Health Update/Kylee

dear prayer partners,

i need you. please interceed. these next weeks will be hard, possibly more so than the last few. pray for our community----we have experienced several deaths lately (mostly extended family of affiliates, as well as two affiliates) and much sickness (mostly minor, but exhausting/lingering illness). we are tired and broken. there is such potential for deeper community to be forged among us... will you hold us up in prayer? i can not tell you how thankful i am for you... a few years older than me, one of my closest friends passed away unexpectedly and shortly after giving childbirth yesterday via emergency c-section (due mid-april). she leaves an incredible husband, twin five year olds, a 2.5 year old, and a healthy newborn. they are mentors to me, the people who have taught me most about god ever. kylee and matt....i'm sure you've heard me mention them. i babysit for them when they go to small group on mondays, have done so weekly since june. i love each member of their family deeply. i found out kylee passed away last night and have a mix of deep crying and pain, almost numbness with no tears, and joy in remembering her silly dancing, incredible parenting skills, deep compassion and selflessness, the incredible way she could speak into people's lives to encourage deeply and specifically/ point out lies we believe in a gentle yet authoritative way because she knew truth/believed that god is real and who his word says he is. i have never met anyone like her, with that mix of mercy/compassion and wisdom/prophecy. they need your intercession.

pray that i will not withdraw from the community here as i grieve and that i will not stuff down the pain. perhaps, too, that will get a lot of crying done today, as i have a minor, outpatient surgery scheduled for tomorrow (friday) to correct a nasal fracture and am "not supposed to touch my nose even to blow it" for a week until the follow up appointment. sounds tricky to do when you're crying. :0) i also have a precautionary/let's just chat appointment with a neurologist on the 26th. these events are follow up to events occuring late march 3/early march 4 when i had food poisening/diarreah/vomiting/passed out twice and fell and hit my head/passed out six more times in the next two hours/had a panic attack (heavy breathing/thought i was shaking a lot)/went to the ER. though i have mostly been sleeping/resting since then, i am slowly returning to work for a few more hours each day....made it up to a half day yesterday. praise for friends who have stuck by me and shown me jesus in profound and life-changing ways, for experiencing his presence and love in so many ways, for finances to cover unexpected costs, for extremely gracious and encouraging coworkers/boss/flexibility with time off. pray for continued physical and emotional healing---god continues to teach me about helplessness, security, submission, humility, fear and trust, etc. there are some HUGE strongholds in my life that he is breaking in these life-changing weeks; the battle is intense.

these verses have stuck out to me since the beginning of the year, and i have them written on a markerboard in my room. every time i look over there they seem to apply. so is the case again:

"for i am poor and needy, and my heart is wounded within me" --ps. 109:22

"he brought them out of the deepest gloom and broke away their chains."

ps. 107:14 will you bring (me, them, us) to a place of abundance? (ps. 66:12)

you do not abandon the work of your hands (ps 138:8)

love,
joanne