After an okay night of sleep and a fairly uneventful morning (a huge answer to prayers) with some visits from family and friends and a new bed for me (thanks Tony, Cara, and Donna!!)...the wheels have fallen off. Kate was feeling what she described as cramps, and after being monitored for about 30 minutes, the nurses called in one of the doctors because of more regular contractions. The doctor checked Kate's cervix and she has dilated to 2-3 cm. So we are back down on the labor and delivery floor, and Kate is back on magnesium. Sadly, we are fast becoming pros at this. We know she is going to get warm, throw-up, lose the ability to walk by herself and keep her eyes open...at least on the higher dose. The same doctor (a new face to us) said that they will be checking Kate again in about 1-2 hours to see if she has dilated any further. He said that if she gets to 5-6 cm, it is time to throw in the towel and deliver these babies. He said they would not deliver the babies until the entire neonatal unit is assembled. Kate and I are terrified. We just wanted to recharge our batteries after a long week, and now we are talking about delivering the twins again. When is this going to stop? We know that God is here, we know that He is in control, we know He loves us and our sons...but we can't feel it right now. The next step on this path is unknown.
Lord, we want to feel in our hearts the things You promised...that You would never leave or forsake us. We know these things with our heads...we need to feel it in our hearts. Make Your presence known so that we can feel that You are in control. It feels like things are heading the wrong direction and we desperately need to feel Your arms around us, and especially around our little boys. Send Your angels to protect them Lord. Hold Katie firmly in Your arms. She needs Your strength to fight these contractions again and weather the side effects of the mag. I am continually praying the words from a Mercy Me song that has meant so much over the last number of days:
Hold Fast
Help is on the way
Hold Fast
He has come to save the day
What I've learned in my life,
the one thing greater than my strife
Is YOUR grasp
So hold fast
Lord we need to feel Your grasp. We are holding fast...so come to save the day. You have taken us to a place where the doctors are perplexed, they are on plan E and cannot figure Kate out. Step in God. Work a miracle that cannot be described as anything less than a "God thing". We are scared Lord. I know we will look back on this time and realize that there was only one set of footprints in the sand because You were carrying us through these trials...but we want to feel that now. Not later. Take Your eyes and Your guardian angels from me...I will walk this alone...but carry Kate and our boys. Let me go and hold them tight. You have calmed greater waters, and higher mountains have fallen at Your hand. So calm these waters and carry Kate and our sons safely to the other side of the mountain. The contractions have become painful for Kate and she is so scared. Carry her to a safe place where she does not have to be scared. Tell her You are near and hold our boys in Your mighty hand.
Lord God of heaven and earth - We beseech you in this late hour to be with Kate and Mark and to protect both of them and those precious babies. Whatever they are experiencing right now, we pray that above all they will be surrounding by Your presence. Lift them up and carrying them through this time. Lord God, we NEED You to show your presence.
ReplyDeletePRAYING for you Mark and Kate...I will pray on and off all night. Thank you for sharing with us and allowing us to be part of your story. You are being used by God and touching many hearts as you hold true to God's strength and mercy. Praying for health and a safety for your precious boys.
ReplyDeleteLord I believe in You, I put my trust in You, though I can't see you with my eyes deep in my heart your presence I find, Lord I believe!
ReplyDeleteTry and take comfort in these words of promise - You are NOT alone! Lord - give Kate the strength she needs to fight the side effects of the mag (again) - keep her from dilating any further and touch her from the inside out to stop the contractions - keep those babies in their mother's womb and in your hands Lord. Give Mark peace and comfort... reveal your miraculous plan and give them all the rest and calm that only You can provide. Lord over all let their FAITH be greater than their fears!
Now is the time to Let Go and Let God!
Almighty God,
ReplyDeleteWe pray for the unmistakeable presence of your Holy Spirit tonight...at this very moment...with Mark, Kate, and the twins. May they feel a peace that can only be You. We surrender this to You. We thank You for the gift of medicine (that has come from You), but now we need only Your power and deliverance. Show us Your Glory oh God, for Your children are on their knees. To God be the glory. Amen!
My heart aches for the four of you. I pray for a miracle. I pray for grace no matter what. I don't get it, and I hurl fist-fulls of WHYs on your behalf. He is good, I know this to be true, but sometimes feeling that goodness seems impossible. Feel your feelings--all of them--with no guilt or shame. He understands and he does not judge. He simply holds you. You are all abundantly loved.
