A Gardeners Forum Forums Members History Forum Life 2005 A plea for prayers.....

Smart kid! Your story cracked me up!

Merme

He's so funny.
I don't know where he gets that!

As we left the office with the orders to go to x-ray, he said, "If we can just leave now this wasn't too bad!"

YEA Brennan...what wonderful news...and what a brave young man!

We will keep Sam in our thoughts & prayers as well as his/your family!

Between you & me, Cindy...our buddies aren't gonna be able to take a breathe between prayers!I think we have them on overload right now!

cindy - i hope that you wil no tneed htis site but i always find myself arming myself with information when confronted with difficult possibilities.
here's the link:
leukemia.acor.org/storydir/feinberg-art1.html
sorry i cant seem to manage to link it i am having a nonthinking day here sowwy!
we are praying for you and your brother and give brennan a hug! sounds like a great kid!
hinda

Cindy, I'm glad Brennan seems to be ok.. I will still keep him & your brother in my thoughts..

Meg

hinda...
Thank you for that link. It has all the info on it I was looking for...in one place! We were especially wanting the info there about the bone marrow transplants.
Thank you so much!

And thank everyone for keeping Sam in your prayers.

Cindy

Sorry Im a bit late cindy...but he's got mine too for what it's worth - doesn't seem to do me much good but may be it'll help someone else!

Mary,
I think I understand now about prayers not being answered. It look me a long time, and many tears to finally get the message.

I have prayed for 10 years for something that I wanted very badly. I thought I was doing everything right. I went to church every time the doors were open. I was the church pianist. All I listened to for years was religious music..."4 Him", "Phillips, Craig and Dean", etc.
I was on my knees at the alter constantly, praying that God would answer my prayer. I mean, why shouldn't He? I was living right, my whole world revolved around church, I didn't drink, I didn't cuss...I was a really good person.

And, I prayed relentlessly.....

I finally stopped going to church. I haven't been in over a year now. I just walked away from it...left the church with no one to play the piano, and left...very depressed.

I still believe in God, and I am still a very good person. I drink, but not as much as I let on here like I do, just joking around. I do cuss, I won't lie about that.

And, I still pray...a lot.

But, I finally figured out God DID answer my prayer...
...His answer was just "No".

Thank you for still praying.

Cindy

Cindy my prayers are with you and Sam and of course Brennan Glad he is doing better sounds lik ea great kid. and you are so right God does answer all prayers but sometimes the answer is no.
All my prayers and love/ BTW Vanessa your and yours are still in my prayers also you and Cindy can't overload our prayer lists we just hit the alter more often and harder for friends in need of devine help.
Jimmy

I'd like to weigh in on the topic of prayers if I may.

I think ALL answers to prayers, whether they are Yes or No are examples of God's Help to us even if we can't quite see that at the time. He ALWAYS helps us, always.

Personal example here, so bear with me, please.

For 22 MONTHS my friends and family and strangers galore prayed for my right foot to be healed. I did everything exactly as the doctor had said, I attended church and was a good girl, I had faith. After 22 months, that particular battle seemed lost as it became saving my leg or saving my life. So, the amputation.

Now here's the kicker and the point of the story. The disease that attacked my right foot is a bilateral disease, meaning that it is expected to also occur in the left foot.

So as we were so desperately trying to save right foot, my doc was keeping his eye on left foot too. I had bone scans in May of 2003 which showed the initial phases of the disease onset. I had repeat scans in August which also showed the disease advancing. Then of course the right foot amputation was in October so it was some time before we could pay much attention to left foot.

January of 2004, it looked very bad indeed. So as soon as I got the prosthesis in February of 04, we started working like crazy people to get me well established on it before the inevitable loss occured on the left. I needed to have at least one leg to stand on when the time came, as it were.

All medical conversations were very grim and we were thinking in terms of dates for surgery. We worked me so hard I ended up THREE MONTHS ahead of schedule in my rehab progress and everyone was stunned!

Finally, I got really scared about a second amputation, knowing how badly things went the first time and I didn't really think I could bear to go through all that again, or put my loved ones through it.

SoI phoned one of the elderly gentlemen of my church and shared the bad news with him and asked that he pass the word along because I couldn't stand repeating the dreadful details over and over.

So we all prayed. FOR TWO WEEKS we all prayed. Went back to the doctor who repeated the scans AND THERE WAS NO EVIDENCE OF DISEASE IN THE LEFT FOOT WHATSOEVER!

The doc turned to me, stunned. Compared the scans. Started grinning. Hugged me. Dumbfounded. No explanation. This disease NEVER goes away on its own, never.

So back to the prosthetist who made me a soft leather bootie to give the left foot a bit of extra support and protection because it is the only one I have.

So the next week I went to a meeting at my church and asked permission to share the story.

For the life of me I couldn't understand why so many had prayed for so long (22 months!) to save right foot and just a few people prayed briefly (2 weeks!) and the left was spared.

Was I a bad Christian in some way when we prayed for the right? Had I done something wrong? If so, did that mean I had suddenly become a Perfect Christian and "deserved" to have left foot saved? Had we discovered some sort of magic formula type prayer that we could tell everyone about and guarantee them Yes answers every time?

Nope.

As unthinkable as it might seem, losing my right leg was just as much an example of God's Help to me as saving my left leg had been! He had not forsaken me the first time and suddenly liked me a whole lot better the second time, you know?

