But it was more than just him. Something about becoming a mother makes you feel, at least a little, like all children are your children. Your heart aches for any child that is alone, lost, hurt, sick, or in need. I began to think about all the children who are suffering throughout the world. It overwhelmed me.
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My dad (Huntsville Granddad) and I were recently discussing prayer. He made a very wise observation: "People have no defense against prayer." People have all sorts of barriers. People are defensive. They are afraid to ask for help. They are embarrassed by their feelings. People can resist other people, but not prayer.
"God takes prayer very seriously. Why do you think we are told to pray without ceasing?"
One of my favorite verses about prayer is Hebrews 4:15-16 "For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weakness, but was in all points tested as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace that we may obtain mercy and grace to help in time of need."
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Instead of feeling overwhelmed and helpless by the thought of sick or hurt children, I have begun praying. I come across people (or more often, people's blogs) who are asking for prayer. My friend Valerie just recently posted about a friend of hers whose daughter has been diagnosed with a malignant tumor. I pray for Ansley Kate.
There are two more children and families I pray for. I read new blogs every day, and I pray for those families, but these two families have grabbed me. I know I don't have a large readership, but I want to share these families' lives with you.
I don't know either of these bloggers, but I feel as though I do.
The first is the Williams Family. Their first son, Gabe, was born still at 38 weeks. Just over a month ago, they had their second son, Jonah. Jonah was born with a skin condition called Epidermolysis bullosa (EB). This condition causes skin, and some internal tissues like the esophagus, to blister when rubbed or scratched with even the slightest pressure. The blisters burst and the skin falls off.
Jonah's parents consider themselves blessed. He is a beautiful baby. Jonah does not have the worst type of EB, which is fatal in infancy. They have hundreds, if not thousands of people praying for them. Every day they ask for very specific prayers. For example, because of Jonah's condition they must remove his bandages, clean and protect the skin, do stretching exercises, and re-bandage him daily. They have to do this for all four limbs. The process sometimes takes two hours, and Jonah was on morphine at times to tolerate the pain. They have asked for specific prayers that the bandage change will be less painful. God has answered their prayer. Please, visit their blog and pray for this family.
The second baby is Stellan. When his mother was pregnant with him, doctors told her that he would not survive. He was diagnosed in utero with several heart problems, including Supraventricular tachycardia (SVT). Essentially he has an extra electrical pathway in his heart that causes an irregular heartbeat. It was very fast when he was in utero - above 200. Despite the dire warnings from doctors, Stellan was born healthy.
A few days ago, Stellan began to have trouble breathing because of a cold. MckMama (Stellan's mom) took him to the emergency room. The ER doctor gave him two nebulizer treatments, and the second one sent his heart back into SVT. He is five months old. Doctors have now been trying for 9 days to coax his heart back to a normal sinus rhythm. They are starting to have some luck using a medication that stops his heart. When I read that in her blog, I started crying. I can't imagine sitting by my son as a doctor administers medication to stop his heart. Will you visit their blog and pray for them as well?
have slightly elevated cholesterol, although my ratio of good to bad is excellent. I was told I needed to lose weight (shocker) although I was shocked by how much weight he suggested.
