My 12- year- old neighbor, Sasha, has experienced occasional headaches the past several years. Corrective lenses haven’t helped as the headaches increase in frequency. Most people wouldn’t know. Sasha’s usually smiling, full of life and love, often ready to sing a song or play a game.
So, last week when she called from school complaining of eye pain, her mom quickly took her to the pediatric opthalmologist. From there, she was sent to the pediatric hospital at Jackson Hospital in Miami.
After many tests, the physicians determined Sasha has a defect in the circulation of blood in her brain. This defect has been causing the headaches and has the potential to worsen. A 2- day brain surgery with 6 specialty surgeons is the prescription. Sasha is now home while the surgeons coordinate schedules with one another and the hospital.
What does Sasha, the parents, siblings, friends and neighbors do while waiting for surgery to be scheduled and then executed? These are hard things.
Through my many years of nursing I’ve learned love is very powerful to heal relationships, physical and emotional problems and yes, even defects in the brain. So, I’m calling on Jesus to surround Sasha with his healing, loving presence.
Sasha’s mother asks for you to pray for Sasha’s healing as well as God’s peace, hope and comfort in the waiting. I agree with God’s promise below from Philippians.
He wants us to honestly tell him our worries and needs, literally hand them over to him. Then, and only then is it humanly possible to thank him before the results are seen and have true peace. Focusing on Jesus Christ’s resurrected life for Sasha, instead of the problem, is what guards my mind from worry and keeps me in a place of peace and hope for Sasha.
Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. If you do this, you will experience God’s peace, which is far more wonderful than the human mind can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.(NLT: Philippians 4: 6 – 8)