albert
Spouse/Partner: Dave. He rocks!
Children: Our first daughter Anali is now 22 years old. Anali has an affinity with animals that is beyond description. More… Her gentle nature can put any animal at ease, from rubbing down a high strung racehorse to a praying mantis sitting on her shoulder. Anali finishes her college education next month and one day you will be playing video or multi-player interactive games that she has designed.

Our second daughter, Elise is 20 years old. Elise has a compassion for people and can make anyone feel at ease. She has a very tender heart and a very creative side to her. Elise has another year of college, and after that she'll be using her marketing skills to entice us to purchase her company's product.
Yes! Attending Reunion
Anecdote from '79 Horizons Yearbook:

You can combine any two colors and get something different – except when you mix red hair.

Attending Church:

I don't go to church. I go to where ever Dave's playing & worship along with the band, their desire is to give God the glory.

Comments:

Our life has been beyond interesting. What started as a little love affair has blossomed into a life I never dreamed possible. We have been many places and done many things, but by far our greatest accomplishment is raising two daughters.

I firmly believe that God puts different personalities into one family so we have an environment of unconditional love in which to learn to get along with people who have different opinions than our own. We are very proud of our daughters and the independent thinking women they have become. Helping them grow and watching them mature has been the best way to spend the last 23 years.

It gives me a picture of how God watches over us and helps us mature. We didn't give our kids everything they wanted, and neither does God give us everything we want.

In fact, there were times when our kids disobeyed and they had to be disciplined. From taking away a favorite program of a young child to being grounded or taking away the freedom of a teenager. As parents, we discipline our kids so they learn the lesson and change their behaviour. These are the same goals God has when He disciplines us, His children.

We have had the opportunity to learn a lot about God and His truth in the last 30 years. There is one particularly life changing event I'd like to share with you.

Over 10 years ago I was diagnosed with cancer. In a 3 week span I was diagnosed, had surgery and found out it had already spread.

At the time I considered myself a Christian, I went to church, read the religious books, bought the religious music, took my kids to Sunday School, volunteered for the various church things, you name it, I did it.

The diagnosis was unexpected, but I knew that God had a plan, even if I couldn't see it, I had to trust that He knew what He was doing. You all may not know this about me, but I was a very strong willed, opinionated person up to that point. I could handle anything that came my way. I didn't need any help from anyone!

It was only when my surgeon called me one night to tell me it was an aggressive cancer, it had already spread and that next month I would be starting an aggressive chemotherapy regimen that I was a little lost.

This time I had no control. God had used the one thing I couldn't control, the cancer still in my body, to get my attention.

Chemotherapy is a unique experience. After the first treatment I felt fine. The second treatment affected my memory a little and my muscles a lot.

The effects of the third were so bad that I was starting to question if I really wanted the last one. The headaches were the worst. There was no escape from them. I went through bottles of Tylenol. And the memory loss, I couldn't even remember my name. The fourth and final treatment had such an effect that I would not have gone back for another.

Looking back, God really didn't give me any more than I could handle. He also used this opportunity to teach my mom something. On the day of my chemo treatment, my brain was just fried, I was so stupid I couldn't even tell you my name. But on the third treatment, I got home and mom called me and I was totally with it, I knew who I was, where I was, current events. It was such a change that I mentioned to her how good I felt and did she notice how smart I sounded? Her response was "that's what I prayed for, that it wouldn't affect your brain today the way it always did" I'm amazed at how God could use my situation to help my mom learn more about Him.

One night I had a dream. I had died & was standing in front of God. He asked me "How did you like the book I wrote you?"

My response was " I have read a lot of books about your Book, I've read Genesis and Exodus, but got bogged down in Leviticus, I've listened to a lot of sermons about your Book, I've even taken training on how to understand your Book, I've sang songs based on parts of your Book, but I've never actually read your Book."

This response made me feel so bad, like I'd just slapped God in the face.

I had always been a avid reader. I used to read anything and everything I could get my hands on, even the classifieds.

So, as I was recovering from the chemo, I tried to read. I picked up the newspaper and read. The only problem was that by the time I got to the end of a sentence I couldn't remember how it started.

This was very frustrating for me. What's the point of reading if you don't understand it and you can't even remember what you just read?

One day I was sitting on the couch, having a little pity party with myself and I hear God tell me to get my Bible. My pity took over and I'm having this internal struggle with Him.

I was mad, I was really, really mad. I told Him "How can you ask me to open my Bible and expect me to understand what I'm reading? That's just cruel, You know what the chemo did, my brain is now mush, I can't even understand a simple sentence anymore. How can You expect me to understand anything in the Bible? It's way too complicated and I'm not educated to understand it."

Fortunately for me God is patient, I pick up my Bible anyway and carry on with my party. I told God how I had tried to read my Bible a few years ago. Genesis and Exodus were great, but Leviticus and all the rules were too much, so I quit reading it.

God tells me to close my Bible and stick my fingernail in. Open it there and start reading. My Bible opens at Matthew 1.

I start reading. It's like a whole new world has been opened up to me. Every day I read my Bible all morning while the kids are at school and the things I'm learning are amazing.

Not only am I learning, but I'm remembering. Dave calls me every night and I'm so excited with what I'm learning that I'm sharing it all with him too.

Right off the bat, I learn that the wise men didn't come on the night Jesus was born. I've learned that Noah took more than two of some animals into the boat, I've even learned that Job didn't have three friends sitting with him during his time of sorrow. Please, don't just believe this because I said so, go read your Bible and find out for yourself.

After I read the New Testament, I went back to the Old Testament and it really made my Bible come together. It just connected the whole book for me.

Really, when you think about it, how disrespectful are we to God. He's assembled this Book for us, and the majority of the time it's used in our lives is one chapter or one verse at a time. A lot of stuff is taken totally out of context, because no one's reading and getting the whole context.

How many of us get a book from the library and read chapter 7, chapter 2, chapter 11, chapter 5, the last chapter, chapter 6 - you get the picture. Yet we all do this with the one book that really matters - our Bible.

I learned the truth directly from God. Being diagnosed with cancer made me read my Bible as if my life depended on it, and I've learned that it does.

Todays age of "Churchianity" and "Religiosity" has made God and salvation so complicated that it must just make God weep.

The simplicity of salvation is this: Jesus died on the cross to pay for our sins. When we "confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved."

It's a simple process between you and God in the quietness of your own heart. And then start reading your Bible. I'm convinced that God opens up His truth to all who really want to learn.

I've now read through my Bible a few times, and each time God shows me something new. Dave, Anali and Elise are also saved. They are also Bible readers and I enjoy the conversations we have about what God has revealed as they read.

We are all at different points in our faith journey, and God is able to reach us right where we are.

Cancer is the best thing that happened to my family.
We learned that we've got a choice and we choose life.

Have you read your Bible lately?