Strong Women

In the midst of these days of discovery, please, Dear God, let me not lose sight of whose power brought me to this point in my life.  Each event (and non-event) of my life has you upon it.  Every choice, every open window or closed door is presented by You, alone.
If God were a puppet manipulated by prayer, I'd be in a very different place.  God listens to the prayers of His people, listens to our petitions for ourselves and others, and answers.  The human condition, however, often does not allow us to see His answers.  If we believe, and I do, that every answer is there and in His time, we will always thank Him for his answers. 
For our own sakes, He answers in line with His plan for good for our lives, turning pain, hardship, distress, disaster to good, for those that love the Lord.  (It is the human definition of good that gets in our way.) Our time and God's time, our understanding of God's action in our lives limits us unless we are engaged in communion with God throughout the moments of our days.
The understanding of Healing can also have human understanding. I read a sermon in a collection of sermons by local ministers, this one being by the then-director of the Church Health Center in Memphis.  God heals and restores, but sometimes, that healing is only found in Heaven, not on earth.
During the short days of this phase of my life, I have seen again and again women battling life-threatening disease.  They are here in Rector, in Memphis, everywhere. Families are upended, turned inside out. Women are praying. Strong women are praying for each other.
I know how God responds and I praise His Name for my own deliverance and his guiding hand in my life.  I also petition His Mighty Hand for the deliverance and healing of these women who are engaged in a battle for their very lives.
God knows who they are.
We just need to pray, unceasingly, with Thanksgiving, Celebration, and Petition.