Failing strength and God's mercy

He giveth more grace as our burdens grow greater,
He sendeth more strength as our labors increase;
To added afflictions He addeth His mercy,
To multiplied trials He multiplies peace.

When we have exhausted our store of endurance,
When our strength has failed ere the day is half done,
When we reach the end of our hoarded resources
Our Father’s full giving is only begun.

Fear not that thy need shall exceed His provision,
Our God ever yearns His resources to share;
Lean hard on the arm everlasting, availing;
The Father both thee and thy load will upbear.

His love has no limits, His grace has no measure,
His power no boundary known unto men;
For out of His infinite riches in Jesus
He giveth, and giveth, and giveth again.
--Annie Flint

As Kelsey has shared before, no news is most likely not good news. The last few weeks have been rough. Kelsey has been in constant pain - probably about the only relief is when she is asleep, but when she wakes up, the pain returns. She has had nausea, vomiting, her alignment is way out of whack, and doesn't have an appetite. There have been some dark moments.

And then, there is God's faithfulness and provision. The song above by Annie Flint has been running through my head over the past few days. Monday night was especially dark. Then, on Tuesday, an incredible ray of hope - I met with a very caring Ph.D. who has been seeing some amazing results in his research. I apologize for the vagueness, but starting Saturday, Kelsey will be a part of a "clinical trial" (which is not a traditional medicine clinical trial) which shows amazing promise. Exciting and hopeful, but at the same time a bit overwhelming to Kelsey. She is already taking in so many different supplements - orally and through IV and the thought of adding something to the regimen is a bit overwhelming especially with her continual nausea and vomiting. Then, we have seen an incredible outpouring of care and love as people have jumped onboard in helping to support the holistic treatment that Kelsey is doing. That does not even touch the outpouring of care and love from special friends to put together a website for T-shirt sales, helping send out T-shirts, offering days at the salon when proceeds are donated to Kelsey, and selling Kool-Aid, cookies and granola. We have only a small picture of the outpouring of prayer that is constantly going up to God's throne on our behalf. Chalk up yet another example of God's added mercy, multiplied peace and full giving of grace.

The fight continues. There will be dark times, but we pray for those moments when we experience His grace. How can you help? Number one, continue praying - specifics below. There are also opportunities to give and tell Kelsey's story through direct donations and purchasing T-shirts. Check out the links on the right navigation bar. On the T-shirt site, you will see other opportunities to participate if you choose to read more about additional ways to support Kelsey and her family.

As we have said multiple times before, healing rests in God's hands. We have seen an encouraging possibility and have come in contact over this week with some wonderful Christian people who offer a new perspective and research to add into the equation. Yet, there is ongoing pain, lack of appetite, weakness, nausea, vomiting, coughing, oh, and did I say pain? Here are some ways you can be praying:

-- Pray for our spiritual health and physical endurance. Pain is a quick way to derail your grasp of truth. Pray that we can all have special times in God's Word and special times in prayer.

-- Pray for rest. With pain, rest is often elusive for Kelsey. It is also the time her body detoxifies most, so she often awakes covered in sweat. Pray that her rest is uninterrupted and sweet even when she wakes three times every night to take supplements and pain pills.

-- Pray for wisdom in treatment. We are hoping that our doctor in Tulsa will be able to speak with this researcher in OKC to figure out which of Kelsey's supplements and IVs should be continued and which may no longer be necessary.

-- Pray that Kelsey would be filled with hope. Thinking of starting another treatment is not appealing to Kelsey, but there seems to be a tremendous upside possibility.

-- Pray for pain relief and for wisdom in how to treat some of the alignment issues that Kelsey is dealing with. Her hip is out of alignment, not only causing pain, but making walking extremely difficult and most positions very uncomfortable.

-- Pray for Kelsey's breathing. She is often short of breath and is not able to breathe deeply without coughing. She often has coughing spells and these coughing spells include coughing up bloody mucous, which is very frightening for her. She is sleeping in a recliner to try to stay more upright. We have purchased a new bed to arrive next Thursday which will hopefully help with the coughing spells when resting.

-- Pray for full and complete earthly healing of Kelsey's body.