i reposted my story about her - written a year ago ... ... thank you for your prayer ....
Maria and me (i'm the one with the long hair!), taken in 1969 have i ever told you about one of my sweet little sisters? no? well i guess today is the day ...
we'll call her Maria in my blog ... she is the first of mom's children from her second marriage ... my brother and i thought she was just the cutest baby ever born ...
Maria was also the most mischievous little thing!
she wanted to experience every aspect of life ... to explore ... to travel ... to meet new people ... and more than once, some of these activities got her into a real pickle of a problem ...
but i totally fell in love with my little sister in those early days of taking care of her ... and it broke my heart when at the age of 3, she became a diabetic ... it was before the time of disposable syringes ... the needles seemed huge & heavy ... her little body seemed so small and fragile, as mom would inject the insulin into those tiny little arms ... we all soon learned about insulin reactions and diabetic shock ...
maybe this caused Maria to want to live, love, and experience everything life afforded in such a driven way ...
did i also mention that diabetes is an unforgiving disease? unlike the saving grace of God - diabetes is unforgiving and without grace, or many second chances ...
over the years, Maria has slowed down considerably ... the disease taking over and ruling everything except her sweet spirit ...
i spoke with her this morning ... she tried to catch her breath, as with drug slurred speech she described her doctor's visit yesterday ... she is retaining so much water that her heart is having a hard time keeping things going ... she is pretty well house bound and losing her vision ... she is slowly losing her life too ... she just turned 41 last week ...
Maria is one of the bravest and sweetest women i know ... but for the sake of honesty and not to make her out to be a saint, she has also lived hard and wild - only to return again and again into the waiting arms of Jesus - who has unconditionally saved her soul ...
i feel so very sad this morning as i think of her ailing body ... yet i do rejoice that her Hope IS in the Lord ... and that Hope won't disappoint ...
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort; who comforteth us in all our affliction, that we may be able to comfort them that are in any affliction, through the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God.
2 Corinthians 1:2-4
19 comments:
Aw Saija, that is a cute picture. That is so sad about Maria. Thank you for sharing with us. I pray the Lord will take away the pain, make her comfortable, and touch her with His healing hand. I will keep praying for her and for you and the family, dear. Hugs and blessings, Saija ~
Dearest Saija,
Yes for sure I'll be praying for Maria, it's not fun being in pain I know. I pray the LORD will take way her pain so she can at least be comfortable...and stay strong, Saija, God will see you through this. All the Pals will be praying too. Keep us posted.
Love and many prayers,
Little Montreal Girl
Oh my, this is so sad and so hard. I will be praying for Maria, and for you.
i've stopped by today to check on you and found myself so moved for maria. i will add her to my daily prayer list. grace.
Sorry to hear about Maria being so sick. She is so young to have so much wrong.I will be praying for her.
Dear Saija,
I will certainly lift Maria up in prayer.
She's lucky to be loved by her sister and by God.
Now I pray for his mercy and healing.
( as always I pray for leo and you too)
Yours Felisol
Sorry to hear about your sister. I know about diabetes because my daughter is diabetic. I'll pray for Maria
Father, my heart aches with Saija right now as she hurts for her sister. I would echo her prayer for comfort and spiritual strength as she walks this very difficult part of her journey. Thank you for the obvious love that you have given them as sisters. Thank you for making them family. Now, assure Saija in the depths of her heart that you are Maria's father, that you will not leave her and that your love is lavish unto her and your grace abundantly sufficient for all she faces. Thanks for hearing and answering our prayers.
Dear Saija..I never knew about your sister.
I came down early in this morning and saw your earlier post of Sept 30.
Just a while ago I saw Little Montreal Girl's comment on my blog, about the sad news of your sister.
I will pray for her too. She must be in so much pain.
And you, yourself must be feeling that pain for her. That's what big sisters do!
