Tuesday, October 30, 2012

An Invitation

What a crazy life we have.  Today I've found myself operating in "shock" mode and trying to snap out of it.  I don't feel crushed by the weight of my worries... God is with us and I have peace in my heart, but I'm a little bit on emotion overload.  Caleb is totally unaffected by what's going on around him... he is a cheerful little boy today and if you peeked in our windows and saw my boys running around in their p.j.'s and playing with their tractors, you would never guess that any kind of crisis exists.  

As you know, Caleb went to see his cardiologist last week and there was huge concern from his doctors about how his heart has gotten weaker.  That led them to schedule a heart catheterization on Thursday and an overnight stay at the hospital that night for him to recover.  A heart cath on a little guy is a big deal. The results from the heart cath will determine the next steps.  We are praying for a miracle.

What you probably don't know, and what I think I need to share so that you truly know how to pray for us right now, is that I have been experiencing health problems myself in the last month.  Four years ago I was diagnosed with an autoimmune disease that is almost identical to rheumatoid arthritis.  When I got pregnant with Caleb, the disease went into remission and has never returned.  I believed that God chose to heal me of this, in light of the fact that only a few short weeks later, we found out about Caleb's heart defect.  Unfortunately, the arthritis returned last month and it is worse than ever.  Yesterday I sat at an appointment with my rheumatologist and she just looked at me with a face of almost disbelief and said, "I don't understand why all this would happen to one family."  I told her that I never ask the question of "why" because it doesn't lead to anything fruitful.  All I know is that life can be painful and disappointing and the only way we deal with it all is by believing in a God who loves us and who ultimately knows what is best for us.

I'm telling you this, not because I'm trying to steal Caleb's thunder, but because I want people to know just how big a mountain of struggle we are facing right now.  Daniel and I have come to the point where we not only have no reservations asking for prayer, we are actually begging you to remember to pray for us right now.  I want to see God display His power in a way that I've never witnessed with my own eyes, even though I read about His power and His miracles when I read my Bible.  We are praying without ceasing, not just because we want Him to spare our family from all this pain, but because we believe with all our hearts that this is no coincidence.  God wants to do something here.  He wants to get our attention, and others' attention, and He wants to show up in a way that no one can know our story and deny that God is real.  

Tonight Daniel and I and some friends are going to gather and pray and we want to invite you to join us. At 8:00 tonight at First Baptist, in the chapel, we are going to worship and pray and cry out to God to show up in power.  If you feel led to come and join us, we'd love to have you.  If you can't come in person but you want to join us in spirit, set an alarm on your phone and make a point to stop and pray at 8:00 tonight.  We welcome anyone to come and join us tonight who believes we still worship a God of miracles and a God who listens to the cries of His people.  Hopefully we'll see some of you tonight at First Baptist at 8:00!  Park on the north side of the building and we'll be in the chapel.  Let us know if you're coming... we can't wait to worship and pray with our brothers and sisters! 

12 comments:

  1. My heart breaks for you! I know how scary this heart cath is, our Cayden had one last Nov. He was 14 mo old. I was terrified, but he did wonderful, God was there with him! I will be praying for you and your health concerns as well as for Caleb at 8:00 tonight! I share the same feelings you do in this post, my eyes full of tears as I type this...I know your pain as a Mother. I agree, God has great plans for both of our families through all of this! I can't wait to see it either! Hugs!

    Faith Gammello Waddell

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  2. I am so very sorry my friends that you have to walk this long journey! Please know that although I can't be there in person I will be there in spirit! Lord, have mercy!!!

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  3. Praying for you guys as I go about life, as I drive, as I meet with friends, as I just am...and will join you in spirit tonight at 8 pm in prayer. Caleb has a name that speaks of God's faithfulness...and I am going to pray that He shows Himself even more abundantly right now to all of you.

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  4. I will be praying for all of you that God will shine his light on all of you.

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  5. Jim and Beth Ann SmithOctober 30, 2012 at 4:17 PM

    Daniel, Katy and boys we will pray and ask our church in Somerset Ky to pray this eve as well... May God Bless your family

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  6. Praying for your and your family! May God be with you.

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  7. I wish you all the best and will be praying those heart prayers we said for my son Brady Reese. Herr Kinnaird was his favorite teacher at the high school and told me that his grandson had heart problems too. We unfortunately went through the same steps only at a later time in Brady's life, he was 17 years old. Our family fell apart during the last year of Brady's life. So don't feel alone, it is tough and your autoimmune disease could have flared up due to the stress. Keep you chin up, continue each day as if it is as normal as possible (it isn't, but you have to keep a routine going), pray a lot, love you son as much as you can and love your family as much also. I know really good heart prayers so know that I am praying daily and asking Brady to look over your son as one of his angels. Keep posting and keep pictures for later to tell him how sick he was when he was a young boy. I also suggest you audiotape him for his own journal. I know he probably isn't saying much, but any words will be good. I say this because as each month passes I can't remember Brady's voice.

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  8. Prayers for you and your family as you deal with all these health and emotional issues. May you feel God's arms wrap you in love and healing.

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  9. Have been and will continue to lift you up in prayers!!!!

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  10. Praying for the entire family today. Caleb's grandfather, Mike and I have been friends for more than forty years. May God show his goodness today as he directs the hands of the doctors. May His will be evident in every decision and every procedure today. Praying throughout the day without ceasing.

    Rex Crabtree

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  11. Oh, Katie.
    Please know that your family is in our prayers...not only daily, but hourly, as our Great and Mighty God brings you to mind.
    Much love,
    Jodi

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