Brenda Rodgers

Tag: chronic illness

  • This Week’s Praises and Prayers

    The past week has been very challenging for both John and myself. Each day is becoming harder for John, and we are beginning to make some big decisions about whether he needs to continue to work full-time. It is obviously taking it’s toll on him. For me it is very difficult to watch. There is not much more the doctors can do in terms of medication at this point. We are just praying for God’s mercy and provision for us physically, emotionally, and spiritually.

    We continue to thank you, God, for these blessings:

    1. The strength you have given and continue to give John. Allowing his heart to sustain him each day.
    2. Answered prayer for a Godly friend and co-worker for John at work.
    3. Our many friends and families who continue to pray for us each day and encourage us to not give up.
    4. The people we don’t know who have heard our story and are praying for us.
    5. The lives that are being changed, including our own, from experiencing this trial.
    6. The hope, peace, and love we feel from Jesus each day.
    7. The medical care John is receiving.

    God, we ask you for these things this week:

    1. To be with John’s heart donor and his family. For their salvation and that they feel your hope, peace, and love now and in the future.
    2. Please give John strength physically, emotionally, and spiritually. Please help John to breath easier and get the rest he needs.
    3. For wisdom in the decisions we have to make concerning John’s job. That we will not forget that You always take care of us and will continue to do so. That our priorities will be in line with Yours for our life.
    4. That we will glorify You in this trial through our thoughts, words, and actions. That our lives will change so that we can be used for Your service in the future.
    5. For a heart to come in your timing. Of the hearts that become available in the next few months, one will be a perfect match for John.
    6. That our eyes never leave You.

  • Motivation for the Cause

    It seems that everyone jumps on different bandwagons of one type of cause or another sometime in their life. It may be a civic cause, human cause, environmental cause, or animal cause. The list goes on and on.

    I was watching Whale Wars the other night on T.V., and I was amazed at what dedication and sacrifice the people gave for the preservation of those whales. Sometimes I think how goofy it is to sit in a tree so that it won’t be cut down or live on ship to annoy the Japanese so that they will hopefully stop killing whales. I can think of hundreds of “more serious” problems to fight to solve.

    But then my next thought is what if we didn’t have anybody to help with these causes that seem less significant? What if nobody cared about the trees or the whales?

    I think that people’s different experiences lead them to their interests in different causes, and this is something to be grateful for.

    I know that I have seen this in me with my experience with John. I have always been registered as an organ donor. I have never had any problem with giving my organs away when my life is over. However, I’ve never really thought of it much past that. I’ve never thought about there not being enough organs for everyone who needs them or the importance of organ donation.

    I also never thought much about what people do if they don’t have insurance or money to pay for major, very expensive operations that are needed to save their lives. When we were in the hospital, the Financial Coordinator on the Transplant Team gave us information about how to raise money for John’s surgery. She explained that some people have to set up fundraisers to raise money for their transplants.

    It wasn’t until these things affected me personally that I really felt inclined to help with organ donation, fundraising, and even possibly other people dealing with the effects of Cardiomyopathy in their lives. Before I didn’t have any reference point to care any more about it past just checking the “yes” box that I would be a donor. Now that my husband’s life is dependent on a heart donation, I want to shout from the streets, “Please become an organ donor!” or “Help someone who can’t afford one!” It makes me want to jump at the opportunity to support and help with this cause.

    I’m not sure where this will lead me or how yet I can help in the future, but I am motivated to find out. It is a way to use the experience and new perspective that God has given me to bring Him glory.

  • We’re Listed!!!

    June 10, 2010, 11:36 a.m., John is listed!!!

    After a few irritating weeks with the insurance company asking for more and more tests at the last minute, John is finally, officially, on a heart transplant list! We are thrilled and just cannot believe that he is months away of a new heart and a new life!

    Right now, at 4:01 p.m., there are 3,147 people listed for a heart transplant. This is from the United Network of Organ Sharing, the organization that manages donors and prospective recipients. http://www.unos.org/ Now John is one of those people. Our prayer is that of the hearts that become available in the next few months, one is perfect and right for John.

    I have already packed John for his hospital stay. He’s been packed since we got home from the hospital the last time! Now I just need to get packed! We’ve been told to keep our cell phones charged, gas in the car, and be ready at any moment!

    Thank you, God, for this answered prayer!

  • I Asked for It

    One of the biggest gifts my parents gave me was taking me to church from the time I was a baby and reading me Bible stories. When I think about my spiritual journey I have memories of VBS, Sunday School, church camp, listening to Christian music, and reading stories about Jesus. I am very grateful for my parents introducing me to Jesus at such a young age. There isn’t a greater gift you can give your child.

    I became a Christian when I was twelve years old, and it was a genuine acceptance of Jesus as my Lord and Savior. I know this because I have felt the Holy Spirit ever since. However, I haven’t always been growing in my relationship with Christ.

    It wasn’t until I was an adult that I would say I really began to grow and change as a Christian. I remember when I was a teenager and young adult I would pray to God and beg Him not to make me a missionary. I knew enough about God that if He called you to do something you needed to do it. The last thing I wanted to do was live in Africa and be a full-time missionary. I remember specifically saying, “Whatever you do, God, please don’t call me into the mission field.”

