Good afternoon!
Sorry for the delay for today’s post! Here is an update on my brother’s condition. He is still on a ventilator in the ICU in Topeka, KS, unable to breathe on his own after his motorcycle accident Sunday afternoon. His ribs are broken on both sides, and he has a punctured lung. His injured clavicle and shoulder will probably require surgery. He has extensive facial injuries and stitches, but doctors do not believe he has a brain injury. Thank God!!!
The medical professionals will try to get him off the ventilator again tomorrow and if he is still unable to breathe on his own, they will cut into his throat and insert a tube through which he can breathe. At least he won’t have the tube down his throat anymore—and he will finally be able to talk. He is on a feeding tube, as well.
The immediate prayer request is that he will be able to breathe on his own and stabilized enough so that he can be moved to a hospital in Overland Park/Kansas City closer to where they live. Topeka is 1 and ½ hours from their home.
I have decided to go to Topeka to be with my brother, his wife and kids, and my mother, who just arrived from Maryland. It was a difficult decision to make and it meant cancelling my airline tickets for Pittsburgh and reservations for the PC (USA)’s General Assembly that I was scheduled to attend this weekend through July 7.
Every day we have to make choices. Amen? Some choices seem small and mundane. Other days, we have to make big choices. I always know that God wants me to change my path when I lose my peace about something I had planned to do. I had immediate relief after I cancelled my trip. Now I can focus on ministering to my brother and his wife just being the presence of Christ with them! I have faith that this is what God wants me to do.
Wherever we go, we take Christ with us because in our hearts His Spirit does dwell. We are precious to Him and so valuable to building His Kingdom—just by showing up and being Christ’s presence. You don’t have to be a pastor to be the presence of Christ for someone who is suffering.
Our Romans reading today continues our conversation about the faith of Abraham. Here is an excerpt:
“Hoping against hope, he believed that he would become ‘the father of many nations’, according to what was said, ‘So numerous shall your descendants be.’ He did not weaken in faith when he considered his own body, which was already as good as dead (for he was about a hundred years old), or when he considered the barrenness of Sarah’s womb. No distrust made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God, being fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised.”
Let us all be fully convinced that God is able to do what He has promised! And let us give thanks to the Lord for blessing us with our faith that will lead us into eternity with Him!
Prayer: Holy God, You are able to do all that You desire. Lord, may you desire complete healing and restoration to wholeness for my brother Steve. He is suffering, Lord! Please ease his pain and strengthen his wife so that she may be a support to him during this difficult time. Give wisdom to the doctors and other medical workers who are doing all in their capacity to help him back to health. Forgive us our doubts and complaining, Lord! Forgive us when we fall short of what you call us to do as Christians—being the loving presence in a broken world. Give us grateful hearts willing to serve you all of our days. In Christ we pray. Amen.
Today’s scripture readings are Numbers 16:36-50; Romans 4:13-25; Matthew 20:1-16; and Psalms 101 and 109.
Blessings in Christ!
Pastor Karen
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