[__ Prayer __] Verna's health

[Christ_empowered]

Me, yet again.

Verna's got some health problems. I understand that health problems become more of an issue as one gets older, and Verna is in her mid-70s. I "get it," at some level, but...

...I want her to be healthy and whole, and I want her to have a good quality of life, too. At this point, she's been dealing with kidney infections that either do not respond to antibiotics, or respond and then...return, with a vengeance. She was in the hospital for 5, 6 days not too long ago, and they gave her IV antibiotics. Once she was released, she was sent off to an outpatient doctor, who prescribed yet another round of oral antibiotics....

...and all signs point towards her --still-- having an infection, right now. They've done some kind of culture for her...basically, from the way she described it, its a 2-step process. 1st step is determining if there's an ongoing infection. Step 2 is figuring out what sort of antibiotic(s) might be appropriate.

I am thankful that modern medicine has an array of antibiotics and such available for Verna and countless others. Really, I am. And I am thankful that God's work in her life is such that she's lived a good, godly life, and she now lives in a good home she and her beloved deceased husband bought together, and she's living off his pension and she even has excellent health coverage through his former job, where he was a godly, dedicated employee. God has been good to Verna, and He was (and is) good to Ronnie. I am thankful, trust me.

Its just..well, she's probably the 1st --real--, geniune, bona fide friend I've ever had, in my entire life. The Lord put her in my life before I even got saved (that was and is a miracle, in and of itself..), and she's taught me so much about life, friendship, faith, etc., and I am thankful for that, too.

The health issues, her struggles with family problems, her obvious grief over losing Ronnie (don't get me wrong; by God's grace, Verna has handled the whole thing quite well...)...the whole thing is beginning to touch my heart, in a big way. I guess this is what genuine friendship is all about?

OK. I've rambled quite enough, LOL. I ask that you pray for Verna, please. I understand that death is a part of human life, here on earth, and that Christians have eternal life in Christ...or at least, I'm getting there, gradually.

I just pray that God will move mightily in Verna's life, at all levels, according to His will. My preference, of course, would be a quick prescription of some easy-to-tolerate, incredibly effective antibiotic, family reconciliation, and decades more of a quiet, godly, comfortable life. But...

...ugh. This is where it gets rough. His ways are higher than --my-- ways, that's for certain. Not everyone lives to be 100. Not all Christians' families embrace them, even in their old age. I'm beginning to get that, now...perhaps this yet another step in growing up, as who I am and who I am becoming, in Christ Jesus (?).

I don't know. Sometimes, honestly, I wonder if maybe Verna's time here on earth is coming to a close. There are good people in the world, still, and good people in churches, too, but...the world today is so different from the world she grew up in, lived in, etc. Am I being...pessimistic, maybe that's the word...by thinking that if its God's will to take Verna home soon, maybe it would be the best thing for her?

OK. Now, I really --have-- rambled, entirely too much. Please pray for Verna, and that The Lord will move in all aspects of her life, body included. Thanks.

 

[KevinK]

Prayers away.

 

[Eugene]

Brother Christ_empowered, what a blessing Verna has been, and continues to be to you. She has left an inheritance to you that has no price but the shed blood of Jesus for you, but its benefits will endure forever for you and her.

I do pray for her, as well we all should, but do not count the things God is doing in her life of no importance; it may be these very things that allows her to qualify to be in the bride of Christ. Php 3:8.

Reading this thread, I can see the growth you’re experiencing in grace and knowledge of our Lord Jesus, and I can nearly be assured that Verna sees it also.

 

[Christ_empowered]

thank you ((and of course...a big thanks to those of you who read and/or pray for verna, my family, me, etc., but don't always post replies...)).

Verna's been an absolute godsend in my life. Its funny...she worked in a pscyh word, briefly, doing administrative stuff, in the 80s after her divorce from the 1st husband. She told me that the screams from the shock patients and the general cruelty and...ugh...typical psych stuff, basically, got to her, really quickly, and she quit. Thankfully, it was just a weekend shift, for some extra $$$, and she kept her usual job.

So, when I finally got the point where I could tell Verna about my psych stuff, she was more than understanding and unbelievably compassionate. At the same time, she's a solid, old school Christian, so she tells me things I need to hear, such as reminders that perfect love casteth out all fear and that I have, in fact, been washed+made clean by Jesus Himself, so there's no point in rehashing things time and time again. That's how the mental health world works, not how God works.

Clearly, God put her in my life to bless me on my way to The Cross and during my walk with The Lord. Her love, compassion, support, friendship, genuine Christian wisdom...wow. To say "she's made a difference in my life" is on the one hand (obviously) true, and on the other hand...such an understatement of her impact on me, as who I am now and who I am becoming, in Christ Jesus, that it borders on an insult of sorts.

Ugh. Mortality. To die is gain, to live is Christ. I think that's the verse...obviously, I'm paraphrasing. When Verna talks to me about her grown offspring--both of whom used her modest resources and now won't even speak to her--and I think about her health problems, I get...I don't know, exactly. Not exactly angry, more than little bit frustrated, very genuinely sad, and...disillusioned. There we go...good word, right there: disillusioned. Its an essential part of growing up, especially for me.

This world is not our home. I was always a misfit, then labeled a "loser," then utterly destroyed and called a "weakling," etc. Verna...always worked, made decent wages, praised The Lord+loved The Lord, did her utmost best by people who did her wrong in return and...well, God --has-- been good to her. Really, I mean that. Verna's becoming something of a role model for how to be in the world, but not of it...for me, at least. She's stayed with older people on their death beds, without compensation, without even a hint of complaining...because she loves Jesus. Her beloved 2nd husband, Ronnie, was a devoted Christian, also...the way she talks about their nearly 27 year marriage, I can see the love of God in their lives. They didn't have kids together, and their kids have all gone seriously astray, but...The Lord gave them each other for almost 27 years. Verna took incredibly good care of Ronnie during his long struggle with cancer. She's struggled with her own anger and frustration at seeing what doctors can do--horrible, expensive, unnecessary procedures--to good people in need of compassion and quality care.

I'm not at all into theology now, and I'm rapidly losing interest in almost all political ideology. Thanks to Jesus (1st and foremost, of course...), and also thanks to Verna, I see that...Jesus saves; why not me? I'll never know if I actually "made a decision for Christ" or if God chose to save me, TULIP-style. I am saved, now, washed+made clean, made increasingly, remarkably, amazingly...whole. Flawed, prone to sins and sin patterns, work-in-progress, etc., but...forgiven, saved+set free, nonetheless. And why not me? Why not...anybody, really?

OK. Yet again, I have rambled, entirely too much. Please continue keeping Verna up in prayer. Last night, I prayed for Verna's adult offspring to reconcile with her, sometime soon, and for her wayward grand-daughter to get saved before Verna leaves the world. And then...it dawned on me; maybe it was God putting some clarity in my heart+mind, maybe it was just general maturation, but I realized: well, welcome to "the real world," circa 2017. Jesus saved Verna a long time ago, and she's been (and still is) a light unto a dark and dying world for decades, thru trials and tribulations of all sorts. She talks now and then of her "other children," misfits and lost souls she's spoken to, taken an interest in, facilitating The Lord's work in their lives, and I'm now so proud of her. And yet...

...well, we all live in a Fallen World. By God's grace, I'm now (miraculously) a Christian. Verna has been and continues to be a genuine, authentic friend, and she's poured into my life in many ways. Her own children may never repent, may never even speak to her again...and there's not much anyone, especially me, can do about it. At all.

Ugh. Now, I really --am-- finished here, for now. Thanks again for reading, the replies, and--of course--the prayers.