Profound Wisdom

Many of you may remember a while back I blogged about my sister-in-law Alisha's mom. She was in a terrible car accident just over 2 years ago. She had a severe brain injury. Thankfully she is alive and doing much, much better, but there is still a long road ahead. She, and her husband, have spent that last 2 years relearning pretty much everything. She has been learning how to walk, talk, take care of herself and many other things we all take for granted. They have been through a trial that I can't even fathom. Their faith has been shaken, made stronger, shaken and made stronger again. They have had to rely on Him like they never had before, as well as friends and family. It's been an enormous challenge. And through it all they have shared tidbits on their blog.

Just a couple days ago she shared another story that made me stop in my tracks and really think. It was so powerful - especially coming from her. I wanted to pass it along so you could all be encouraged as I was. I found a similar story online so I copied and pasted it rather than try and remember it.

A man found the cocoon of an emperor moth. He took it home so that he could watch the moth come out of the cocoon. One day a small opening appeared, and he sat and watched for several hours as the moth struggled to force its body through that little hole.

Then it seemed to stop making any progress. It appeared as if it had gotten as far as it could and it could go no farther. It just seemed to be stuck. Then the man, in his kindness, decided to help the moth, so he took a pair of scissors and snipped off the remaining bit of the cocoon. The moth then emerged easily.

But it had a swollen body and small, shriveled wings. The man continued to watch the moth because he expected that, at any moment, the wings would enlarge and expand to be able to support the body, which would contract in time. Neither happened! In fact, the little moth spent the rest of its life crawling around with a swollen body and shriveled wings. It was never able to fly.

What the man in his kindness and haste did not understand was that the restricting cocoon and the struggle required for the moth to get through the tiny opening were God's way of forcing fluid from the body of the moth into its wings so that it would be ready for flight once it achieved its freedom from the cocoon. Freedom and flight would only come after the struggle. By depriving the moth of struggle, he deprived the moth of health.

Sometimes struggles are exactly what we need in life. If God allowed us to go through life without any obstacles, He would cripple us. We would not be as strong as we might have been.

Long overdue

This post is so long overdue. I apologize. I want to introduce you to some very special people.
This is my sister-in-law, Alisha. She's married to Mark's brother, Chad. Very, very awesome people. We love being around them. Alisha is from Illinois, where she met Chad. Her parents are wonderful Christians who love the Lord and have raised their children to know and love Him. I have met Dan and Ginny a couple times when they've visited Colorado. Really neat people.

A little over a year ago, in between Thanksgiving and Christmas Ginny was in a terrible car accident. She was in a coma for a while, a little over a month I believe. She never had an actual waking up moment but instead became more and more aware of what was going on around her over time. She could not do anything for herself and was completely dependent on the nurses and her family for everything.

Eventually she was able to leave the hospital which on one hand meant good progress but on the other hand meant many more challenges. Challenges like getting around her house since at the time she used a wheel chair. Having someone to care for her during the day - her husband, Dan, eventually had to go back to work. Doing therapy and relearning all the processes we take for granted. A very slow, lengthy, and frustrating process.

Over the past year she has made tremendous progress. She is walking - mostly on her own but still needs assistance. She is talking {although Dan says that it can be hard at times to understand her since she's still learning those important skills}. She is relearning many basic skills and is improving. But there is still a long way to go and the progress seems very slow.

Understandably this has really challenged not only Ginny, but her entire family as well. It's difficult for Dan who has become the primary care-giver, doctor appointment maker and taker, insurance fighter, and full-time supporter of his wife. They have some amazing people in their community who help every week. People who will come and help cook and clean, visit Ginny, and take care of odds and ends that are difficult to get done. I am so amazed and thankful for all the long-term help that they've had. A huge blessing no doubt.

It's hard on Chad and Alisha, who wish they could be closer and help more. And it's hard on Alisha's brother and sister who are doing everything they can to help their dad. It's just been an emotional ride for all of them. They have definitely all been challenged to trust God more and more and I know it's hasn't been easy. For even one day.

When you pray for healing for someone and believe God will heal them and then it doesn't happen how you had prayed, it challenges you. Is God really there? Does He care? Is He listening? I can say yes He is there. Yes He does care. Yes He is listening. Because it's the truth. But when you are in the midst of that it feels totally different. Knowing the truth and then seeing, or not seeing, the evidence challenges even the strongest believer.

It's a deep, difficult, sometimes very lonely process. And I feel for Dan every week when he writes, very honestly, about their progress as well as their frustrations. Their highs and lows. Their joys and their sorrows. And even their questions to God.

I pray for them often and pray for God's strength as they walk this uphill climb. I pray for God's peace as they make many difficult decisions. And I pray for God to reveal Himself to them like He never has before. So that they can have the assurance that God is listening and He cares.

Then I asked Alisha if I could have her permission to blog about this so that some of you who read this and are ones who pray and believe in the healing, awesome power of prayer, could lift them up and pray for encouragement. It seems at this time that the healing process will not be a "microwave" healing but rather a "crock-pot" one as my friend Linn likes to say. It's a painful process both emotionally and physically. I would ask you to pray for God to sustain them and carry them when they are weary. And I think just to know that people who don't even know them are praying for all these things can be a comfort to them.

From time to time I will update you on her progress. Thank you all for reading this and for also lifting them up in prayer.

Because I'm so heartbroken...

I don't know how to write this really. I'm so sad I'm not sure how to say it.

I just read a blog from one of my old highschool girls, a sweet friend. Her cousin, also an old highschooler {only in her 20's!}, named Alisha, is in the fight for her life. Literally.

Near the end of July, while 7 months pregnant with her 2nd child {her oldest is a 1st grader}, Alisha was diagnosed with ovarian cancer. She went to Denver to deliver her daughter and begin treatment. The plan was to remove her ovaries.

After the baby was born and they did some more tests, they discovered that she actually had stomach cancer. And it was very aggressive.

Sadly, she was just told, within the last day or so, that her cancer is terminal. Less than two months since finding out she even had it.

I am beyond sad that this special girl, this mommy, this wife, cousin, daughter, friend, may very well not live to see her daughter's first birthday. As a mom this is breaking my heart. I can not imagine how she is feeling right now. I can't imagine how her family is feeling.

All I can do is cry and pray. Pray that my God who is a God of miracles would heal her from this. It doesn't make sense. I'm not saying it has to make sense but it sure would be nice to know why in the world this would happen to this young mom.

Her cousin, Lacy, has written some very amazing posts about this journey. One in particular that I love. It's how God spoke to her during this difficult time. Please take a moment and read it if you can. It's incredibly profound. And while you're there, take a moment to leave a comment and/or to pray for her and Alisha and their family.

This is a most difficult journey for all of them.

Thanks.