Mid-Week Reflections

Hello, faithful friends.

My mom has been doing a great job of updating the blog while I've been consumed with wedding details, enjoying my honeymoon, and getting settled in our new house, but I wanted to share an anecdote with you this morning.

John and I are involved in a thriving church in the South Hills of Pittsburgh that ministers to us week after week. This past Monday he and I decided to attend a prayer and fasting service there. I dutifully picked up the list of church-wide prayer requests at the door as we entered and followed along point by point through the duration of the service. What I realized later is how easy it is to compartmentalize with God, to think that we are only "supposed to" pray for certain things in certain ways for certain amounts of time. Scripture tells us to "pray without ceasing," and I admit that my heart has forgotten this truth at times throughout this journey of Mom's diagnosis and battle. Since Mom made the decision to stop treatment I have become somewhat hardened and resigned, and the fire of hope in my heart has dimmed just a bit. During the corporate prayer time, as I sat next to him and held his hand, my sweet husband said, suddenly, and in a loud, clear voice: "I pray that you would heal Deb McKinney, that you would remove every trace of cancer from her body and make her whole again." His prayer, simple and straight-forward, resounded in my heart long after the topic had moved on to the missionaries in Panama and Vacation Bible School. And I realized that his faith is the kind of faith that can move mountains because it is pure and fresh and trusting.

I learned a lot from John that night--a lot about God, a lot about myself, a lot about all of us who claim to be people of faith. Let us not grow weary and lose heart. Let us anticipate God-sized healing and profound encounters with Him. Let us continue to pray for the seemingly-impossible request: Mom's total and complete healing.

And, in the meantime, we are so grateful for your continued support from near and far and your prayers for Mom to have pain-free days and meaningful time with family and friends.

On a side note, my dad's persistent request for more wedding photos on the blog prompted me to add some. Guess they can serve as a reminder of moments of joy in the midst of sometimes paralyzing hardship.