Prayer Requests and Praise Reports

My friends Dawn Eden and The Raving Theist have called for prayers of gratitude for Heather Miranda of Dundee, Scotland. Through Beyond Morning Sickness (www.beyondmorningsickness.com) Heather has counseled, comforted and assisted scores of women suffering from a debilitating pregnancy-related disease called hyperemesis gravidarum — a disease which triggers unrelenting vomiting, extreme weight loss and dehydration, and often leads to termination if the mother lacks sufficient support. Despite her hectic schedule as a mother and a music teacher, Heather has devoted time every day to writing and calling mothers-to-be and insuring that their needs are understood and met.

Heather’s efforts have been literally life-saving. Apart from the advice and comfort she has offered from her own experience as a hyperemesis survivor, she has been instrumental in arranging for improved medical care, home care, supplies and even housing for the women and their families. So many of these hyperemesis victims would have lost their babies if not for this compassionate and dedicated stranger reaching out from thousands of miles away.

If you know someone suffering from hyperemesis, please refer them to the Contact page of Beyond Morning Sickness so that they may take advantage of a volunteer like Heather and the other resources the organization offers.

Father, thank you for Heather and for the lives of those she has helped to save by your grace through your Son Jesus Christ. Mother Mary, pray for her and all those suffering from this illness.

Another reader writes:

A friend needs prayers. She was hospitalized with some rather severe stomach problems, which are complicated by longer-term health issues. In spite of having a rough couple years in her health and personal life, she has been a wonderful and supportive friend to my wife and me throughout this time. The last update we heard, she seemed to be stable, but it’s difficult to get timely news living in a different city. She’s not religious, but she could certainly use and appreciate prayers from you and your readers.

Father, hear our prayer for this woman that she be healed completely in body, soul, and spirit and that she come to know your Son Jesus Christ. Give skill and compassion to her caregivers and peace, grace, and consolation to all who love her. Mother Mary, pray for her! We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Finally, a reader writes:

I wanted to email you back to update you and thank you again for your prayers. The past week has been a very spiritually fruitful time, one of the most spiritually fruitful times of my life and I owe you many thanks for this. Not long after sending this email last week, it felt as if a dam had broke in heaven and a river of graces has been flowing into my life ever since. I can’t thank you enough. I have never been more convinced of the power of prayer.

Its hard for me to describe my interior experience in the past week but the biggest grace has been the realization and acceptance that my vocation and specific purpose in life is still an open question. Its a long story and without going into great detail, the short of it is that about a year ago, I began to feel a strong draw towards religious life and I began to seriously consider it. Being the impatient person that I am, I quickly concluded that this draw towards religious life was God’s way of drawing me into a greater detachment from my own will (which it was) and that in the end, marriage was still God’s plan for me. Even after making this conclusion though, my attraction to religious life has continued to grow and grew to an overwhelming intensity this past week. As I have continued to process this and pray about this, while seeking spiritual direction, I know there is still a lot of discernment to go. I now realize though that I had been looking at the situation entirely the wrong way and that I need to start over.

So…please keep praying for me. 🙂 And please, if there is anything I can pray for you too, let me know. I know that the environment that I am in now is not good for discernment and am still praying that I am offered this job in Denver. It most likely would be a much better situation for the time being at least while I continue to pray on what God wants for me. I am going to Denver for an interview next Monday (Nov 28).

Thanks again friends. God bless you and Happy Thanksgiving!

Thank you, Father, for working in this man’s life. Grant him the job he seeks through your Son Jesus Christ. Mother Mary and St. Joseph the Worker, pray for him. Amen!