June 12, 2014 -- Please Pray for our Hospital Extravaganza Tomorrow!

Calling all prayer warriors to please be in prayer for us tomorrow morning. . . we will be spending four hours or more at the children's hospital having all the preparatory tests, consults, and appointments for the major back surgery scheduled currently for June 30th.  We will start with a new x-ray of Hope's spine and then meet with the back surgeon before proceeding with the rest. . .

Hospital visits are always hard on Hope, especially when there will be lots of poking and prodding, tests, blood work, and a lot of talking about something that is still very scary and unwanted for her. . . the back surgery.  Hope has been a trooper as we've sought the Lord on her behalf for His wisdom and leading over these last 2 weeks.  We did make a deal with her though to limit our talking about the back surgery to just during prayer, family talks/decision making, and doctor appointments.  This has given her some reprieve from hearing about it all the time, and instead focused on only the necessary discussion of it, and of course, and most importantly, leaving it with the Lord in prayer.  Hope trusts the Lord in this, but she is still quite convinced that she should not have this back surgery.  So, please pray for her as she endures an emotionally and physically exhausting day tomorrow at the hospital, and trusts the Lord, her parents, and doctors to make right decisions for her future!

We have been researching and receiving information for the last two weeks.  Thank you to everyone who has been so kind to take time to help us by sending information, possible links, referrals and such!  We have not been able to find any similar cases to Hope yet, but we will continue that search.  We have however, been able to gather some information that has helped us to feel prepared for this appointment with the surgeon tomorrow.  We sense the Lord leading us towards postponing the surgery, but tomorrow's appointment, x-ray and chat with the surgeon will be crucial in this decision.  We are praying, dear ones, that God would radically change the surgeon's heart to be on the same page as we are, to postpone the surgery, for good reasons specific to Hope's unique case!  This seems like a very big request due to the last appointment we had, however, we believe that God can do this and that He will lead us through the wisdom that He will give this surgeon.  So would you please join us in praying over this man and his heart and mind. . . we are trusting God to do a miracle of putting us all on the same page as to what is best for Hope!

We so desire to see God perform works of healing for our precious daughter. . . in fact, my fleshly desires would have it at the top of my wish list!  Psalm 37:4 says, "Delight yourself in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart."  To delight ourselves in the Lord is to place our desires under the will of God that His Kingdom might come and that His will shall be done on earth as it is in heaven!  So by God's grace and power at work in us and changing us from our own fleshly desires as Hope's mom and dad, we desire to see God at work in people's lives above all else. . . including our own. . . as this is His will!  So rather than just go in tomorrow and demand what we feel is best for our daughter, we are praying that God will go before us and change this dear man's heart to be in line with the will of our Heavenly Father for Hope's life!  There are many things that we see God doing, even over the past 2 weeks, and have faith that He will lead us as we meet the surgeon tomorrow!

Thank you so very much for all your prayer, precious Scriptures and words of encouragement over the past couple weeks!  We look forward to sharing with you soon how God continues to be at work in and around us!  You are so very loved, dear ones!!!