Dude-Dastic
Member
Dear God,
I come as an intercessor, as one standing in the gap on behalf of another. I come before the throne of grace this hour to lift up before you a friend of mine, Sheketha Lequet Brumfield.
Sheketha is a loving, cheerful, compassionate, single mother of two who has had her life turned upside down by Crohn’s Disease (CD), a severe inflammatory bowel condition. As it stands, she faces a host of issues as a result of her illness. For starters, CD has affected her ability to absorb nutrients from the very foods You created for man’s benefit, leaving her undernourished and, therefore, physically weak. Sheketha also suffers from anemia. This condition, which occurs when the blood cannot carry enough oxygen to all parts of the body, may be the result of her iron and potassium deficiencies, or it may be due to frequent intestinal bleeding. Either way, anemia hampers my friend’s bodily functions and contributes to her continued ill health.
Pain is yet another offshoot of CD. According to reports, abdominal pain is so intense at times that suffering individuals have been known to commit suicide just to find relief. Well, Lord, Sheketha has been living with such pain for quite some time now, often crying throughout the night as the pain keeps her from sleeping. Sadly, abdominal discomfort isn’t the only pain she’s enduring. Internal and external scar tissue resulting from numerous surgeries and the body’s attempt to fight infection cause pain as well as restrict mobility. In addition to abdominal and scar tissue pain, she is also dealing with the pain caused by rheumatoid arthritis, an autoimmune disorder that causes inflammation of the joints that further restricts movement. With so much pain to contend with, my friend is forced to take daily steroid shots for assistance.
It doesn’t take much to see that this 35-year old woman has a lot on her plate. Inflamed intestines, malnutrition, anemia, rheumatoid arthritis, scar tissue, and the effects they produce – all of which are brought on and/or worsened by CD. My friend’s quality of life has been greatly diminished, and her ability to do has been hindered.
But these are just the physical aspects resulting from CD. Sheketha’s mental state has also been affected. My friend constantly questions why this has happened to her. She took care of herself by avoiding drugs, alcohol, and cigarettes; she ate healthy, exercised daily, and kept her home neat and clean. Beyond this, she has always shown kindness to others in need including those who’ve wronged her. All these good things she did only to receive an affliction. In battling her ailment, Sheketha has had multiple operations, has made various dietary changes, and followed doctors’ orders as best as she could. But look at her reward. Despite her efforts, her situation has only gotten worse. Just about everything she has tried has resulted in intensifying her sickness. She is bedridden. Nausea, fatigue, pain, and other ill feelings are typical of her everyday life. She is too physically weak to take adequate care of herself and household needs. More importantly and doubtlessly more hurtful is that she can’t be there for and care for her children like she wants to. My friend is sick and afraid, yet she can’t let it show publicly so as not to worry her children. Her self-esteem has also suffered a major blow: the multiple surgeriesâ€â€one which resulted in the unnecessary removal of an ovary and another to correct a blockage caused by a buildup of intestinal scar tissueâ€â€have left her bearing the indignity of a colostomy bag and physical scars on her body. She feels like her natural beauty as a woman is being taken away from her. And besides her failing health and low self-confidence, she also bears the burden of knowing that her father, who is battling arthritis along with prostate cancer, is hurting as he watches his beloved daughter fight a losing battle. Her illness only contributes to the spread of her father’s illness and vice versa.
This ordeal has, at times, left Sheketha depressed and antisocial. With all she has done to help herself but to no avail, and with all the problems and complications she is living with, who can blame her for feeling down, Lord? The scalpel, the needles, and the prescription pain medications have not helped her cause. All she has is sickness and lots of questions. Please forgive my friend for being depressed and forgetting her blessings as malnutrition contributes to that. Please forgive my friend for questioning Lord, but she is human. It is purely human to question what we don’t understand. Right now, she’s thinking that things could be no worse had she engaged in drug use, drank alcohol, smoked cigarettes and marijuana, ate junk food, did no exercise, lived in filth, and simply said to hell with everyone else. At least then she’d know that what has befallen her is her fault. But not knowing the cause or the cure for her ailment only adds to her frustration. She’s even wondered if her illness is divine punishment for something she did or didn’t do, for which she has asked Your forgiveness and healing repeatedly in tears. Still, nothing has helped.
What is my friend to do, Lord, when every other thing she triesâ€â€including prayerâ€â€results in intensifying her illness? What is she to do, Lord, when sitting still causes discomfort, when the medicines, even the chemo shots she’s been upgraded to, aren’t enough to stave off pain and the tears continue to flow? What is Sheketha to do when there’s always another setback awaiting her, some health issue that comes along to thwart her efforts and crush her spirits whenever she lifts her head just a little?
