Standing Firm

I am sitting in the ICU waiting room at Mayo Clinic next to my little sister Amy who has been enduring the greatest trial life could offer. Her response to the information she has been handed continues to amaze me. Her faith transcends explanation. Holy is the Lord God Almighty.
David had his functional MRI done yesterday. The consult yesterday was in a nutshell this: it is an inoperable tumor because removal would cause him to lose all ability to speak or to understand speech and language. All of David's God-given talents lie in his communication and this has struck at the core of who he is. From the human perspective, it is not a good diagnosis to receive. He had a biopsy done this morning to find out if it is actually malignant and if it will respond to chemotherapy.
Amy has stood in the face of this and smiled. When the doctor was telling us that he was sorry he could not remove the tumor, she was staring into his eyes smiling. Seriously, SMILING??? He looked at her and said, "I don't want you to leave here with ANY misconceptions that what I am telling you is a good thing!" I think he was slightly frustrated by the fact she did not seem to hear anything he was telling us. The truth is, she was staring at him with her face as set as a flint. She believes without a shadow of a doubt that God can HEAL David if He decides to have mercy. She believes she has been called to stand firm and stand in the face of all poor prognoses and believe that God is greater than we can imagine. Medicine is good and useful, but God is above it all. We pray to God for His mercy, His compassion, and a LONG LIFE FOR DAVID. Praise you Jesus!! Please join us in praying for his recovery. And we will keep smiling for him.

Faint at Heart

Have you ever wished that reality was just really a bad dream?
I have been needing to write this post but am struggling with what to say. Here goes! I received a phone call on Sunday from my parents that went something like this, "Honey, we just wanted to tell you that David (my brother in-law) hit his head last night, passed out this morning at his conference in San Francisco and had a seizure. He is in the hospital at Stanford and they believe he has bleeding on his brain. Please pray for him." My thoughts were, okay, he'll be fine. But a seizure is never a good thing. Really, bleeding on his brain? I hope it's not a brain tumor.
The next morning my dad called, "Honey, I hate to tell you this but the MRI showed that David actually has a brain tumor." Not possible! He's 27!!!! Punched in the gut. My poor sister! What now????
Well, to summarize, NOW has included a flight from San Francisco to Minnesota where he'll be treated at Mayo Clinic. He meets with the neurosurgeon at 6:45 a.m. tomorrow morning and they will hopefully establish a treatment plan. I am planning to go be with my sister at some point...just waiting for direction on when is best.
The bottom line. Their faith in God has stayed so incredibly strong throughout all this that I am truly amazed by God's mercy and grace. I have felt so sad and worried and sick to my stomach, even though I truly do have peace that God is in control. I need prayer that I can rest in God and stay positive and strong for my sister. My sister's blog was so encouraging today. Check it out. www.blog.amywenzel.com.
Thanks for listening.
A