Well, the Lord does answer prayer

I did a dumb thing last night. I prayed for something I didn't really want.

"Lord," I prayed/sighed, "if you really want me to go to the gym in the morning, wake me up at 6:30. But I'm setting my alarm for 8:00."

I didn't really want to go to the gym, which is why I set my alarm for 8:00-- much too late to make it to the gym, work out, then come home and shower before work. What a tragedy.

But no. At promptly 6:30 this morning, I woke up, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed (relatively speaking). Most mornings at 6:30 I groggily hit snooze on my alarm clock, but this morning I was surprisingly awake.

"Ugh," I thought, "I don't want to go to the gym. My bed is nice and warm. But I did pray that prayer last night... Dang it."

So I went to the gym. It seemed like I would be directly disobeying God if I didn't-- after all, I had asked Him to wake me up.

"Hey, God, tell me to do something that's really good for me!"
"Ok. Hey Stephanie, do something that's really good for you."
"No thanks."

Recent Update

Here is the most recent update I have on Kassie, the girl who was in a bad car accident the first week of school. I have paraphrased and summarized from a newpaper article from her hometown.

Last week, she spoke for the first time in six months. Her first word was "mom."

Right after the crash, Kassie was put into an induced coma since her brain was swelling so badly. She had 3 surgeries in November, at which point they eased her off the medications. Kassie became progressively more aware; she was able to watch people as they spoke. Kassie has been at a Kaiser in central/northern California at a full-time rehab center. She's re-learning how to move and speak, but she is making daily progress. She can now slide into a wheelchair by herself, identify pictures, and add some numbers. She can identify her friends in pictures, and remembers her pets.

However, she has to be cared for 24/7. And the hospital bills have been staggering. In one hospital alone (she has been in four), the charges are almost $1 million. Kaiser is only paying a quarter of this. Kassie's parents have been put into a tight spot because they are unable to give her the care she needs as they work to try to financially stay afloat.

So obviously much prayer is still needed for the family. Though they rejoice at Kassie's progress, many tough decisions and situations lay ahead. Thanks in advance for your prayers!

Oh, and if you want more specific info, comment me... I feel weird putting her personal information (hometown, last name, fund etc) down in my blog. =)

Another Update on Kassie

Campus Pastor, Mark, reports from Kassie’s mother that yesterday the doctors removed the drain tube from Kassie’s head, inserted a feeding tube to her stomach (to bypass throat and esophagus irritation) and performed a tracheotomy (to allow the throat and esophagus to mend). Kassie remains in a coma (which is allowing her body to heal). All of these are seen as positive steps in Kassie’s recovery.

That is the email I got today. Keep praying!

Update on Kassie and Scarlette

If I give out pertinant information, I guess I should follow up with updates, huh? =)

It seems that Scarlette is coming back to school in the next few days.

Kassie had more surgery last Sunday afternoon/evening to work on her brain. They were having difficulty controlling the swelling and bleeding of her brain, and had to take out part of her skull to make way for the swelling. Since then, however, she has been taken off antiinflamatory (sp??) medications and has received a feeding tube. To my knowledge, she is still unconscious, but doing better considering. Most of her family is still here, though a few had to go home for a couple days to take of some things.

Though she is still in critical condition, it's looking up for her at this point. Continued prayer is obviously encouraged and appreciated. Thanks!

Pray!

Last Thursday night, two freshman girls from our campus got into a car accident. The passenger was ok, but the driver was severely injured as she was T-boned by a lifted pick-up truck. She was in surgery for a few hours post the accident, and has been in a drug-induced coma the last few days to allow the swelling in her brain to go down as well as help the rest of her body to heal.

As I type this blog, she is in surgery yet again. I am told that this is pretty much the 11th hour for her- she's in pretty bad shape. Please pray for Kassie right now, for her healing and recovery. Especially pray for her family, though, because they are dealing with so much. I'm sure they are struggling with so many questions and emotions. Pray that God will send His comfort in exceptionally large doses at this time.

Kassie's friend, roommate and passenger Scarlette is bruised and a bit banged up, but she was released from the hospital only hours after the accident. She went home for the weekend at least, and I have not heard whether or not she will be coming back to school. Flashbacks are common in these circumstances, so we have been praying that those will not occur. Please pray that she would have comfort and peace, and that she would have a strong support system from both her family and friends, and that if she comes back to school those who interact with her would be given wisdom and strength in how to uphold her.

Our school community is pretty shaken up by this, even though most of us didn't know her. She had only been here for a week, so many of us didn't have the chance to meet most of the freshman. We had a 2 prayer vigils a couple nights ago, one of which was taped for the 11:00 local news. The local community is aware of what has happened, and has been able to see the school's reponse. We hope that our faith in and love for God can shine through to the local community throughout all of this. Though it is hard to grasp sometimes, "God works all things together for good to those who love Him."