Gracie was requesting reconciliation with her estranged husband and complete healing of her cancer.

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God is TOTALLY awesome! After learning the date of my liver biopsy, I prayed about whether or not I should call my hubby to let him know, but he had asked for me to tell him what was going on…so after prayer, I emailed him and said, “FYI, liver biopsy on Thursday”…he emailed back, “When? WHERE?” So I emailed him and told him the time and place. I got no response.

My mother and my e-partner and prayer partner said, “he’ll be there.” Well, my son took me and when we got there, hubby wasn’t there. They took me into radiology, then decided they needed blood work….so I had to go to a different dept. When I came back to radiology…THERE SAT MY HUBBY WITH MY SON. PRAISE GOD!!!! We chatted some about our alma mater and college football while I was waiting for the biopsy (although I was heavily sedated) He stayed through the whole biopsy and until I was 1/2 way through recovery before he went back to work. PRAISE GOD! I felt tears welling up in my eyes to have him there, but I was so sedated, I didn’t even tell him “thank you”….I was moved to contact him to say “thank you”…so I called the next day and said, “I just want to thank you for coming yesterday”….and he said, “Well, you are welcome.” Then said some things to me about our daughter. PRAISE GOD! GOD IS MOVING!

Then, and this is REALLY BIG, y’all. I went on a weekend retreat for a group at church. During Saturday night, we had prayer time…someone said, “(my name)…we need to pray for you.”….I am an intercessor, so after most had been prayed for, they directed me to a chair and laid hands on me…and said, “what do you want to pray for.” I said, “Well, it probably is not what you think.” (I think they thought I would ask for healing of the cancer)…I said, “I want marital/familial restoration/reconciliation in my family.”

One woman there, a very “classy”, poised, not-very-demonstrative, always composed, self-assured, confident woman was one of the prayer team…she is a lovely person…sweet, gentle, very spiritual, but always, cool, calm, collected, very caring, but not emotional at all, you know the type, I’m sure….well, as they began praying for me, suddenly this woman began sobbing uncontrollably, huge, gulping sobs, weeping profusely, as she prayed for me. Her whole body was shaking from the depth of emotion she was feeling.

After they prayed, she reached out and hugged me, and continued to wail, and weep…when she regained composure, she told the prayer team, “For those of you who wonder what just happened, I have the gift of intercession, and when I pray for someone whose burden is literally TOO MUCH for them to bear, God fills me with the pain and hurt that person is feeling and I can literally FEEL their burden…and begin to share it with them. I’m telling you that when I began praying for (my name), God began putting her pain and burden on me. (my name), you know I’ve been praying for you, but until I laid hands on you tonight, I had NO IDEA of the depth, extent of the pain/burden/hurt you have been under. THIS WOMAN DESPERATELY NEEDS OUR PRAYERS. She needs us to hold her up. I don’t know how she has managed to walk around all these months with a smile on her face with everything she’s going through.” …you know, people with the gift of intercession, when they begin to feel that pain for another, continue to hold that person up…and people, I can LITERALLY FEEL her intercession….my burden has been lifted as a result. PRAISE GOD!!!

And something else happened…as they were praying, I FELT A BURNING SENSATION….in my liver area….like an extremely HOT washcloth touching the skin….only on the inside. I don’t know about you all, but I firmly believe it was God’s healing touch over my body. PRAISE HIS NAME! I may still undergo chemo, but God’s work has already begun, if not finished!

AND, it looks like I may be able to get one of my cousins to come down and stay with me while I undergo chemotherapy. PRAISE GOD! I just need someone in the house with me to make sure everything is sanitized every day, and she doesn’t work or have any family commitments right now. PRAISE GOD! (UPDATE 11/2/02…SHE IS COMING>>>AND has said she will stay with me AS LONG AS NECESSARY! PRAISE GOD)

And one last praise…God has been providing for my needs financially every month. He’s done it again! PRAISE GOD! I was talking to a family friend over the phone…and out of the blue he said, “(my name), could you use $2,000 to help you through the next few months?” I began weeping! I said, “I am ashamed to say it, but yes!” He said, “We’re friends, and you would do it for me if the situation were reversed! You have enough on your plate without having to worry about your finances right now. Don’t think anything about it. It’s yours. I’ve been in a similar situation financially before, and a friend helped me and I am just passing it on. I just wish it could be more. Here’s hoping (my hubby’s name) gets his head on straight and comes home soon. I pray for it all the time.” PRAISE GOD!

I am IN AWE of God’s, Love, and Mercy. PRAISE HIS HOLY NAME!

AND, this is what happened to me yesterday.

AND THE BLESSINGS JUST KEEP ON COMING!

Today, a woman from work came into the lunchroom where I was sitting during lunch and sat down for a few minutes. As she started to leave she looked at me and said, “Gracie, I need to talk to you privately.”….then came round the table and whispered….”This past weekend God told me to lay hands on you and pray for you this week and I have to do it today because it’s Friday.” We agreed to meet during break. At her break she came and got me, we went into the bathroom, locked the door and she laid hands on me and prayed for me. Then told me, “Gracie, it was the most odd thing. I wasn’t doing anything in particular….not even praying, and suddenly God told me, ‘you need to pray for Gracie next week.’ I responded, ‘yes, God, I am. We all are. And I will.’ And He was persistent…and said, “NO. I MEAN..NEXT WEEK YOU ARE TO LAY HANDS ON HER AND PRAY FOR HER HEALING.” This was out of the blue. But I have to be obedient. I don’t know how to say this, but ever since I’ve been praying for you I’ve had the definite impression that we aren’t going to lose you. God has a work for you to do, and He is going to heal you emotionally, mentally, physically, and every other way.”

Do you realize this is 3 times this week? All prompted about it last weekend? 3 different people? THIS WEEK!!! GOD IS MOVING. I KNOW His healing hand has touched me…but I think it is just SO AWESOME that different people all in the same weekend got messages to pray about it. I am just BLOWN AWAY! God is SO GOOD, even though I don’t deserve it! I PRAISE GOD for their obedience to His prompting….Debbie, Jan, and Roberta. (Jan is the one who prompted the laying on of hands prayer for me last weekend, although Kathy is the intercessor who was so affected by it.)

Also, I saw Mark last night, and the continued softening of his heart toward me is evident. God is UP TO SOMETHING!! PRAISE HIS HOLY NAME!

Love in Christ, Gracie (Received on Sunday November 3, 2002) Aluma1@houston.rr.com