This is very unfortunate and disheartening. Not only for her but for all who care about her. We’ve done our research, offered suggestions, purchased supplements, and said prayers on her behalf. We’re trying to help in any capacity we can to lift her spirits and restore her to health. As it stands, we are completely powerless.
Which is why I’ve come to You, o Lord.
The Bible is loaded with examples of Your awesome healing power. You didn’t give the paralytic full use of one limb; You didn’t stop the woman’s issue of blood temporarily; You didn’t give the blind man partial sight in both eyes or complete sight in just one eye; You didn’t give the man with the withered hand use of only a finger. You healed them all completely. You made them whole. Is it too much to ask no less of The Almighty on behalf of my ill friend? I think not.
I lay my friend, Sheketha Lequet Brumfield, and all of her troubles before the altar this hour as she desperately needs Your support. Through her suffering and subsequent unhappiness, those who love and care for her are suffering and unhappy. My friend is all out of options. The steroids used to suppress her symptoms will only lead to further health issues down the road that will probably require more surgery and more drugs. Doctors have judged her condition so dire that the only remedy is to slice and dice her yet again (on 10/16/09), this time to remove her colon and leave her with a permanent colostomy. And even that extreme surgery may not solve her problems. I pray that that doesn’t happen. Lord, I pray for my friend, that You cure her of CD. Not only CD, I ask that you also heal her of anemia, rheumatoid arthritis, painful scar tissue, and malnutrition. I’m not talking about reduced pain and masked symptoms as the drugs do that much. I’m requesting a complete cure, a cure so deep that there’s absolutely no trace of CD or any other ailment in her body. In other words, I ask that you make my friend whole. Whether Sheketha’s issues are based on an autoimmune issue, a genetic disorder, or whatever, I know that YOU can handle it. Please, Lord, give my friend her life back. Restore her to full health and vitality. Return unto her children a loving and caring mother and unto her family and friends the cheerful, quirky, always stylish, and sometimes strange individual that we know and love so much.
I confess that my faith isn’t nearly as strong as You would like it to be. But whatever faith I do have and however small it may be, Lord, please hear my urgent request. Do nt pass my friend by! Please help her Lord. Heal my friend’s broken body and her broken spirit. You said, “Ask and it shall be given.†I have asked. She has asked. Her family and friends have asked. We all have asked and continue to ask. Please Father, hear our cry!
I ask these things and all things, in Jesus’ name. Amen.
I come as an intercessor, as one standing in the gap on behalf of another. I come before the throne of grace this hour to lift up before you a friend of mine, Sheketha Lequet Brumfield.
Sheketha is a loving, cheerful, compassionate, single mother of two who has had her life turned upside down by Crohn’s Disease (CD), a severe inflammatory bowel condition. As it stands, she faces a host of issues as a result of her illness. For starters, CD has affected her ability to absorb nutrients from the very foods You created for man’s benefit, leaving her undernourished and, therefore, physically weak. Sheketha also suffers from anemia. This condition, which occurs when the blood cannot carry enough oxygen to all parts of the body, may be the result of her iron and potassium deficiencies, or it may be due to frequent intestinal bleeding. Either way, anemia hampers my friend’s bodily functions and contributes to her continued ill health.
Pain is yet another offshoot of CD. According to reports, abdominal pain is so intense at times that suffering individuals have been known to commit suicide just to find relief. Well, Lord, Sheketha has been living with such pain for quite some time now, often crying throughout the night as the pain keeps her from sleeping. Sadly, abdominal discomfort isn’t the only pain she’s enduring. Internal and external scar tissue resulting from numerous surgeries and the body’s attempt to fight infection cause pain as well as restrict mobility. In addition to abdominal and scar tissue pain, she is also dealing with the pain caused by rheumatoid arthritis, an autoimmune disorder that causes inflammation of the joints that further restricts movement. With so much pain to contend with, my friend is forced to take daily steroid shots for assistance.
It doesn’t take much to see that this 35-year old woman has a lot on her plate. Inflamed intestines, malnutrition, anemia, rheumatoid arthritis, scar tissue, and the effects they produce – all of which are brought on and/or worsened by CD. My friend’s quality of life has been greatly diminished, and her ability to do has been hindered.