    Well, he didn’t call me into the mission field, at least as of yet, but as time has gone on prayers such as these have begun to change. Throughout the past twelve years of my life, from college until now, God has allowed me to go through experiences that have changed my perspective on whose life of mine this really is. My prayers have moved from asking God for specific circumstances that I think will make my life happier and easier, to asking God to make me who He wants me to be no matter what the cost.

    I have thought recently that I should not be at all surprised by the circumstances I am going through with John’s sickness right now because I asked for them. Over the past couple of years I have grown to a place in my faith where I consistently ask God to bring me to a place of utter brokenness so that I can be completely transformed in righteousness. I want to be in a place where I rely completely on Him for everything and every breath I take is for His glory and purpose. I know that this is the only thing that will bring me the peace and joy I seek over and over again here on earth.

    My favorite verse in the Bible is “Search me, Oh Lord, and know my heart. Test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.” Psalm 139:23-24.

    This trial I am facing is God’s answer to my prayer. He is searching me, testing me, and leading me into a place that only this trial can take me. I asked for it, and I am so grateful that He loves me enough to give it me so that I can have peace in being completely surrendered to whatever He has planned for my life.

  • This Week’s Praises and Prayers

    Thank you, Lord, for these things this week:

    1. Our families who love us so much and do so much for us! My parents’ safe trip to NC and all of their help clearing out the backyard. John’s parents’ gifts that are so nice and make things easier for us.
    2. Sustaining John through another week of work.
    3. That this is my last full week of work for the summer so that I can take care of John full time.
    4. All of the prayers people are praying for us especially the ones from complete strangers. That God is using this experience to bring people to Him and creating conversations between Himself and believers and nonbelievers here on earth.
    5. God’s continual voice through circumstances, people, and His Word. Almost daily we receive hope from Him, and we are very grateful.
    6. The health care and insurance we have. John’s doctors and the transplant team. The possibility of a new heart and an improved life for John.

    Dear Lord, please hear these prayers this week and answer them in your will and timing:

    1. That John will feel better and his heart will continue to sustain him
    2. For wisdom about how much longer John should continue working so that his health is not compromised
    3. For provision for us financially and emotionally as we face the months ahead. That we will continue to trust You for all of our needs and know that You will take care of us always
    4. That the insurance company will complete their negotiations with the hospital and that we will be officially listed for a heart
    5. Of the hearts that become available in the next few months, that one is perfect for John and predetermined by You to become the new heart that gives him a fulfilling life so that he can serve You for many more years on earth
    6. That the heart comes in Your timing and will
    7. For the heart donor. That he is a Christian and will experience eternal life in heaven with You. That You will begin now to give him and his family comfort, love, and peace, and that if they do not know You, they will come to know You through this experience.
    8. For the nurses, doctors, social worker, coordinators, surgeons, and psychologists on the transplant team. That You will give them wisdom and guidance when caring for John.
    9. That John’s employer continues to be compassionate and understanding. That people will see this situation through Your eyes.
    10. That lives will continue to be saved by You through our experience and that we will continue to honor and glorify You each day
    11. For peace, rest, and hope that You are in control. That our souls will not become overwhelmed, but that we will remember and rest in Your truths each day.

  • Genesis 50:20

    “You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.”
    Genesis 50:20

    Today I heard the story of Joseph again, and God taught me something new from it in light of the present bondage we feel with John’s sickness.

    Joseph continued to have misfortune throughout his life. First he was sold into slavery by his brothers. Then he was thrown into jail for a crime he did not commit. He remained righteous before God by doing the right thing, but was still punished for it. Joseph, however, continued to see God’s goodness through it all. He never turned his back on God. When Pharaoh had a dream that needed interpreted and heard that Joseph could interpret dreams, he sent for Joseph who was in prison. Pharaoh asked him to interpret the dream for him, and Joseph responded, “I cannot do it, but God will give Pharaoh the answer he desires.” Genesis 41:16

    When Joseph was a teenager he had a dream from God that God would make him into a leader and his family would bow down to him. He interpreted the dream to mean that others would serve him. However, as his life unfolded he came to realize that he had not understood the dream correctly. God was stripping him of everything – all of his pride and self-reliance – to make him into a servant for others. He served while he was in prison and he served when the famine hit Egypt and Canaan. He thought others would serve him, but instead God was making him into what he needed to be so that he could use Joseph to serve others and ultimately to begin to prepare the way for the nation of Israel. “But God sent me ahead of you to preserve for you a remnant on earth and to save your lives by a great deliverance.” Genesis 45:7

    This story is a reminder to me that God is in complete control and that this experience is a part of his marvelous plan. From the world’s view it looks like our lives are hopeless. But if we continue to see God’s goodness and remain faithful to Him through this trial, He will use it for what it’s intended for. We don’t know exactly what that is right now, but in time God will reveal it to us more clearly. We are being brought into the deep valley so that God can raise us up into what He has truly called us to be and what His ultimate plan is for our lives. God had huge plans for Joseph, but He knew that Joseph could not serve Him the way He intended without bringing him into complete reliance on Him.

    Throughout the Bible, God has always been faithful to deliver His people after a period of bondage. John and I are awaiting our deliverance from the bondage of sickness that is plaguing our lives, and we know that God will come through for us. And when we are on the other side, we will be more of what He has intended us to be and able so serve Him more faithfully.

    “for your love for me is very great. You have rescued me from the depths of death.” Psalm 86:13