I was going to write about how angry I was that military personnel were getting to wear their uniforms in the San Diego LGBT Pride parade, but that was only from anger and anger does little to stem the tide of Satan's work (the work at this moment seems to be to distract me from any real cause of the Kingdom).
What I need to write about instead, and so set forth to do in this post, is prayer. I'm currently taking a class at Liberty University Baptist Theological Seminary on prayer and spiritual warfare and I'm truly loving it. It is refreshing to see that not all Baptists believe the Holy Spirit is a silent bystander in our affairs. Anyway, I've been praying about North Chicago, but that changed a week ago today (at least temporarily).
On Sunday, the 15th, my dad called during church with horrible news. My mother, who had been sick for a bit with kidney issues, was in a bad way. Her kidneys had failed, her lungs weren't working, and there were other issues as well. He informed me that the hospital in Girard, Kansas had put her in a medically-induced coma to keep anything else from going wrong and were looking for a bigger hospital to move her to.
They ended up moving her to the Kansas University Medical Center in Kansas City. As the helicopter was landing in Kansas City, my wonderful supervisors in Great Lakes had already put me on emergency leave and told me to get home as soon as possible.
What happened next befuddles me even now. I'm still trying to figure out how to really explain it. My mom was supposed to be in the coma for 2-3 days while the doctors sorted out her problems. She was in a coma for 1 day. Her kidneys were failing. Now they aren't (although they are damaged to be sure). Her lungs were damaged and spitting CO2 into her bloodstream. Now they work fine (though they too are damaged). My mother is going to make a full recovery, within reason.
How? Prayer...bottom line. I got more comments on my Facebook page and by text than I could have ever imagined. So did my wife, Alicia. I believe that some of those comments were simply well-wishers who said they would pray because it is a very American thing to say, but many were undoubtedly truly praying for my mom.
I was praying too. I made specific requests regarding my mother, fearing that God might not answer me positively. Well, maybe he wasn't answering me, but he was answering all of us to be sure. My mom is doing so well now. She's simply got a few more issues to work out, some surgeries to go through (mostly minor), and she'll be good to go. Of course, I would love to have your continued prayer support.
My thoughts on prayer do not mean that I don't appreciate the work of good doctors. However, I believe that God was behind it. After all, it was the doctors who said everything and gave the timelines that God broke.
What does this mean for my faith? It is a bit stronger, for sure. God was very gracious to my family and for that I am grateful. It doesn't mean, unfortunately, that I have become fearless in my faith, or ready to take on the gates of hell, but I'm a little closer.
I'm definitely ready to say that prayer made the difference here. I'm also ready to get back to praying for the folks in North Chicago.
What I need to write about instead, and so set forth to do in this post, is prayer. I'm currently taking a class at Liberty University Baptist Theological Seminary on prayer and spiritual warfare and I'm truly loving it. It is refreshing to see that not all Baptists believe the Holy Spirit is a silent bystander in our affairs. Anyway, I've been praying about North Chicago, but that changed a week ago today (at least temporarily).
On Sunday, the 15th, my dad called during church with horrible news. My mother, who had been sick for a bit with kidney issues, was in a bad way. Her kidneys had failed, her lungs weren't working, and there were other issues as well. He informed me that the hospital in Girard, Kansas had put her in a medically-induced coma to keep anything else from going wrong and were looking for a bigger hospital to move her to.
They ended up moving her to the Kansas University Medical Center in Kansas City. As the helicopter was landing in Kansas City, my wonderful supervisors in Great Lakes had already put me on emergency leave and told me to get home as soon as possible.
What happened next befuddles me even now. I'm still trying to figure out how to really explain it. My mom was supposed to be in the coma for 2-3 days while the doctors sorted out her problems. She was in a coma for 1 day. Her kidneys were failing. Now they aren't (although they are damaged to be sure). Her lungs were damaged and spitting CO2 into her bloodstream. Now they work fine (though they too are damaged). My mother is going to make a full recovery, within reason.
How? Prayer...bottom line. I got more comments on my Facebook page and by text than I could have ever imagined. So did my wife, Alicia. I believe that some of those comments were simply well-wishers who said they would pray because it is a very American thing to say, but many were undoubtedly truly praying for my mom.
I was praying too. I made specific requests regarding my mother, fearing that God might not answer me positively. Well, maybe he wasn't answering me, but he was answering all of us to be sure. My mom is doing so well now. She's simply got a few more issues to work out, some surgeries to go through (mostly minor), and she'll be good to go. Of course, I would love to have your continued prayer support.
My thoughts on prayer do not mean that I don't appreciate the work of good doctors. However, I believe that God was behind it. After all, it was the doctors who said everything and gave the timelines that God broke.
What does this mean for my faith? It is a bit stronger, for sure. God was very gracious to my family and for that I am grateful. It doesn't mean, unfortunately, that I have become fearless in my faith, or ready to take on the gates of hell, but I'm a little closer.
I'm definitely ready to say that prayer made the difference here. I'm also ready to get back to praying for the folks in North Chicago.
4 comments:
sitrep?
It's a Navy term. A sitrep is a situation report.
I know. I read Rogue Warrior. Now, in non-Navyspeak, how is your mom doing?
She's doing much better actually. Home resting and recovering as far as I know. I haven't heard from her for a few days, which ironically is good news.
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