“Have you not known? Have you not heard?
The Lord is the everlasting God,
the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He does not faint or grow weary;
his understanding is unsearchable.
He gives power to the faint,
and to him who has no might he increases strength…
they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength.”
– Isaiah 40:28-29, 31a ESV
Right now I desperately need to remember those verses—especially when there is too much for me to handle.
Before I list what I need prayer for, I will say that I was truly blessed by my time at Marble Retreat. I am so thankful I was given the chance to go, as my time in counselling was much needed, along with the people I got to meet, a couple of snow activities (such as snow shoeing, cross-country skiing (but I think I’ll stick to snow shoeing), going to the top of Mount Aspen on a gondola, etc.) and altogether spending time with God was all an extreme blessing (the pictures of my time there will be added at the end of this entry on mywalkwithhim.com).
I feel the time there was very needed after coming back to the U.S. During that time, we got to talk about my time in Australia, which includes the many seizures I had, and seeing God through it all. Then we went over issues of my past, along with my hopes and fears for the future. During that time, I found my heart’s desire was to move back to Denver, but I also found God was fine wherever I went—as long as I let Him always be with me.
From that I have been back in Denver since February 4th. I have really kind family friends who are letting me stay in their home while I work on the many things on my plate.
The first prayer request I was going to put here, which has now turned into praise, was finding a job. I now have a part-time job, which I requested (and will later explain why), to be an office assistant at Boone’s Heart Institute. As I was speaking to the woman about what’s necessary for that job, it sounded as if I’ll be the office assistant of… anything… or everything. From assisting with the front desk to filing insurance documents to managing suggested medication to many other things is what I will be doing (of course, I may be wrong or misstated some of those actions, but please understand I will know better once I actually do the job).
I am desperately thankful for God placing that there for me—and a friend finding it for me—but I request prayer that I may be able to do the job. And do it well.
My next prayer request is finding a place to live. Granted I would still love to go to the Littleton YMCA as I have gotten to know quite a few people there, while I would also be able to get to work if I lived in that area, but God will place me where He wants me. ***If you live in Denver and know of any open places, please tell me about them! Overall, please pray for an available location… and for it to be open fairly soon as I hope to move at the beginning of March.
So lastly, I need prayer for the government to give me coverage for being disabled and only working part-time. Looking back over the years, my seizures have always occurred when I was highly stressed from having many things on my plate.
By just glancing back at my recent time in Australia, I feel this is very clear with the amount of seizures I had in just a year. I am not at all against YWAM, but I feel working at that location was too much for me to handle. I kept telling myself I could accomplish it, I just needed to get accustomed and used to it. And yet, with that many seizures… it became evident I could not.
It’s hard to say the amount I can and cannot cover as God has definitely made me capable of handling a lot at once—but usually only for a short time. So I feel I will be fully capable of working as a part-time office assistant. Yes, it may be busy and overpowering at times, but I feel with God’s help I will be able to manage it. And the more time off is a true blessing—a time an overused brain can truly rest.
Thus, I would like to ask the government for support. I feel I can handle a part-time job, but I would like some coverage for the shortage of money I will make. Pleasepray I may be able to figure out how to do this and that the government may respond positively. ***If you know of anyone who could help me, I would be incredibly grateful to send them my way!
Currently I am feeling very blessed to be back in Denver. I feel back in my “home.” It is not the perfect place, as nowhere is in this world (and not just because of COVID, but because Christ is not here yet). Granted God may take me wherever and whenever He wants to—soon or later, here or there. I never know. Yet I feel this is where God wants me right now.
As I flew to Denver on January 26th to head to Marble Retreat, one thing happened on January 27th that tears my heart. Dr. Bruce Demarest died. He was the professor of my first class at Denver Seminary, which was online and was taken while I still lived in Savannah, Georgia. It was that class that made me sure I wanted to go to seminary. Then during the first semester I had in Colorado, I randomly sat next to him in a chapel service. From there I have spent time with him and his wife, Elsie, quite a few times. They invited me over to their house, as well as their apartment when they moved to a nearby retirement center. I had Panera with Elsie often. They even came to my graduation party from seminary.
I went to Elsie’s funeral a few years ago, and now I will go to his tomorrow. It is quite sad as I was going to email and ask if I could see him soon now that I’m back in Denver, but I randomly was looking at the Denver Seminary website and saw this: https://denverseminary.edu/article/in-memory-of-dr-bruce-demarest/ As of what I feel for Bruce/Dr. Demarest is that he is a type of modern C.S. Lewis. He has written many great books, was a theology professor before he brought to Denver Seminary the area I studied—Christian Formation and Soul Care—and I can honestly say I feel so honored that I knew him personally.
***Now actually I have an announcement. I aim to write articles on people who have been through hardship(s) in their life, and yet seen God through it all. At first, I aim to start with those who have had a TBI (Traumatic Brain Injury) like myself, but then I do not want to restrict evidence that God works through any type of difficulty so I will probably open it to all kinds of stories.
I am praying how to change my website—maybe change the name/site altogether or make my personal page have a small connection or completely delete it from existing… we’ll see how God leads me.
The next/last email you will receive from mewill be telling you about the change in my website if you should like to visit it… but that’s all. Then you can request to be on a list as I will let you know when I have written an article, or you can always sign up to be notified on the actual site.
I want to thank you so much for reading about me over the past year(s)—for your prayers, friendship and compassion for me—I cannot thank God enough for you.
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--> Below are some wonderful sites I got to see at Marble Retreat Center, as well as some lovely/wonderful people I got to meet/hang out with...
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