Power in Prayer

I have experienced a lot of challenges in the past two months. I have now spent 17 days since the end of February in the hospital. Here is a “quick” breakdown:

Day 1 – I had to take Ellie to the doctor for a bad cough. She was diagnosed with croup. Later that night, I had to check myself into the hospital for high blood pressure symptoms at the end of my pregnancy. I was sent home with a clean bill of health. Yeah!

Day 2 – The following day, Elliana has a febrile seizure. We spend 5 hours at the ER, but are sent home after Ellie is found to have no infections and is acting normal.

Day 3 – The night after Elliana was in the ER, I go into labor. Our second daughter, Hanna, is born the next day. She is beautiful and healthy.

Days 4-5 are spent enjoying our new daughter.

Day 6 – As we prepare to go home, Hanna has a choking episode and is admitted to the NICU for 3 day observation.

Days 7-9 – Hanna is in the NICU. I am allowed to stay at the hospital with her. We are released on my 32nd birthday!

Days 10-15 – After almost 4 days at home, Hanna is hospitalized for difficulty breathing. They do tests in the ER and discover that she has RSV. She is transferred to the Children’s Hospital and spends the next 5 days on oxygen.

Days 16-17 – Thinking our hospital days were behind us, Elliana has another febrile seizure. She ends up having 5 more the following day, and is taken to the Children’s Hospital for observation. We are reassured by doctors, nurses, and a neurologist that she is fine and they send us home with medicine to give her at the first sign of a fever, or after a seizure to prevent further seizures.

Many of you also know that during this time my mother-in-law was also in the hospital fighting for her life after contracting bacterial meningitis. There were people praying for her all over the world. After being in a coma for over a week, and 4 weeks in the hospital, she is now home and doing out-patient therapy. All the doctors and care givers consistently tell her that she shouldn’t be alive, that she is a miracle.

Throughout each of these challenges there has been one constant: the power of prayer. I know that any one of these days in the hospital could have turned out differently, and I am so blessed by the prayers and faithfulness of those that have been praying. Read more about how to have a consistent, authentic faith walk in Kerry’s post, Coram Deo Living.

These hardships remind me that God is always with me. He is always in control. I am blessed each day that He gives me with my two daughters, my family, and my friends and I know that His ways are best.

In what ways have you seen God work through the power of prayer?