Faith, Healing, and Prayer...

⁵ Now when Jesus had entered Capernaum, a centurion came to Him, pleading with Him,⁶ saying, “Lord, my servant is lying at home paralyzed, dreadfully tormented.”

⁷ And Jesus said to him, “I will come and heal him.”

⁸ The centurion answered and said, “Lord, I am not worthy that You should come under my roof. But only speak a word, and my servant will be healed. ⁹ For I also am a man under authority, having soldiers under me. And I say to this one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes; and to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.”

¹⁰ When Jesus heard it, He marveled, and said to those who followed, “Assuredly, I say to you, I have not found such great faith, not even in Israel!"

-Matthew 8:5-10

     It is hard to watch a sweet soul sedated when you are used to, every so often, having your heart pierced by her beautiful eyes.  Prayers have been spoken on her behalf and many have been answered, thank you Lord!  We were prepared for this time of waiting, but you never know how hard it is until you are caught in the middle.  Thankfully, Celia is beginning to be slowly weaned off of her sedative medications and her breathing support has been decreased.  Soon enough, our Little Fighter is going to wake up and we will see her spunkiness again!

     Today another amazing doctor and his resident promptly came in to talk with Julya, as she requested.  He ensured Julya that we should remain positive because Celia is just like any other baby born with gastroschisis.  He has studied her charts.  (Why are we worrying? Lord, forgive us! )  He is going to look into another TPN that Julya researched and see if Celia is able to take this version that may be easier on her liver.  Amazing.  This doctor came in with such an uplifting spirit that it brought tears to weary eyes.  He sweetly checked Celia's abodmen, talked to her as he was doing so, and even commented on her beauty!  Thank you, Lord, for this uplifting blessing that you have sent today.

     We have seen healing in Celia's intestines as they kept their pink color in the silo and into Friday's surgery.  Bowel sounds have been heard.  And today, Julya noticed that Celia had two soiled diapers.  We are not sure if this waste has come from her colon or small intestine (where we want to see more funtction).  It was only a little bit and not quite the dark, grassy green color we are looking for, as is seen when the small intestines are functioning, but it is a good sign!  We have faith that God has had His hand in this progress we are seeing.

     ^22-25 Jesus was matter-of-fact: “Embrace this God-life. Really embrace it, and nothing will be too much for you. This mountain, for instance: Just say, ‘Go jump in the lake’—no shuffling or shilly-shallying—and it’s as good as done. That’s why I urge you to pray for absolutely everything, ranging from small to large. Include everything as you embrace this God-life, and you’ll get God’s everything. And when you assume the posture of prayer, remember that it’s not all asking. If you have anything against someone, forgive—only then will your heavenly Father be inclined to also wipe your slate clean of sins.” -Mark 11:24-27