"The cords of death entangled me,
the torrents of destruction overwhelmed me,
The coils of the grave coiled around me;
the snares of death confronted me.
In my distress I called to the LORD;
I cried to my God for help.
From his temple he heard my voice;
my cry came before him, into his ears."
Psalms 18: 4-6
As I have mentioned previously, shortly after Kaylee was diagnosed with Crohn's disease, the children and I began to gather every night and pray for her healing. Another thing, which I have not mentioned in previous blogs, is that we would also pray for every person that we knew of personally who had Crohn's disease. I still remember, and my children can probably still recite, the names of those we would lift up in prayer every night: David, Jill, Donald, Scott and Kevin. From the onset, I never felt right asking God to do something for my child while leaving others to suffer. I never believed the healing I was praying for was only about Kaylee. This is the reason I am writing this blog today and the reason I feel called to share our story. As God began to give me answers (which I am about to share in the upcoming blogs) I always felt that He wanted me to share this with others. I always knew that my child was just one of many who were suffering with debilitating disease. Watching Kaylee struggle throughout the years has only intensified my passion for the sick.
Many people have been willing to acknowledge Kaylee's healing today, yet some are not happy about the fact that I want to offer this same hope to others who are sick. This is really hard for me to comprehend. I can honestly say, that from the moment her healing came, my passion has been to spread the good news of hope to everyone! I can't understand why anyone would want to proclaim what God has done for them if it is not available for others also. It is my deepest heart's desire to see people healed, and I truly believe that this passion has been placed on my heart by God.
When my son, Barret, woke from his diabetic coma last summer, and we told him the bad news about his diagnosis, one of the first things he said to me was, "How long do you think it will take for God to heal me?" Although I was terribly shaken and struggling in that moment (I did not want to go through this a second time!) there was no way that I was going to say anything to him that might hinder this child-like faith. He had already witnessed Kaylee's miraculous healing, and for him, it wasn't a matter of if he would be healed, it was a matter of when. I wish that I could pass on this same pure mentality and faith to everyone who is reading our story. I truly believe that God wants His children delivered from the bondage of debilitating, chronic disease!
It took me a couple of weeks to settle down, once Barret was released from the hospital, and to get my faith back to where it needed to be in order to start again. I truly understand the fear and doubt associated with believing for a miraculous healing! Yet I have to tell you, that from the very moment we began to implement all of the things that God had shown me for Kaylee, Barret's blood sugars regulated overnight. Within a couple of weeks, he no longer needed insulin with meals, and he has remained this way for over a year now. The doctors will call this a "honeymoon" period, which can sometimes occur when the pancreas gets a break (because of the insulin injections) and temporarily starts producing insulin again. We were told that a honeymoon cannot last because the immune system is continuing to target and attack the pancreas. Even so, we know that this turnaround came the day I started fasting, and because we know that there is no way to really differentiate between God's healing touch and a "honeymoon" (for now), we continue to praise God for every day his pancreas is working! We also continue to pray every night for complete healing, just as we did with Kaylee. Barret is faithful to come to my bedroom and ask to pray, even on the nights I forget. I know that this has to be pleasing to God! The rest I have to leave in His hands.
....During the last couple of years, leading up to Kaylee's healing, I honestly felt that I let Kaylee down in many ways. I was overwhelmed and did not know what to do anymore. Yet amazingly, God's timing still remained in place (perhaps because of the many prayers I had lifted up for all of the years prior). Although God had been urging me to fast for nearly two years, He knew exactly how long it would take me to come around. He had been able to get my attention just at the right time. I committed to start my fasting every Friday in the month of January 2008. I had no idea how critical my obedience was for what God had already set into place.
When I made the decision to start the fasting, I still had no idea this had anything to do with Kaylee's healing. I think that perhaps because I had prayed and believed for this healing for so long, I couldn't bring myself to believe it was finally about to happen. There was definitely a part of me that still believed God was going to heal her one day, yet another part of me was full of doubt. (If I ever come across as being inconsistent, unsure or lacking in confidence, it is because I most definitely was throughout much of this time!) It is important to me that people know this because I don't want anyone to think that Kaylee's healing came because I walked this out to perfection. I had my moments of trust and strength (especially in the beginning) yet I had some very weak moments as well.
Toward the end of December 2007, Kaylee's condition had deteriorated to the point where I knew something drastic had to be done. Finally, I approached her one night and had a talk with her about what our next step should be. As much as I wanted to believe for this healing and as much as I knew that she wanted it to come, I also knew that we couldn't ignore the fact that she was getting progressively worse. I told her that we would either need to get back to a serious diet or that we would need to go back to the doctor and find out what our options were. I left it up to her to make this decision because I knew that at her age (17) I was not going to be able to control things in her life much longer. I felt that it was time for her to begin to take things into her own hands and to hear from God herself.
These diseases (Crohn's, Rheumatoid Arthritus, and Celiac's) were now shutting down nearly every area of her life. Her education had been put on hold indefinitely. Her growth and development were being affected as well. We were truly at a desperate place by the end of the year 2007! (8 years after her diagnosis.)
After giving it some thought, Kaylee decided that she wanted to try Jordan Rubin's diet, from the book "The Maker's Diet." Kaylee had already been taking Primal Defense, which was a probiotic formulated by Jordan Rubin, but it was no longer enough. We decided that we would wait until the first of the year to begin this diet so that she could enjoy the holiday season. This was going to be an intense 40 day diet that was going to require a great deal of time, planning and money. We had to get ourselves prepared in every way.
We didn't jump right into the diet when January arrived because much of what we needed was not available in Auburn. I was going to have to sit down and make a list of what we needed and then drive to Birmingham before we could get started. We also had to get ourselves motivated because it was going to be a full-time job.
The first Friday of the month of January came, and I fasted throughout this entire day. That same night, however, I was visiting with a friend and something came up in our conversation about someone who had been cruel to me for a very long time. We began to talk about this person and the unkind things that had been done (to both of us). A few minutes into our conversation, I felt convicted and these words (from Isaiah 58) came to my mind: "If you will do away with the yoke of oppression, with the pointing finger and malicious talk...." ....I knew that I had just blown my first day of fasting.
It was very disappointing to know that I had spent that entire day fasting and that I had messed it all up at the end. Even so, it wasn't a wasted day because I had just learned a valuable lesson right in time. The very next Friday, January 18th, was the day God needed a perfect fast from me. This day had been set aside and "written in His book" long before any of this ever came to be. (Psalms 139) ....this would be the day when our miraculous healing and deliverance from the pit would begin!
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