Praise. Prayer. Petition. Pittsburgh.

Many of you know that I am headed to Pittsburgh next week for an intense transplant work up.  I just want to share with you what has been on my heart and mind lately.  I have been so blessed to be feeling well.  Over Spring Break I was blessed with a family vacation in a place where I was astounded by God’s creativity and beauty!  Eugene is beautiful with its rivers, it lush green forests and bright green grasses.  The way the leaves turn in the Fall and the flowers bloom in the spring.  The same God that created all of that also created the beautiful beaches, the rainforests draped with twisting vines and hidden caves, and the vast ocean whose entire world is intricately woven together and tied to us here on the continents.  Not only did I get to take in all of this beauty, but I also got to be renewed in spirit and body.  I got to spend time with my family and friends, but I also got to experience a time of health.  My headaches disappeared, my chest pain was gone, I didn’t have any sinus issues, and my cough was very minimal! 

Even though these symptoms have all returned since I have been home I am still praising God that I am relatively healthy!  I am not on IV antibiotics, I am not spending hours in bed, and my mind is clear.  My energy isn’t great, but I at least have some!  I had lab tests done a week ago and they came back relatively normal, normal for me anyway.  In fact I wouldn’t be surprised if Pittsburgh asks me why I am there.  Except that my history shows how quickly things can change. 

I believe 100% that the reason I am healthy today is because God is protecting me and answering your prayers! 

Every time there is an opportunity to be prayed over for healing I will go forward.  I will petition at the feet of Christ every night.  I will never stop asking for complete healing.  There is an example in scripture of God healing a woman because of her persistence in prayer.  It is a desire of my heart and I will not give up hope, but I will also not be discontent if my prayer is not answered.  I have struggled over the years with asking for healing, fear of disappointment, doubt, and discouragement despite my persistence, but I realize now I have a different calling.  I have been given a new perspective.  I will be persistent in my petition, but content in my circumstance. 

I take this with me as I head to Pittsburgh next week.  I am not anxious in any way about the appointments or the decisions they make, keeping up with my schoolwork is a different story.  But, it is like Chris Tomlin’s song Whom Shall I Fear.  His lyrics have settled in me.  “I know who goes before me/ I know who stands behind/ The God of angel armies/ is always by my side.”  God is not just before me; He is encamped all around me.  Christ is not in me, I am in Christ!  God has gone before me to Pittsburgh.  He will be by my side as I go and He will be standing behind me to back me up despite the results.