"Pray without Ceasing"

[Alternatively titled "Wherein I Break My Own Rule Regarding Blogging About Other People."
I have had a hard and fast rule about writing about other people in great detail on this blog.  Before I write anything too specific about others, I try to remember to ask myself, "Were I in this particular situation, how would I feel about other people writing about it?" I say this so that anyone reading this particular post realizes that what follows is not a general practice of mine, but I feel this current situation warrants being shared.]

Kevin and Heather live in Edmonton, AB.  Kevin is the assistant pastor at Lighthouse Baptist Church in the city.  Kevin and Heather have been married for five years and have two little boys, Judah - age 2 and Levi - 6 months.  About four weeks ago, Heather began to notice that she couldn't seem to shake what she assumed was a tension headache.  Over the next two weeks, her headache became more persistent and stronger.  She was started to have trouble finding words to complete her thoughts and was saying nonsensical things.  By Tuesday, November 15, her headache had become so severe that she began to vomit, and Kevin took her to a walk in clinic on the morning of the 16th.  The Dr at the clinic sent Heather to the U of A hospital for a CT scan.  This scan revealed that Heather had a 7 cm tumour on her left front brain.  On November 19th, she underwent a 5.5 hour craniotomy to remove the tumour.  Heather came through the surgery very well, with no seizures, infection or any of the anticipated complications.  She was released from the hospital on November 24th and has been recovering from surgery at home.

The official pathology results from the tumour lead the Dr's to diagnose Heather with Astrocytoma, Stage 4. Humanly speaking, the prognosis for Heather is not favourable.  The Neurosurgeon who performed Heather's surgery indicated a median survival rate of 15-18 months.  Heather has an appointment tomorrow (December 8th) to determine treatment options.

Yesterday, Heather developed another headache. Kevin took her to the ER last evening, where she had another CT scan and was given painkillers and anti-nausea medication.  The Neurologist who reviewed the scan this morning found some things that cause concern.  Currently, Heather is waiting to have an MRI to hopefully get a clear picture of what is going on.

Please, please, please pray for Heather.  From a human standpoint we want to ask for complete healing, that God will remove this cancer from her body, and that she will be here for many more years to be with Kevin and to raise their boys.  God is omnipotent and a God of miracles, and works all things out for our ultimate good and His glory.  An excerpt from Kevin's announcement regarding Heather's condition to the church family says:

"God always wants what is best for us and is a good and loving God. He also has the power and ability to prevent every evil thing from happening to us. The reason evil exists, and the reason that God allows bad things to happen to good people is because He wanted us to have the choice to obey Him freely or not, and in Adam, we all chose the path of sin by nature from birth. Jonathan Andre’s death, Jack and Nancy Arlia’s son’s murder, Heather’s cancer – all of these things are a direct result of sin. God allowed all this to unfold because in making a way to redeem us from this path of sin, He brings incredible glory to Himself and demonstrates His incredible character and glory!"

So pray for Heather, Kevin and their families.  Pray that, in glorifying Himself, God will continue to give Kevin and Heather peace, that He will continue to show them grace, give them comfort and lead them through this valley gently.

"But may the God of all grace, who called us to His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a while, perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle you. To Him be the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen." - 1 Peter 5:10 & 11