While on the Race, when you are faced with emotions of loneliness, hurt, pain, or discomfort, are the times when “homesickness” has the opportunity to set in, the longing for normalicy, comfort, pain to be alleviated. Yesterday I was faced with the opportunity to run away into my mind, hoping to numb the discomfort, or run to my Father upon entering the hospital I was admitted to.
It was certainly hard being away from home when I was told I would have an IV put in and blood taken too (this is the same girl who passed out when losing her first tooth, think about how I handle a needle puncturing in…), and having no clue what’s going on inside of my body causing the pain that I was in.
I started off being homesick in that moment, but then God asked me, well what are those comforts exactly that I was missing that He couldn’t provide me with? He told me to ask him for that comfort and peace and he would give it, to make Him the first thing my thoughts run to in those times of uncertainty, pain, loneliness. He then responded quickly to my prayer and gave me comfort, gave me peace, and knocked me out in a solid sleep to temporarily avoid the pain I was experiencing. He also provided me with a loving teammate who told me stories while they were shoving needles in me to take my mind off of it, who stayed in the hospital with me the entire day comforting me, talking to me, and letting me rest. He provided me with a clean room that had a bed, AC, and knowledgeable doctors and staff who correctly diagnosed, gave proper medication, and used clean needles on me. He provided me with ministry hosts who knew where to take me that was safe, and transportation to get there.
During this time, he also used it as an opportunity to let me intercede in prayer on other’s behalves who have it unimaginably worse, many of whom don’t even know our Father- one little boy in particular kept coming to mind. Last month in Thailand we did caroling in the hospital on Christmas Day and one room we went to was a children’s cancer room. This room was not the cleanliest, and the nurses I was observing with this boy in particular were very rough, going through the motions, and didn’t seem very concerned about the little boy at all. The whole while he was hooked up to a million different things, bruises all over his body, arms strapped down to the bed, pee coming down both legs, crying out in constant pain, stuff coming out of his nose & mouth, flailing his legs around (he was an older child maybe 6 or 7). It was Christmas Day and he had no family anywhere in sight sitting with him, loving him, or comforting him. When I walked over and rubbed his head and leg, he tried swatting me away as if he wasn’t used to any kind of comfort.I was able to pray over him then, and The Lord led me into prayer for him again yesterday- he proves how he can always make what was originally our agenda, into His kingdom minded agenda! So as you pray for me throughout this Race, please pray for that little boy too!
Love you all!!