ReplyDeleteLord of the universe, we cry out to You in desperation. We claim your promises for Kate, Mark, and thier 2 sons. We trust that You WILL carry them through this storm and we ask that Your Presence would be KNOWN to them today in a very real, undeniable way. Your ways are not our ways, O LORD, we CHOOSE to put all our trust in You today. We know that those who hope in you will not be disappointed. Hear our prayers, Heavenly Father. Stop Kate's contractions. Astound the doctors and nurses. Continue to breathe your life and health into these precious boys. Show Your glory in this situation, LORD. We're trusting YOU for a miracle! May YOU be glorified!
ReplyDeleteOur Father in Heaven, please hold Mark and Kate in your arms and hold them tighter than you ever prayer. Please keep those babies safe in her womb and show us your love through miracles. On our knees praying for you guys!
ReplyDeleteTHIS IS THE DAY THAT THE LORD HAS MADE, LET US REJOICE AND BE GLAD IN IT.
ReplyDeleteFather God we come to You with joyful hearts for a new day filled with hope as we patiently wait in anticipation for Your divine intervention. Again we ask that today be an uplifting day for Kate, Mark and their sons. Carry them close to your heart and show them your way. Please dear God of mercy lift their spirits, show them compassion and your never ending faithfulness. In God We Trust. Amen.
Ah, Lord God, You have made the heavens and the earth by Thy great power. NOTHING is too difficult for Thee! What comforting words. Yet, there are times when words just don't do the trick. During those times, and now is one of those times, we have to CHOOSE to praise our Almighty God for the situation we find ourselves in, whether it makes sense to us or not. One songwriter/singer states, "I will praise You in this storm..." after what he thought the Lord was going to do did not happen. Another song says, "when I'm found in the desert place....when there's pain in the offering...Blessed be the Name of the Lord!"
ReplyDeleteFather God, You who are completely perfect and totally trustworthy, I bring this young family before You and praise Your Name. It was Your hand that created these little lives. It is Your Hand that is sustaining them. We do not understand why these things are happening, but because You are perfect and trustworthy, we can rest in You. Use this hospital stay and this blog to reach others for You. May Your Name be glorified in everything.
I lift up Mark and Kate in their anxiety and pain and ask for Your calming presence, both physically and mentally. I ask that they will feel the many prayers that are being offered to You on their behalf, and be comforted in the presence of other believers.
Thank you, Almighty God of the Universe, that You desire a personal relationship with each one of us! What a joy it is to know that You hear us when we pray.
Take our head knowledge of You and turn it into heart knowledge, as Mark has requested. I lay these many requests humbly at Your feet.
"Be still and know that I am God". Ps 46:10 Yes God, You reign. Glory in the highest, You reign!
Mark and Kate, you are being held up in prayer by many people you do not know to a God you do know. Do not become discouraged. He will provide everything you have need of. Praise His Name!
Psalm 139: 1-18
ReplyDelete"O Lord, you have searched me and you know me. You know when I sit and when I rise, you perceive my thoughts from afar. You discern my going out and my lying down, you are familiar with all my ways. Before a word is on my tongue you know it completely O Lord. You hem me in behind and before; you have laid your hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too lofty for me to attain. Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there. If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast.
If I say "Surely the darkness will hide me and the light become night around me" even the darkness will not be dark to you, the night will shine like the day, for darkness is as light to you. For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.
How precious to me are your thoughts O God! How vast is the sum of them! Were I to count them, they would outnumber the grains of sand. When I awake, I am still with you.
"Be still and know that I AM". God knew this day before he made it and you. He knows your path and the days ahead. HE is holding you even when you feel He is far away.
ReplyDeleteLord, I ask for great wisdom for these doctors....help them to find a NEW way to treat this today...give them a NEW plan to keep these babies growing. Help them with NEW wisdom for this trial. Put an idea in their head that they have never thought of before and help it to WORK!
Lord, give this family an overwhelming sense of peace today. I ask that you would come over Kate's body with your presence. That you would calm her soul, calm her contractions, calm her spirit. Help her to breath deep into you Lord. Help her to speak out what she wants to see for you know our words are powerful.
Lord we rebuke the devourer that wants us to take our eyes off you and we tell him to flee. Lord we know that fear is from him not YOU. Lord bring peace, bring calm, bring wisdom and answers.
We praise your Almighty name and lift you up.
In Jesus name.
Holly Heeres