"reaching out for a miracle"

Friends, I have a huge favor to ask of you all...

I have been blown away and inspired by the faith and strength of the women I've been fortunate enough to know in this little sphere of ours. 

So many have you have been faced with seemingly insurmountable odds, and yet your faith has not faltered. You have used the immense power of trust in God, and prayer to change reality and have seen the light at the end of even the longest tunnels.

And so I am extending that power, that community of support, to a friend of mine - if you would be willing to help.

-

Lissa and her husband Matt (and sweet baby Emily) go to church at Solid Rock with me. Though we only met a short time ago, you know within about 30 seconds of meeting them that they are the kind of people you want in your life. Their faith, generous spirits and sweet manner just envelope you. 

I  have simply copied an email Lissa sent out to our little house church hoping that passing it along will help create a giant net of prayer and support. 

We have all seen the power of prayer. We know it is the most vital tool we have. 

Please, if you get a chance, think of this amazing family in their time of need. I will pass along all comments and emails to Lissa.

I know it will mean the world to her.

grace + peace

________________________

Dear Church Family,

God intends for us to live in community, so I feel it is appropriate to share a burden that has been on my heart, and to ask for your prayer, knowing that God's got way bigger plans than anything I can figure out on my own.

My mom (her name is Anne) lives alone in Port Townsend, Washington. She raised me and my younger brother by herself after my dad left when I eleven. It was very important to her to be able to be at home for us and home school us, and that didn't change, amazingly, even after my dad left. We lived off very little with alimony and child support, but somehow, she always managed to make sure we had great opportunities and fun activities. I learned so much about faith during that time and how God is our provider no matter what, whether we are "earning" our income or He is providing it thoroughly through grace.

My mom, for the last 28 years, has also had to work around the trials and limitations of having chemical sensitivities. Around the time I was born, she became violently ill and became unable to handle being in proximity to chemicals of any kind. At first this was extreme--even car exhaust would cause her to have seizures. Today, she is doing significantly better, but still has adverse neurological reactions to things like garden fertilizer, week killer, and Lysol. This is part of the reason that she is living in Port Townsend, since it is a fairly environmentally conscious town, even though she would love very much to live closer to us especially with her first grandchild growing up so quickly. Chemical sensitivities, while listed with Americans with Disabilities for years, is largely not understood, and because of this, not much is ever done in the way of making the world a "safer" place for my mom.

The reason I am writing today is that my mom is literally going to be out of money this month or next (I think--she is never specific with this). When I say out, I mean completely out. She has been looking for a job for the last year to no avail. Part of the problem is that she would have to work in a place that could work around her limitations. The other problem is that she has limited qualifications since she has been out of the work place so long (she is a teacher--a really good one too). She also feels that the fact that she is 62 isn't helping the job prospects any.

Even in this, she has so much faith, and I am continually amazed by her. I want so badly to be able to help her, but even if I said she could move in with me, I don't think she would be able to live at my home (except maybe in the fall and winter) since I see so many of my neighbors spray their yards on an ongoing regular basis. Our own finances are tight, so moving to a different place that might be better for her where she could live with us is not really an option right now. And even then (this may sound bad) but I don't think living in the same house with my mom long term would be very good for our marriage. Still, though, I want to be able to help since she is my mom and I want to make sure she is going to be okay.

What I am asking is for prayer and for you to please send this email to anyone that God might be laying on your heart to share it with. I am not writing this to "force" a favor. I know God will ultimately take care of her. But you never know exactly how He will do it. So I am getting her story out there. You never know who's heart God may be preparing for exactly this kind of ministry opportunity.

Thank you for taking the time to read this...

Grace and Peace to you all,

Lissa