But these are just the physical aspects resulting from CD. Sheketha’s mental state has also been affected. My friend constantly questions why this has happened to her. She took care of herself by avoiding drugs, alcohol, and cigarettes; she ate healthy, exercised daily, and kept her home neat and clean. Beyond this, she has always shown kindness to others in need including those who’ve wronged her. All these good things she did only to receive an affliction. In battling her ailment, Sheketha has had multiple operations, has made various dietary changes, and followed doctors’ orders as best as she could. But look at her reward. Despite her efforts, her situation has only gotten worse. Just about everything she has tried has resulted in intensifying her sickness. She is bedridden. Nausea, fatigue, pain, and other ill feelings are typical of her everyday life. She is too physically weak to take adequate care of herself and household needs. More importantly and doubtlessly more hurtful is that she can’t be there for and care for her children like she wants to. My friend is sick and afraid, yet she can’t let it show publicly so as not to worry her children. Her self-esteem has also suffered a major blow: the multiple surgeriesâ€â€one which resulted in the unnecessary removal of an ovary and another to correct a blockage caused by a buildup of intestinal scar tissueâ€â€have left her bearing the indignity of a colostomy bag and physical scars on her body. She feels like her natural beauty as a woman is being taken away from her. And besides her failing health and low self-confidence, she also bears the burden of knowing that her father, who is battling arthritis along with prostate cancer, is hurting as he watches his beloved daughter fight a losing battle. Her illness only contributes to the spread of her father’s illness and vice versa.
This ordeal has, at times, left Sheketha depressed and antisocial. With all she has done to help herself but to no avail, and with all the problems and complications she is living with, who can blame her for feeling down, Lord? The scalpel, the needles, and the prescription pain medications have not helped her cause. All she has is sickness and lots of questions. Please forgive my friend for being depressed and forgetting her blessings as malnutrition contributes to that. Please forgive my friend for questioning Lord, but she is human. It is purely human to question what we don’t understand. Right now, she’s thinking that things could be no worse had she engaged in drug use, drank alcohol, smoked cigarettes and marijuana, ate junk food, did no exercise, lived in filth, and simply said to hell with everyone else. At least then she’d know that what has befallen her is her fault. But not knowing the cause or the cure for her ailment only adds to her frustration. She’s even wondered if her illness is divine punishment for something she did or didn’t do, for which she has asked Your forgiveness and healing repeatedly in tears. Still, nothing has helped.
What is my friend to do, Lord, when every other thing she triesâ€â€including prayerâ€â€results in intensifying her illness? What is she to do, Lord, when sitting still causes discomfort, when the medicines, even the chemo shots she’s been upgraded to, aren’t enough to stave off pain and the tears continue to flow? What is Sheketha to do when there’s always another setback awaiting her, some health issue that comes along to thwart her efforts and crush her spirits whenever she lifts her head just a little?
This is very unfortunate and disheartening. Not only for her but for all who care about her. We’ve done our research, offered suggestions, purchased supplements, and said prayers on her behalf. We’re trying to help in any capacity we can to lift her spirits and restore her to health. As it stands, we are completely powerless.
Which is why I’ve come to You, o Lord.
The Bible is loaded with examples of Your awesome healing power. You didn’t give the paralytic full use of one limb; You didn’t stop the woman’s issue of blood temporarily; You didn’t give the blind man partial sight in both eyes or complete sight in just one eye; You didn’t give the man with the withered hand use of only a finger. You healed them all completely. You made them whole. Is it too much to ask no less of The Almighty on behalf of my ill friend? I think not.
I lay my friend, Sheketha Lequet Brumfield, and all of her troubles before the altar this hour as she desperately needs Your support. Through her suffering and subsequent unhappiness, those who love and care for her are suffering and unhappy. My friend is all out of options. The steroids used to suppress her symptoms will only lead to further health issues down the road that will probably require more surgery and more drugs. Doctors have judged her condition so dire that the only remedy is to slice and dice her yet again (on 10/16/09), this time to remove her colon and leave her with a permanent colostomy. And even that extreme surgery may not solve her problems. I pray that that doesn’t happen. Lord, I pray for my friend, that You cure her of CD. Not only CD, I ask that you also heal her of anemia, rheumatoid arthritis, painful scar tissue, and malnutrition. I’m not talking about reduced pain and masked symptoms as the drugs do that much. I’m requesting a complete cure, a cure so deep that there’s absolutely no trace of CD or any other ailment in her body. In other words, I ask that you make my friend whole. Whether Sheketha’s issues are based on an autoimmune issue, a genetic disorder, or whatever, I know that YOU can handle it. Please, Lord, give my friend her life back. Restore her to full health and vitality. Return unto her children a loving and caring mother and unto her family and friends the cheerful, quirky, always stylish, and sometimes strange individual that we know and love so much.
I confess that my faith isn’t nearly as strong as You would like it to be. But whatever faith I do have and however small it may be, Lord, please hear my urgent request. Do nt pass my friend by! Please help her Lord. Heal my friend’s broken body and her broken spirit. You said, “Ask and it shall be given.†I have asked. She has asked. Her family and friends have asked. We all have asked and continue to ask. Please Father, hear our cry!
I ask these things and all things, in Jesus’ name. Amen.
