Episode 59: Libby Hanson

For 33 years, Libby cared for her son Scotty who was born with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy. In this episode, Libby shares about the faithfulness of the body of Christ as they were supported as a family through many difficult years. Scotty passed away in July 2019, but he leaves behind a legacy of a young man who shared the gospel wherever and whenever he could. Listen as Libby speaks of about Scotty’s extraordinary faith and how God continues to teach her new things.

EPISODE NOTES

Libby Hanson is married to Gary. They have two adult daughters and one son, Scotty, who passed away of Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy in July 2019. For 33 years, Libby cared for Scotty 24/7 with the help of family members and carers.

She finds Exodus 17:12-14 particularly encouraging:  "When Moses arms grew tired, Aaron and Hur bought a stone for him to sit on, while they stood beside him and held up his arms, holding them steady until the sun went down. In this way Joshua totally defeated the Amalkites." 

Libby says, “These verses have encouraged me to get alongside people who are defeated or in battles too big for them to fight alone, supporting them practically and with much prayer, standing with them, when they are too tired to stand alone and to keep on praying when they have no words left to pray.”

LINKS MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

• Scotty's Youtube video link : Focus on Ability "Maybe just a little".
• Everyday Evangelism: https://acornpress.net.au/publications/everyday-evangelism-students-manual/
• Scotty’s Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/Scotty.hanson.nocturnal.ninja

SHOW SNIPPETS:

“The doctor said at the time, come back in 10 years time to get a wheelchair.”

“It got a bit scary for a while because we had to change ventilators and I was always responsible for his breathing and if I mucked up the taking the mask off and putting the mask onto another machine, it was like seconds he didn’t have. It was very frightening and I almost lost my nerve a bit. But he was very good and just said, “Mum, we can do this.”

“I heard something on the radio a long time ago about if we spend one minute for one person for one day a week, you know in years to come that is going to pay dividends. And I thought, I can do that! So that sort of started with a couple of friends whose children have not walked with the Lord. So that’s where I started - just picking one child one minute one week.”

“I just know how important in particular for grandparents to be praying for their grandkids.”

“I’m no great bible scholar, but I just love reading the Bible.”

“We have a cup of tea and a bikkie. And we will just start and read. And when the hour was up we would pray for each other and stop. The Bible came alive and just opened up for each other.”

“One time we decided to memorise Colossians.”

“The older you get the more time you realise you’re wasting.”

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The Lydia Project: Conversations with Christian Women is a podcast co-hosted by Tori Walker and Taryn Hayes. It features informal chats with Christian women around faith, life, ministry and the ways in which God is shaping their thinking and their lives. The views of our guests are their own and do not necessarily reflect the views of the hosts or the podcast platform.