If you were in my inner circle as God led me on a journey into crisis pregnancy and delivering a special child, you know I believed if God is Who He says He is, then He had all the power in the universe to undo the medical issues that plagued Carly.
In utero, Carly had extra digits on her hands and feet. Some saw, with their own eyes, the sonograms. I have this in writing documented by doctors “ bilateral polydactyly- hands and feet.” When Carly was born with 5 digits on her hands and toes, this was truly amazing. Kathryn, then 9 years old, couldn’t contain herself (as recorded on video). I would tell people this was a miracle, and they would stare back at me blankly. I stopped discussing it. I took an odd gripe right to the top. “God, really, her fingers and toes? Really? Why didn’t you heal that big hole in her heart instead?” He never answered that question.
There were many more miracles along the way. Her primary doctor would tell us to prepare for several days in the hospital, only to be sent home hours later by the ER. She had 3 years with ZERO hospital stays…..unbelievable for a trisomy 18 child… the power of prayer and God’s amazing grace poured out to a tiny ball of love and joy. My final plea, 15 minutes before her last breath, was “Father, heal her or take her, but she is not to suffer.” I waited a minute just to make sure healing was not His answer before I woke Dante’.
God had 7 1/2 years and hundreds of thousands of prayers lifted for our family and for Carly’s health. I know God has the power to raise the dead. I am so convinced He can do it, I told several prayer warriors NOT to pray for that. We let her go. She had fulfilled her earthly destiny. She did more good here than any able-bodied person could.
Eight months after she moved to heaven, I teased and implored God. “Father, with You all things are possible. You could have healed her. You could have sustained her life.” I repeated this mantra over the course of several days. A handful of days I waited. He replied, “Deborah, I answered every single one of your prayers. It just was not in the way you expected.” He showed me that all the glory and power of those hundreds of thousands of prayers remain. I don’t understand what He revealed to me. It opened up more questions.
One thing I will tell you, NEVER be scared to have huge, mountain-moving faith. Ask, seek, knock. Be persistent like the widow. Pester and bombard heaven. Your prayers are powerful, precious, and heard. Don’t be embarrassed if they do not produce what you intended. Ask the King of Kings. He is honored when you engage in an on-going dialogue with Him. This is the essence of relationship and why He paid such an extraordinary price at Calvary.
Broken but Beautiful 