Rosa Chupp has been more of an inspiration and encouragement to me than she knows. While family ties have given us a common bond, it has been only the past several years that our relationship has gotten closer.
I wish every woman could have a Rosa in their life. She is a constant source of encouraging words, prayer support and example of the kind warrior for God that I want to be. Her faith is unwavering as is her willingness to listen to a God who speaks.
I've been blessed by Rosa's phone calls, emails and chats over a cup of coffee. She reflects God in a way that I find refreshing and delightful. Today, I asked Rosa to share her heart in the Titus2Woman series. Here's what she had to say:
I grew up Amish. I have hundreds of cousins, lots of relatives, and I speak Swiss fluently. We communicate easily at reunions and such. I am ever so grateful for the work ethics I learned from my Amish background. We didn’t have much but we were appreciative of what we did have and respecting others was also a part of our way of life. Alcohol became a problem in our home and caused a lot of pain and difficulty. Even so, my past and the choices I’ve made are the things that have made me who I am today.
|
When I was a young girl, about seven, my family moved to Michigan after the death of my father where we attended the Mennonite church. My mother became a born-again, on-fire Christian at a Full Gospel meeting. Life was changing. Mom really changed. She became a prayer warrior and I learned how to pray over the years just by watching her. In her later life, she married again and I had a wonderful stepdad too.
 |
| Rosa as a young girl |
I met my husband at the church. We went to the youth meetings but there was really no interest in each other until one night when a girlfriend and I went “tooling” in an old International pickup loaded with firewood. As we tooled around town, I saw a 66 Chevelle Supersport that I recognized. It was Randy. He had that car jacked up and it was really sharp! We sped up and caught him at a red light. I leaned out the window and yelled out to him. He said to meet him at the Plaza parking lot. There he asked me to ride around with him for a while and then meet back with my girlfriend later. But later, my friend was nowhere to be found so Randy took me home. That night we sat on our dining room floor playing 45 RPM Supreme Singles until 4 AM. This past August, of that year we were married and I have been Mrs. Chupp for forty years now.
An interesting side note about my husband – Randall Ray Chupp was born in a garage in Ethiopia where his parents were serving on the mission field.
I worked for the Centreville school for a little over twenty-eight years. I retired a year from this past May.
Our first child was Rodney Dale. He was adorable but was colicky and developed many allergies that caused bronchitis and pneumonia many times. One of those times, we almost lost him. I took him to the doctor. The doctor told me there was nothing wrong with him and that I was just a new Mom and over worried. I knew he was very sick and said I would not take him home like that so the doctor sent us over to the hospital. My baby stopped breathing there. They got him breathing again and sent him to Kalamazoo in a special care unit vehicle with a doctor and me. To me, Rod is my miracle baby.
 | |
He has continued to have to deal with allergies throughout his life but he is victorious. He married Tammy Nusbaum and they have a wonderful family. Rod is part owner of Chupp Insurance along with his Dad. They also own Sturgis Auto Wash. Tammy is an RN and works at Maxim Healthcare. Their first child, Daniel, died at 13 months due to an accident with a vehicle. That was the hardest trial we’ve ever gone through as a family. God’s grace has been sufficient.
|
Their next child is Christopher. He is sixteen, a junior in high school, taking pre-college classes and he works at Chupp Insurance whenever he has a break from school. He has a heart for the Lord and compassion for others and he is extremely handsome and special to his grandparents.
Their next child came as a beautiful little girl with gorgeous blue eyes. She is Rebecca, age fourteen. She is an outstanding young girl that is capable of cooking, baking, cleaning, etc… And she has a love for God. She loves to go shopping with Grandma and enjoys have a special coffee with her. The older she gets the more beautiful she becomes, inside and out.
Justus is their third child. His is twelve, a sixth grader and a jack-of-all-trades. Justus can just figure things out. He’s a delight to have around, handsome, helpful, and a deep thinker too. He likes to cook and is a people person. He also likes to spend time with his grandparents and we all enjoy him.
All three children are involved in sports and they love it. Their parents are proud of them. Rod has a wonderful family.
Our daughter, Raushell Rose, was born about five and a half years after Rod. Shelly was a beautiful baby. Her affliction was ear infection of which she had many. She was on meds a lot. I wore cute little bonnets on her a lot to protect her ears. As she grew older, she outgrew the ear infections. She was a soft-hearted, sensitive and happy child and has grown into soft-hearted, sensitive, and happy woman.
 | |
As a youth, she and her brother were very active in youth group at church. Consequently, the youth were at our home a lot. Rod and Shelly were always close in spite of a few years age difference. We have been a close family.
|
Shelly is married to Matt Gingerich – a match made in heaven, and they are very happy with their dog Stewart. Shelly is a supervisor at Grace Health Care where she is putting her RN to good use. Matt is part-owner of Five Star Investments.
When the children were little, we didn’t have many costly outings. On Sunday afternoons we would often go to the Three Rivers Park. We would take bread and popcorn along and feed the animals. Another thing we liked to do was go to the lake and at home I used to have picnics with them in our front yard under a big tree. Those were happy times.
 |
| The Chupp Family |
My goal as a young mother was to do what’s best for my children. To me, that meant serving the Lord. My husband and I were not on the same page though. Happy times became hard times when my husband was drawn away. He was a truck driver and his interests were being drawn away from me and the family. It was a devastating time for me. I was a leader of women’s meetings at church. I was involved in other things there and at the same time feeling like a failure and a hypocrite. I was teaching others, but my own life was falling apart.
I sought help from my pastor and his wife. It was humbling. He advised me to stay involved and keep doing what I was doing. I kept things up with the children the best I could. I never talked negative or bad to them about their father. I wanted them to respect him. I often prayed that God would protect them from any memories that would harm them. I had some godly friends that helped me too, still, life was hard at that time.
My husband didn’t want counseling so I went alone and got it for myself. Eventually, after some deeply serious conversations, he decided he would get counseling too. It was not easy. I learned that before healing can take place, there had to be forgiveness. That is not easy either, but it is a choice that I made.
I also learned that communication is necessary. Communication does not mean I have to know every detail, it means we must understand each other. It was explained to me that knowing more painful details would not be beneficial. It took months and months of counseling to get through that time.
We were advised to have a date night once a week. That was hard too, but we did it and still do. It’s not hard anymore! A date night does not mean doing something that costs money necessarily. It’s about spending time together.
Another choice we were advised was to make was to pray together. That doesn’t come naturally either but it eventually brings an intimacy into your life. We still pray together.
The enemy had a plan to end our marriage and affect our children. Through choices, getting counseling, following advice, and being willing to humble ourselves, God restored our marriage and kept our family whole.
When I look back I just want to give thanks for the pastors who are truly shepherds and give godly advice to families in trouble. I also had Godly friends and family members that stood with me and helped me go God’s way. If I were to give advice, I would say that the choices you make will determine your future. Choose God’s way.
What the enemy means for evil, God means for good.
Jeremiah 29:11 “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future.”
Today our children are grown and strong in the Lord. They are involved in their church, their communities, and they love God and family with all their hearts. We have come through the empty nest syndrome with joy. We have a wonderful marriage, we communicate, we support each other, we serve God together, and we laugh a lot. Praise God!
 | |
|
********
If you are struggling in your marriage, email Rosa and I. We would love to pray for you!
1 comment:
What a beautiful testimony of God's grace! Thank you for sharing!
Post a Comment