Dear helpful prayer warriors,
Help
us fix our eyes on Jesus the perfecter of our faith, He is the One who
actually knows it all. We are in another time of not knowing what is
afflicting Anna. That is why i need my Friend that knows what’s going
on. What a constant companion of wisdom, encouragement, and revelation
He is. Just in writing about my Jesus and knowing His perfect love, i
see my fears being cast out.
Oh
but its hard to endure in the moment, not everyone is called to bring
the suction machine to the dinner table. But God has equipped me for
this. Anna’s coughs sound like a lawn mower that just won’t turn over.
The gunk slinks up and down her throat with each cough seldom reaching
her mouth where I can get it. I want to cough for her. We perform chest
percussion to compel more effective coughing. It works, and once the
liquid is cleared I can feel her heart racing. We are staying the course
of this uncertainty be it illness, allergy, or inabilities. May the
Lord be gracious because He doesn’t ask us to turn things into a pity
party or to feel sorry for ourselves.
In
Christ we are more than conquerors, in Christ we lay down our plans,
trust in His plan, and we consider the needs of others more highly that
our own. That is why I canceled last nights outing and stayed with my
family. Jesus has given me all I need for life and godliness and
suctioning. He’s given me prayer warriors too. I cannot slump in worry
or faithless impatience. Let me compel us to pray. The Almighty is
laying the groundwork for His glory to shine through again this very
night. May God grant me the right response to this suffering, so a
pathway of His workmanship would flow forth. I am standing by, removing
distractions, leading my family spiritually to face this hardship newly.
Lastly,
we got Anna assessed with her developmental delay diagnosis in order to
satisfy the requirements of Medicaid. it’s the testing that attempts to
give her an IQ rating and see how well she follows directions. They
were asking a blind person to “pick the image that is similar” or “blink
for yes” and parents could not help. What a circus. The test was cut
two hours short and will likely declare her as having the cognition and
ability of a young infant. We were warned with bitterness from our
online community of special needs families about this test. But it is
God who gives wisdom and understanding. So Anna’s allotment is not
measurable by these worldly measures. We were reminded in our family
devotion time last night that spiritual wisdom from God is not the
world’s wisdom. “But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all
pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good
fruit, impartial and sincere. Peacemakers who sow in peace reap a
harvest of righteousness.” James 3:17-18. We see these qualities of
wisdom in Anna everyday. May she be a peacemaker sowing peace, reaping a
harvest of righteousness to the glory of God.
Please pray:
- once again let’s ask in the name of Jesus Christ for Anna Elizabeth to be healed in both the acute and the broad forms of her infirmities and afflictions for God’s glory.
- For songs of praise and adoration to flood our household, our hearts and outlast the illness.
- That Anna and I would understand that “we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. So this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.”2 Corinthians 4:16-18
- For increased communication, I have been trying to get her to say “daddy”. It was something I gave up on years ago but I just had the thought to try again.
- For her hand chewing habit to stop, her right index finger is calloused to the point of mutation and her wrists have bite marks all over.
- For greater ability to manage her saliva and mucus.
- For family devotion times to be reestablished after dinner time
