Jean Stockdale Abiding in the Shadow

Welcome to our CaringBridge website. We are using it to keep family and friends updated in one place. We appreciate your support and words of hope and encouragement. Thank you for visiting.


God is continuing to write my story and inserting an unexpected chapter. On September 17, 2021 I was diagnosed with Stage 2 breast cancer. Discovery to diagnosis happened in barely over a week so, as you can imagine, Craig and I are reeling from it all. We currently have a treatment plan in place that will include up to 6 rounds of chemo at West Clinic, surgery, and then radiation. Although the suddenness and seriousness of this diagnosis has staggered us, we can both testify that Jesus Christ has manifested His peace and His presence in the midst of this storm. His Word has become set ablaze in our hands, giving us daily doses of encouragement as we claim His promises, all of which are helping us maintain our spiritual equilibrium. We are both grieved to have to step away from the ministries we love for a season, teaching and traveling internationally to train pastors and church leaders, but we are confident that we are in the center of God’s will and that He will bring “a garland instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, and the mantle of praise instead of a spirit of fainting” (Isaiah 61:3). And we are trusting Him to open new avenues for ministry. In the meantime we are faith-walking this out, leaning heavily on Jesus. Mr. Stockdale and I have a well documented history of being the happy recipients of God’s unmerited grace and favor. We have determined to leverage this suffering for the Kingdom of God, believing He is at work in this situation in ways we cannot even imagine. 


Psalm 91 is like manna to my troubled soul and it has become “the hem of His garment” that I am clinging to. “He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty. . . He will cover you with His pinions, and under His wings you may seek refuge; His faithfulness is a shield and bulwark” (Psalm 91:1; 4).


In the upcoming weeks we will post updates and prayer requests. We thank you in advance for stepping into this journey with us and for presenting our name before the Throne of Grace. We believe we serve a good God who gives good gifts and has a perfect plan for us, His children. Jeremiah 29:11 says “For I know the plans that I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope.” Our eyes are fixed on Jesus and, if you are wondering how we are or where we are, you can find us “abiding in the shadow of the Almighty.”


Standing Near the Cross~
Jean Stockdale