He ALWAYS, Always, always helps us, He always does. Yet there are many types of "healing", though we tend to focus on just one.

That's my two cents worth on a very difficult topic....

Merme

Cindy - very similar to you, I was a good catholic girl for a very long time - even from deep within 'the closet' I did everything by the book, everything 'right', 'christian' and went out of my way to be close to God. Became a Eucharistic Minister when my father got sick. I really tried. I finally couldn't stand lying to myself about who I was on the inside, and decided God made me and would love me regardless - besides, he's all knowing anyway right? SO here I came, head held high, and walked on out - only to be bashed by my own 'christian' family, my own church, my pastor who I was very close to -who baptised me as a baby- and who loved like a father. It crushed me...I stopped going to church, but like you I still prayed. Relentlessly. I wasn't asking for anything in particular...still don't...just peace in my life, really. I still think i'm more christian than most self-proclaimed 'christians'...but I won't get started on THAT topic... I guess I just get tired of the answer being 'no' when all I want is a break from hardship every now and then, just for a little while so I can enjoy life - not just long enough so that I don't lose my sanity. Today was one of those days in a big way for me... but I digress...

I'm sorry I really didn't mean to make this about me...just felt the connection with your experience and wanted to share mine - different, yet similar.

Me, too.

Arrrrgh Ditto...but someone will always have an answer for that - I've heard them all and I'm sure you have too...
"You are given burdens you can handle"
"You'll find that happiness and peace in the next world"
etc., etc.

I hate getting started on this topic, because people feel so strongly, generally one way or the other (and my blood pressure usually goes through the roof over it). I have never lost my love for God, but yet, I guess it's disappointment I feel. I've tried to believe 'footprints in the sand'

Stuff like that blows my mind...I love those stories... I just wish there was more consistency with them, yaknow? I mean, why one and not the other? I can accept not understanding reasons and all that stuff - but some things just don't make any sense to me at all. I can't think of any acceptable reason there could possibly be...like child abuse, rape, violence...the victim that suffers for no reason. There's no sense in it. Ack, I can get so long winded when it comes to this...I'll cut myself 'short' here (if you can believe this was short!)

YES to everything you just said!

Mary, I love the footprints story. I tear up when I read it, every time. I'm tearing up now, just thinking about it.

I've seen some hard times, who hasn't? Some, worse than others. And prayers have been answered, some yes, some no. Some, would seem miraculous. I believe so much would be different right now, had he not been listening.

As far as church goes.. haven't been to one in YEARS. They denied Steve & I a marriage in the chuch, because of our age, because we had stopped going to church regularly for a year, and they weren't getting our money. I really think that's what it came down to. Basically, we said "**** em." God was with us on our day, looking over us in the American Legion hall as the mayor married us, in front of 200 friends & relatives from all around the country. God is still with me, even tho I haven't been to church regularly since my teen years. I don't chat with him on a regular basis, but he's in my heart, and I try hard. No, I haven't really read the bible much, just a bit here & there. I am in no way even close to being a great Christian, yet, I do have faith. I think faith, is a very personal thing to each individual. Not to mention the fact, that I don't believe there is any one "correct" faith.

Ok, enough of my senseless rambling.

Merme thank you for sharing what you went through. I know it was hard to go through that but just shows everytime I get to feeling sorry for me I here or see someone who has many more problems than I do. Cindy,Mary I also was raised in the church I was a good Baptist all my life was even a Sunday School teacher , Boy Scout leader. Volunteered doe everything that came along. Like you felt like God deserted me I was not good enough because all my prayers went unanswered I thought . I stopped going to church for a while stopped even praying. One day I was shook to the core with an example of Gods love. Mary like you I don't get into this born again christian stuff. If you will notice they all say about the same thing do it our way or you will go to h**l which I don't beleive. I now say my prayers dailey and I study my Bible I also collect Bibles fronm Different faiths manly to compare each, I don't and wont argue the Bible (yes there is some things I won't argue over even good naturally)I have had a better life sinse. You all remember the passage where it is said better to pray in a dark closet where the father can reward you in public then to make long prayers in the market places(or church)to show everyone what a good christian you are. I really beleive this is true. All My prayers for all my friends here you all are part of my family.
God Bless you all with his best.
Jimmy

I totally believe in the power of prayer, and like many of you have a hard time accepting the answer NO.

I was in church a long time and came out because of the hurt I was experiencing from "Christian" people. I remember falling on the altar and begging God to help me withstand all that I was being persecuted with. I think His answer was for me to move along. The church was killing my faith.

I cannot understand why it seems that the wicked prosper and the "good" suffer. I just have to have faith that it is God's will and pray for the strength to endure whatever He sees fit for me to go through.

Cindy, I am still praying for you, Vanessa, and the others mentioned here on the forum. I know the power of prayer and have felt it many times in my life. God does answer them. Sometimes it is just in a way we didn't expect.

Dianna

Sam is having his bone marrow biopsy right this very minute.


His appointment was at 10 a.m.

Cindy,

I hope it goes quickly and with as little pain as possible for him.

Triss

For ALL areas of your life

All prayers, Cindy, always.

Merme

me too

let us know the outcome please

I haven't talked to Sam today.

I talked to my other brother, and he said it was a very painful ordeal, and they had to knock Sam out for the procedure...

He'll be fine...I just know it.....

Positive thoughts sent your way...and Sam's of course. You must be a lunatic today...hang in there...I'm here if ya need an ear/shoulder/tissue/prozac!