Prayers and Support

It is amazing how many people are praying for James. Our hearts are filled with gratitude to know that people care. One thing I have learned through the years is that we need to tell people our problem if we want their understanding and support. Of course not everyone cares to the same degree. As long as we don't expect empathy from everyone, we are usually surprised by how many people actually care, and how deep some people support us.

One of the persons on our list of prayer partners is a brother from another church. Another friend introduced him to me after James' operation last year because he had similar experience. (It turned out I met his wife and daughter on a cruise in summer 2001. What a small world!) I spoke with him and got some ideas about what to expect from vitrectomy, and he was added to my list.

Yesterday, he read my latest prayer requests and wrote back ... maybe he and his wife can have dinner with James and me someday? I wrote and said we had to wait for James to get better and asked whether we could call him and talk. Tonight we called. He and James shared their facts, thoughts, agony, pains and experiences. I listened in amazement. What a relief it is to know we are not alone as we face such challenges.