"Praying for Our Children with a Genetic Condition" new today at Servants of Grace


"My husband’s and my shock and sadness over one child’s diagnosis was magnified by another life-altering phone call a few weeks later. Scott rushed home from work to join me on our front porch where I haltingly conveyed the pediatrician’s message that two more of our (then) four children also carried the most serious form of alpha-1. Sounds of children playing in our neighborhood filled the silences as our hearts overflowed with grief and sorrow.
"As Christians, Scott and I believe in prayer, but the enormity of our situation felt suffocating. Between gut-wrenching sobs, I whispered to my husband, 'How do we pray for God to heal three of our children?' Embedded in my question was the assumption that maybe we could ask God to heal one, but asking him to heal three children would be expecting too much. It raised another question, too—what does one pray for someone with a genetic condition?
"Even praying for someone with long-term cancer seemed more reasonable. A genetic condition seemed different. Knowing that a gene mutation was written into our children’s DNA before birth made healing seem impossible.
"Maybe you too are facing a devastating scenario and you’re not sure how or what to pray. God met Scott and me in that sacred moment, and he wants to meet you in your situation too.
"One thing is certain: we’re called to pray. We’re invited to cast our anxieties on God because he cares for us, make our requests known to God, and 'pray without ceasing' (1 Thess 5:17).
"On our porch that afternoon, my husband and I tearfully confessed, cried out, and committed our family to God. Over the past six years, we’ve continued to petition God on behalf of our children. Their future remains unclear, but as Christian parents, one of the best ways we love our children is to pray for them."
Read the full article at Servants of Grace.