Prayers for my Mom (Joshua)

Hello Friends,

As some of you may already know, my Mom has been dealing with a benign tumor for about 10 years now.  When we first discovered it back in 1998, she felt God strongly calling her to wait on His healing.  My Dad at that time did not see eye-to-eye with her, and so in 2003 she finally relented and had brain sugery to remove the tumor.  The surgery took 15 hours -- her survival, with no real side-effects is a miracle in and of itself.  By this point, she had already lost the eyesight in her left eye, as the growth of tumor had impinged on her left optic nerve.

Since the surgery in 2003, the tumor has grown back, and has further impacted her function.  She took this as further confirmation that this was God's will for her.  However, at the start of 2007 she started losing eyesight in her right, good eye, and finally lost all ability to see sometime in March/April.  Throughout, she has been positive and holding onto God's promise of healing.  Though I've often questioned her actions, as many countless others have... I've come to understand what true faith is through my Mom.  It says in Hebrews 11:1, "Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see." 

It has been her prayer all along for spiritual healing... but His ways are not our ways, and His thoughts are not our thoughts.  Many close friends have recently encouraged her to look into a new type of treatment - proton radiation therapy.  In Job 33:14, Job's friend Elihu says, "For God does speak - now one way, now another - though man may not perceive it".  So through prayerful consideration, she took this as God's sign for her to pursue it.  She went down to LA and had a consultation with some doctors on the 7th of this month and everything seems to be moving smoothly as her surgery is scheduled for next Thursday the 31st.  This time there will be a team of 5 doctors (hematologist, anesthesiologist, ear-nose-throat specialist, plastic surgeon & surgeon) that will work to remove a 6x6x9 cm tumor.  They will only be able to remove part of it and the remaining may be treated by the proton therapy.

And so with all of this, I ask for you to be prayers warriors with me and my family.  I ask that you pray for safety, for steady hands for the surgeons, for His hedge of protection around our family from satan's attacks... for peace, joy, trust, faith.  Most of all, above all else, that His glory would be magnified throughout this circumstance.

"But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed"! - Isaiah 53:5

Entirely His,
Joshua