Hurting Hearts

As wonderful as life is, and as abundant as God's blessings are, there are times when sadness is so overwhelming. I have so many people on my mind and my heart who need serious prayer. The first little guy is Luke Sexton. Luke was born last week with Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome, just like my London, and he is fighting for his life. God is using Luke and his parents, Benson and Kristin, in mighty ways already. Their faith and trust in His plan is amazing. You will be blessed by reading their blog at http://www.lukesexton.blogspot.com/. Please pray for Luke!!

The other little guy who is on my heart is David Elliott. David will be a 3rd grader at my school. On Sunday, July 4, David and his mother - along with other family and friends - were on a boat, and one of the adults thought they would let David drive the boat. I don't know the whole story, but somehow, the boat slammed into a dock, and David's mother endured traumatic injuries and died. David and his family moved here due to the military, his dad is a doctor, and his mom stayed at home with him. David is an only child, and his mom dropped him off and picked him up every day from school, volunteered at school, etc. They were best buddies. My heart is absolutely broken for this 7 year-old child. Not only is his best buddy gone, but I fear that he will feel guilty for wrecking the boat and causing his mother's death. Who will take care of him? How will his dad adjust his schedule to meet his needs as his mother did. Who will do his laundry, cook him dinner, run his bath water, kiss him goodnight. I know his daddy can, but his mommy is gone - forever. I am so sad. Please pray for this child and his family.

Another person on my heart is Rhonda Shrader. She is an acquaintance of mine who helped me so much when London died because she had also lost an infant daughter. Also, Rhonda's mom is our 'mail lady' at school. Rhonda has a healthy daughter and son, but in between them, she lost a daughter. Last year, she became pregnant with another baby girl, Carter. Long story short...at 20 weeks, Rhonda and her husband learned that Carter had holes in her heart and possibly chromosomal abnormalities. Later ultrasounds were encouraging because the holes were healing, and Carter seemed to be doing fine. They knew that when she was born, she would either need heart surgery immediately or at a later time because she still had a hole in her heart, but they were prepared for that. Tragically, it was determined that Carter had Edward's Syndrome (Trisomy 18), and she passed away.

Rhonda survived losing one baby. I mean, after all, that could take a lifetime. But...how in the world does a mother endure losing 2 babies? What in the world do I say to her? What do I say to her mother when I see her at school? I absolutely cannot imagine going through the horrific loss twice. My heart aches for her and her family. Will you pray for her?

Thank you so much for taking the time to lift these individuals up in prayer. There are many others who need prayer as well for so many reasons. Sometimes, all we can really do for someone who is in the deepest valley is pray for them and trust that God will meet their needs. He hears our prayers, and He comforts the broken-hearted.