Mom's Surgery, and Faith

[TrigunX89]

Hey, everyone. My mom is scheduled to have eye surgery in about 11 or 12 hours. This will be her third eye surgery in the past few months. It's risky, and my mom is very nervous and scared that she will lose her eye. Please pray that everything goes okay, and that she doesn't lose her eye or her vision.

Also, for myself... I've nearly lost all my faith. I feel I've been gradually losing it for months. I can't pray the way I used to. I don't know if God is real, but if He is real, then I'm angry at Him. Since you all believe, I'm asking for your prayer support. Thanks.

[meboeck]

Whoa, I'll definitely being praying for you. I've been where you are, and I've rebounded. My mom had breast cancer twice, and the second time my brother was in a mental hospital at the same time. It was frustrating, scary, and all-around nasty. It was easy to try to blame everything on God or ask why He wasn't doing anything. But in the end it made me and my family stronger. Please don't give up hope completely. Just do your best to hang in there and hold on to every once of faith you have. And PM me if you ever need to talk. I can say from experience that it's easier when you have to to vent to and who can encourage you.

[ChristianKitsune]

I will pray for you, Trigunx89! I will tell you that, God promises he will only give us things that we can handle....and nothing more.

Remember Job? That guy lost everything...and yet he never stopped believing. I encourage you to read that book of the Bible...

Here is a passage that I always find useful in times of pain and hardship:

It's from James 1:2-8

2Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, 3because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. 4Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. 5If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. 6But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. 7That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord; 8he is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does.

God is out there, Tx89! Seriously, he won't abandon you. Remember all things happen not to bring you down...but lift God up.

[Kurama]

Oh! I`ll pray for your Mom and you. I Know Just where your at. I can`t seem to pray as much either. but you will be in my prayers.

[Azier the Swordsman]

Praying.

[Tenshi no Ai]

It's interesting... I've never really understood how someone can believe and then one day/soon enough, start to wonder if He really exists. I mean, I've had my low points before but don't think ever enough to think in that sense, because all I would do is look back in the past and remember all the amazing things He's done in my life, and all the miraculous things I've witnessed before. Thinking back on all that, helps keep me strong, and even in the times where I just don't feel up to reading some Bible or whatever, I push myself. Not always the most interesting thing to read at some points, but I know that if I DON'T read on (and have tons of time to do so, too) then I won't get anything out of it. I've actually found CAA help me out lots too, in times say when I'm working and can't make it to church and so forth and I have my college group too every week.

That's only from my experience, but just don't forget that even when things seem SO ug and you wonder why they happen, sometimes you find out why that is and that God indeed had some better, more amazing plans in mind^^

So with all this, I'll be praying for your mom and you...

[TrigunX89]

Thanks, everyone. My mom's surgery seems to have gone well. She's still having pain, which was to be expected. We're not really sure what her options are now, though. This surgery was made to undo mistakes that the doctor made in a prior surgery. So, nothing has really worked to fix the original problem, which was glaucoma. They're going to try a different kind of medication on her, and we'll probably take her to see a different doctor.

I guess I started questioning my faith last summer. I've been raised a Christian all my life, but I couldn't think of a solid reason for my beliefs. Suddenly, my dad got really sick. We prayed, and we did everything the Bible said to do for him to be healed. The Bible promised us in many places that he would be healed if we followed the scriptures, and that's what we did. We truly believed in all of our hearts that God would heal him. After watching him suffer for about a month, some might have found him unrecognizable. His whole body was bloated, he had tubes all over him, he bled from all parts of his body, his eye had a nasty infection, and his skin was yellow. Then he died. It was the worst thing I've ever seen. It seemed God didn't listen to us at all. If the Bible doesn't stay true to its promises, then why should I believe it at all? I know this isn't the place for theological debates; I'm just sharing my story, and why I'm struggling. Now my mom is having all of these problems. These just reinforce my questions of why God would let all of the horrible things happen in this world - not just in my life, but for all of the sick, suffering, mistreated people in the world. I've heard many people's answers to this question, but none of them sit very well with me. I'm sorry to sound so nihilistic. I wish I wasn't this way, but I've been hurt by Christianity and my heart feels calloused.

[AsianBlossom]

That's so sad...No one really understands why God does certain things, and it's pretty useless to try and figure it out, but it'll all be clear to us someday, whether it's next week or after our death. God loves us all very much, and sometimes, he wants to see if we our "worth our salt" by giving us challenges. Hang in there; you're being tested in your Faith, but if you persevere no matter what, you'll be rewarded in the end. I guarantee it.

Also, it's always good to be prayed over before going into surgery.

[freerock1]

Hey man,

Sorry to hear of all you're going through right now. I think we all struggle with our faith from time to time, but at times we go through these periods that are especially trying.

I think the thing we really need to keep in perspective as we pray is that God's will be done. Jesus taught us to pray, "Your will be done." The Bible also tells us that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us, and if we know He hears us, we know that we have what we have asked of Him.

Now when it comes to healing, we have to acknowledge that God's will be done. It's true that "by His stripes, we were healed" (I believe this means that the provision for healing came by Jesus' stripes), but we also know that not everyone is healed. For some, perhaps God has other plans. Your dad is in heaven now, such a far better place to be than to have to go through all the junk we do down here. Of course I know that doesn't take the pain.

We live in a fallen world, where there is injustice. I can't really explain why, other than that God gave dominion of the earth to man, and man sinned. And because we live in a sinful world, life won't always seem fair. But what we have to remember is that ultimately God is in control, and He'll sort it all out in the end. We also need to do our part to love our fellow man and to make life better for the downtrodden, because Christ has called us to be His hand extended to the world, and if we don't do it, who will?

I know all of this doesn't take away from the fact that you're going through some hard stuff right now. But my point is that God is in control, and He cares for you. You may not understand why you have to go through this crap right now, but God's ultimate plan will be revealed in time. I believe that often, God allows us to go through these trials so that we can grow from them.

I will be lifting you up in prayer, my brother. And if you need to talk more, feel free to PM me.

[meboeck]

I just want to reiterate that there are others of us who have been through horrible things and have kept our faith. In my first post I din't even go into everything that's happened to me. I've seen two friends die of cancer in their teens. It's easy to question your faith when you go through that. But God never promised us that Christianity would mean being free from suffering. He said there would be suffering and persecution. But He also said He would be with us through it.

2Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, 3because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. 4Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.

This is my favorite Bible verse, and it has helped me greatly through my struggles. Again I'll be praying for you. Thanks for keeping us updated.

[TrigunX89]

Thank you, everyone, for your prayer and support. I'm still sort of confused, but at least I'm not angry anymore. Much thanks.