Prayer Request for a Friend

My sweet friend from church Leah has asked us all to pray for her Mom who will be undergoing a heart AND double lung transplant. Can you imagine?? Please lift this family up in your prayers. Leah started a blog to keep family and friends updated as she was having trouble keeping up with all of the phone calls and emails. The link is in my right hand column under the category Please Pray and it is called Journey of Janice.

Now if you think you are having a bad day just think to yourself, "At least I don't have to have a heart and double lung transplant!" That should get you back in a more blessed mood. I have already been touched by Leah's and her Mother's faith and realness in this situation. Read below and you will see.

Thank you!

Here is a little from Leah:

"For those of you who don't know my mom's story, I'll give you the short version...

She was diagnosed with PPH about four years ago, all beginning with a battle of bronchitis that turned in to pneumonia. (The disease is also linked with the drug fen-phen, but this is not my mom's case. Her doctors believe that it's genetic.) Mom has gone through several different drug treatments in the last few years, the latest being a mainline pump that she had inserted in November 2006.

Last Monday, mom was given the news that her "pump" medicine isn't working anymore, and the next step is a heart AND double lung transplant. She has been in CCU at Baptist Hospital in Little Rock for about 10 days and in the air on her way to Vanderbilt as we speak.

Our family is hopeful, but we also know that the final outcome is in God's hands. We serve a BIG God who is bigger than disease, bigger than medical expenses, and bigger than life itself. God works all things together for good (Romans 8:28) and will get the honor and glory from this, no matter the outcome.

The verse at the top of this web page, James 1:2-4 says "Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything." This is my mom. She has chosen joy in her circumstances, not just now, but from the very beginning of her diagnosis. I remember being on the phone with her after she was diagnosed the summer of 2004 and her words were, "I can't let this bring me down. God has a purpose for my suffering and I'm going to use it for Him." I won't say that my mom has always been happy about being sick or that she's never prayed for God to take this terrible disease away, but even in the midst of her suffering, she has been an encouragement to others.

Please keep my family in your prayers! This is a journey...one that will end up victorious one way or another!"

"Daddy snuck his cell phone up to CCU tonight, so I was able to hear my momma's voice for the first time since last Monday. I told her I felt like I was talking to Darth Vadar since she is wearing an oxygen mask! We talked for a few minutes, and she is VERY hopeful. I heard the hope in her voice. I told her, 'I'm scared, excited, nervous, sad, etc." My mom's exact words were, "Don't be scared, Leah. It's all in the Lord's hands. It's gonna be okay.' What comfort."