Always Faithful

Dear friends,

Thank you for being so patient with me and my lack of updates once again. Since I last wrote, I came down with a cold/cough which had me fighting in a different way for a while, but I have come through most of it now. It was a wonderful opportunity to realize how much God has blessed me in keeping me from “normal” sicknesses. This was probably only the second time I’ve had a cold in the past year!

Praise report! Last time I updated you regarding the struggle I was having with the acid in my esophagus. Well, God has graciously lessened the severity of this issue, and I am so grateful! I know your prayers played a significant role in it. It continues to play a part in the overall picture but nowhere near the level it was a few weeks ago. And my swallowing difficulties have also improved.

The daily battle has grown more difficult lately as my body struggles to digest the foods I eat. A few weeks ago, I removed raw dairy from my diet due to a concern raised by the CDC that it might present too much of a risk for my body right now. As much as I would love to be able to handle pasteurized dairy, it is more difficult to digest due to the good enzymes that are destroyed during the pasteurization process. I am hoping to try introducing pasteurized goat kefir and yogurt in the weeks ahead. In light of this change, I’ve had to rely heavily on rice products and almond butter in order to meet my calorie minimum each day, and my body is no longer tolerating these well. I’ll spare you the details, but the hardest part is that, beyond the digestive distress, it is resulting in a significant amount of brain fog, disequilibrium, weakness, mood issues, and a host of strange symptoms. It has grown more difficult to get out of bed each morning, and it is particularly difficult to keep eating the foods that aren’t working , while at the same time realizing that if I don’t my weight will slip backwards again.

At the moment, I am consulting with a few nutritionists and hoping that we will be able to come up with some other options for foods I can tolerate better while still obtaining the necessary calories.

How to pray:

• That God would be magnified in my weakness and inability.
• That I would cease from striving for control and protecting myself and instead live fully surrendered to the Lord, trusting Him to meet ALL my needs and to be my Shepherd, Provider, and Father.
• That He would keep me in His perfect peace causing all fear to flee.
• For faith to believe His promises and cling to Him at all times.
• For wisdom and direction on what foods to eat and what supplements to take.
• For faith for whatever plan I am given and for the ability to carry it out.
• For grace to keep taking another step and to get out of bed each morning and trust God to carry me through the day. I am often more focused on how hard the road is rather than on His promises.
• For healing for my digestive system and whole body.
• For the ability to tolerate pasteurized goat kefir & yogurt (really helps with meeting my calorie goal).
• Ability to gain more weight and to eat even when feeling bad.
• For wisdom regarding when to begin a course of antibiotics and the ability to swallow the tablets and eat enough with it.

Thank you all so much! I look forward to sharing with you how God works in the days ahead. He is always faithful!

And He said to his disciples, “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat, nor about your body, what you will put on. For life is more than food, and the body more than clothing. Consider the ravens: they neither sow nor reap, they have neither storehouse nor barn, and yet God feeds them. Of how much more value are you than the birds! And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? …Instead, seek His kingdom, and these things will be added to you. - Luke 12:22-25, 31

We cannot guess in which way deliverance can possibly come to us, but the Lord knows, and He will lead us till we shall have escaped every danger. Happy are those who place their hand in that of the great Guide and leave their way and themselves entirely with Him. He will bring them all the way; and when He has brought them home to glory and has opened their eyes to see the way by which He has led them, what a song of gratitude will they sing unto their great Benefactor! Lord, lead Thy poor blind child this day, for I know not my way! - Spurgeon