Prayers Requested

Let me tell you about a friend of mine named Lisa. (No, not me)

Lisa Carr lived in Bluefield, Virginia, until about a year ago when her family moved to Searcy, Arkansas, so her husband could take a position with African Christian Hospitals. In Bluefield they were about an hour away from our church's location; but Lisa, her husband Tom, & their children Betsy, Jamie & Mary, worshiped with us in Blacksburg. (They have an older son, Jesse, who was at Harding.) They are amazing people, incredible really. She & Tom taught our young marrieds class for a little while, & I loved the insights they shared. I never traveled the hour to Lisa's house, but when I saw her each Sunday, I immediately felt at home. I don't know if it's a special bond just she & I shared, or if everyone Lisa comes into contact with goes away feeling the same way I did. She manages to avoid chit-chat & get deep into conversation, even when you only have a few minutes to talk. When you're talking with her, you feel like her eyes are able to see deep into your soul & know if you're dealing with hurt or pain.

After Derek was born nearly 2 years ago, Lisa & her family somehow adopted Derek to "their pew" almost every Sunday. If you think that this was mostly Lisa's idea, however, you'd be wrong. The entire family, a family that by all appearances gets along really well with each other, fought over who got to hold Derek. He was almost always asleep when they (very reluctantly) returned him to me after services. Lisa, Mary & Betsy, even Tom, shared stories about the cute things he did while they had him.

When they were going to be moving back to Searcy, our congregation held a farewell potluck for their family. I had printed & framed a poem that was special because of how it reminded me of them & the friendship we shared. I tried to share a few words about the Carrs at the potluck, talking about how difficult it was to see them go but how wonderful the reunion in heaven would be. I was barely holding it together when I glanced at Lisa & her red, teary eyes, and then I lost it & couldn't say anymore. Thankfully Tom took over & shared his own farewell words to the congregation.

Well, I love sharing memories about people that are special to me. I love sharing a little of them & my love for them with the people who read this blog. But that's not the only reason I'm telling you about Lisa. I am asking for prayers for her because she has just been diagnosed with cancer. You know, you hear about people like Lisa being afflicted with cancer & you want to question why in the world it has to be them, what good could it possibly do for them to suffer from a disease or maybe worse, dying from a disease. And yet, people like Lisa are the most equipped to handle the pain and suffering, the questioning that inevitably pops up. She doesn't want to leave her children, her husband, her friends. Yet she is so confident that should the worst happen, she WILL be graced by their presence once more, and this time for eternity.

We are praying for healing. We are asking that God will heal this woman of her cancer. So if you would join me in that prayer, I would be really grateful, & Lisa will be very blessed. She starts chemotherapy tomorrow. She thought she would be starting it next week & was surprised when she realized it was this week, so she is not quite mentally prepared for it. If you would, please pray for her to get through tomorrow, and then that the rest of the treatments will produce results.

Thank you all!