Praying for you and Leo too...Love Terry
My dear Saija,
I am so sorry to hear about your sweet sister, I know she must have suffered so very much... during these years she has been battling Diabetes... I am praying for her that she will be relieved of hr pain... and that if it be the Lord's will be relieved from some of the terrible symptoms that come with the disease...
I continue to hold you and Leo up in my prayers also.
All of these beautiful comments echo what I'm feeling. I will be praying for your sister, that she will fill the comfort of God's love and healing touch.
cathy ... thank you for your prayer ... today another sister and my step-dad went to see her ... tomorrow my brother is planning on going ... and my mom will be there next week (she is up north at the moment) ... we don't want to over due our time there - we want her to rest & feel more comfy!
lil mtrl girl ... thank you ... we keep praying that she is "comfortable" too ... though OF COURSE we would rejoice with HEALING ... but her comfort and lack of pain is #1 on my list too!
antibk ... i so appreciate your prayer ... maria has had a rough few years ... the doctors say her life will be short, but i so want her to feel comfortable and be as pain free as possible ... until that day ... we have thought a few times that she would die, but she seems to rally ... she has such a strong will to enjoy whatever life she has!
sara ... thank you for praying for her ... she is married (husband #3) but i'm not sure if maria's health is his #1 priority ... we pray for her husband too, that he would do that which is in maria's best interest ...
barbara ... she has had a very checkered life ... bless her heart ... but she does love the Lord, and was so moved when she heard that the children in a christian school (where my niece & nephew go) were praying for her ... this EXTRA prayer from so many areas of the world will make her days more comfortable ... and keep her safe ... thank you for praying ...
felisol ... thank you ... i am so heartened by everyone's comments and prayer support ... it really makes a difference and if my sweet little sister can be more comfortable during this time in her season of life - then it will be a witness to all who observe & see the prayer going up for her!
mari ... that diabetes can be so devastating ... i hope your daughter is as healthy as my other diabetic sister - she is incredible! and maria, who is 18 months older than her, has such a struggle ... it is so important to take care of these bodies God gave to us ... thank you for your prayer ...
tina ... Amen! yes Lord, just touch this sweet child of yours, and make her comfortable ... i pray you keep her safe, in You ... let her days be a witness ... let Your POWER be on display ... in Jesus name ... bless you tina ... and thank you for praying for maria ...
terry ... she has lived with pain for so long, but she also has neuropathy and rh arthritis, which gives even more pain ... thank you for praying ... i so appreciate it!!
mimi ... thank you so much for uplifting us in prayer ... i'm so glad that leo is feeling better ... now my prayers are sent on maria's behalf ... it has been difficult to see how ill she looks and how hard even feeding herself has become ... never mind anything else ... her comfort has been my prayer these few days and will continue to be my prayer ...
pat ... thank you for prayer ... and all these comments has lifted my heart ... the Lord does things in His time, but i keep asking Him to make her more comfortable and to keep her safe ...
Praying..praying..
Deby
I join all of your friends in prayer for maria, for you, and your family. God bless you.
Physical ailments never stop, do they? (sigh) I'll keep her in my prayers. How's Leo doing, the weather changing is tough on him, isn't it?
Prayers are coming your way for your sister... These are hard times for many of us... sigh... but we can be so grateful for knowing the One who helps us through them... Blessings, Debra
Adding my prayer to yours...may God's tender mercies...be her comfort and stay.
Yes, Saija, I will pray for Maria also. I prayed for a relative of yours yesterday, I didn't know a name.
Today I know who by the a.k.a. name, Maria. God knows all along who we are praying for, even when we forget a name or just have the 'feeling' we should pray.
I did see about this first for the Pals post, a minute ago.
..
Deby ... thank you!
rita ... i appreciate that so much!
jeanette ... i guess that is why we look forward to our heavenly bodies! these earthly ones have a limit to them ... thank you for your prayer!
debra ... thank you ... i think we all go through these seasons, don't we?
maggie ann ... i appreciate that so much, thank you ...
jim ... the Lord has been so good with the prayers of many - thank you!
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