Friday, May 18, 2007




Praise the Lord for He is GREAT!

We did not have one single hitch in our insurance approval for Dr. Jones at UCLA (for those of you who know anything about our story so far with insurance and doctor hassles, you know that this is a feat only the divine could handle). I have spent literally three hours a day on the phone fighting doctor's offices and insurance companies for weeks at a time for each procedure Jordan has had done. I have had complete meltdowns, crying on the phone with these people who refused to help me and who had no clue what they were doing. We have a case manager now who is helping us through this and a pediatrician's office who gets things done.

Okay so get this! The minute I got the approval for little Jordan Joy to see Dr. Jones I called his staff to set it up. The woman on the line said the soonest she could do was July 12th! That is two months away and from what I've read, there could potentially be a timeline that these surgeries need to be done by. What if we wait two months to see him, he can't do it and we have to start all over again? Not possible. She connects me to another woman in his direct office who puts me on hold. While I'm on hold I'm returning emails, surfing the internet, etc. Finally it dawns on me...Sarah Cox, at my shower did a devotional on 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 "Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus." She camped on the verse - "pray continually" which means to pray persistently (imprudently, urgently, with audacity, earnestness, boldness and relentlessness - taken from John MacArthur's Bible Commentary) for the big things and the small things. I decided to start praying right then, on hold, for an appointment next week. The first thought I have is, "Maybe I shouldn't be greedy. I should probably just pray for an appointment sometime next month. I should probably just pray that we will get an appt. sooner than the July 12th appt." But NO, I started praying specifically that God would give us an appointment NEXT WEEK, knowing that would be next to impossible with this doctor's schedule.
Can I just say that you will all need to be praying for Dr. Jones' wisdom and discernment next Wednesday morning at 10:30???!!!! Yes - we have an appointment for next week.

This alone may not prove the power of Christ to you (who do not believe) but I am telling you as one single example of God's divine and loving hand in our lives. Constantly throughout our struggles with Jordan, God's gifts of compassion and mercy have been evident. These are the tangible benefits of a relationship with our Creator in the same way that our JOY and peace through the difficult times are. Again, I'll restate that our Joy in Christ does not guarantee that we'll be without trials and sadness (obvioulsy) but that our hope lies in much more than this life and also the fact that He is in every detail of our days.

I'm going to continue praying that every person reading these blogs will someday, in this lifetime, see God as their Creator and Jesus as their savior. When you do, be sure to email or call me to share the blessings in your life too.

Thank you for reading this and for always supporting and encouraging us!

Jen

5 comments:

Gaylyn said...

Jen,
Thank you for sharing the power of persistent prayer and faith with us.
After Bible study last week I too have been convicted on my weak prayers(knowing God can do anything, but does He really want to?) Ridiculous!
So happy to see what a light you guys are being through this trial!
Your baby girl is beautiful.
Lord, may you use Jordan Joy in a powerful way for your purposes!
Gaylyn

FlutePrayer said...

I work with Donavon at APU and have been following Jordan's progress closely.

Thank you for taking the time to keep us posted. I was especially encouraged in my own faith by your latest news. God bless you all!

Anonymous said...

I am rejoicing with you just hearing the way God blessed your faithfulness to pray specifically Jen! What a beautiful encouragement to each of us of the attentiveness and power of our Sovereign Father. Thanks for sharing this great story with us (I needed this reminder to pray continually too). Praise God for giving you the appointment on Wednesday.

love Yvonne

Linda Stover said...

Shannon & Jen -

I am so proud of your consistent commitment to the Lord no matter what! The lord has truly been faithful to both of you. You can see the Holy Spirit working thru your example of peace and rest in him thru this situation.

I will praying for you on Wed and continually for that beautiful bundle of Joy!!

I love you Jen

Linda

Anonymous said...

How Great is Our GOD!!!! Prayer is one of THE most powerful assets we have a christians! We will be definately praying on Wednesday!!!!!