{"id":15638,"date":"2022-02-23T05:21:04","date_gmt":"2022-02-23T11:21:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mypeacezone.com\/?p=15638"},"modified":"2022-02-23T05:21:13","modified_gmt":"2022-02-23T11:21:13","slug":"the-beginning-the-middle-the-victory","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mypeacezone.com\/?p=15638","title":{"rendered":"The Beginning \u2013 The Middle \u2013 The Victory"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

It\u2019s a process. You and I both know the drill. The beginning when the crisis initially occurs, and the deliberations ensue on how best to make it through. Then there\u2019s the middle when we pray, hope, and stand strong \u2013 doing our best to do what we can to make it through. Then there\u2019s the finale aka the victory when at last we see the light at the end of the tunnel. And, how grateful we are that the light isn\u2019t a train barreling down to run over us!

THE BEGINNING — one year ago, February, 2021. One of my dear Tulsa friends, Becky Holder, was diagnosed with a \u201cdiseased heart\u201d. At first, it seemed that a pacemaker might resolve the issues, but a few weeks later in March, it was realized that she needed a heart transplant. In the interim, her heart received assistance from a device that helped her heart pump because it couldn\u2019t do all the work itself.

THE MIDDLE — Becky went through rigorous and grueling months of tests and treatments and blood transfusions. She and her family played the \u201cwaiting game\u201d for a match for a heart transplant. But, right there in the middle \u2013 it wasn\u2019t only the procedures and treatments and in-hospital care. Right there amidst so much medical activity, there were a host of believers praying and, an on-guard group of women who were trusting in God\u2019s miracle-working power, who stood in the gap with their prayers and support DAILY.

I\u2019m still talking about \u201cThe Middle\u201d. \u201cThe Middle\u201d was when Becky penned these words: \u201cI will never give up on a miracle. I know the Divine Physician is ultimately, and always in control, even when He is working through these excellent doctors. The Bible verse I\u2019m holding onto with great faith is Mark 5:41, \u201cHe took the child by the hand and said to her, \u201cTalitha Koum,\u201d which means, \u201cLittle girl I say to you, Arise!\u201d Jesus said, \u201cTake up your Cross and follow me.\u201d So that is what I am doing. In loving obedience to my Father, I will take up my little piece of the Cross and follow. He sees the big picture and is in control of every detail. The wood of the Cross is my source of strength.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

THE VICTORY \u2013 the ENDING (well, not really an ending, but an ongoing life of faith until we all step over to our EVER AFTER). But, for this instance\u2026..it was a miracle of God\u2019s grace and mercy when a donor\u2019s heart matched and Becky made it through a successful heart transplant.

Here we are one year later, and Becky is back at work. Perhaps you are struggling in your \u201cmiddle\u201d today. Pray. Act in faith and determination. Trust our Sovereign God \u201cin the middle\u201d when He is working for our good. Becky lived through \u201cThe Middle\u201d and writes about it in her recent and final \u201cCaring Bridge\u201d post.

\u201cIt has been a year since this crazy journey started!! On February 7, 2021, I was having surgery to have a pacemaker put in. Now, one year later, with new and old friends and countless prayers, here we are on the other side. It doesn\u2019t seem possible. I am back at home and back at work. All my tests continue to show \u201cno rejection\u201d and all my lab counts are good. Since this is most likely the last post, please let me thank all of you again for your prayers and support. Words fail to express all that I want to express. You truly were the driving force behind this miracle. Please don\u2019t ever doubt the power of your prayers. God hears every word.

Lastly, this year has taught me more about God\u2019s love for me than I could have ever thought possible. I\u2019ve always known I belonged to Him but being in a place where I had no choice but to surrender everything to Him puts it in a different perspective. I see His hand over all of it. All I had to do was hold up my heart to Him and let Him pour out His love and grace over it. I learned the beautiful gift of being receptive and open to all he had to give. To take what He gives and give what He takes with a smile.\u201d

If you\u2019re in your beginning, or middle expecting your breakthrough any moment, trust in He Who holds you close through every stage. \u201cHold on, my Child, joy comes in the morning!\u201d (Psalm 30:5)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s a process. You and I both know the drill. The beginning when the crisis initially occurs, and the deliberations ensue on how best to make it through. Then there\u2019s the middle when we pray, hope, and stand strong \u2013 doing our best to do what we can to make it through. Then there\u2019s the…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":15639,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_coblocks_attr":"","_coblocks_dimensions":"","_coblocks_responsive_height":"","_coblocks_accordion_ie_support":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[22937,22939,22938],"tags":[11662,1210,1769,2333,21157,22933,22935,13350,2520,22932,3310,22934,3795,7258,22936,21160,101,11813],"class_list":["post-15638","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-beginning","category-the-ending","category-the-middle","tag-beginning","tag-blog","tag-christian","tag-crisis","tag-divine-physician","tag-finale","tag-gods-miracle-working-power","tag-heart-transplant","tag-hold-on","tag-hope-and-pray","tag-joy-comes-in-the-morning","tag-match-for-transplant","tag-middle","tag-pacemaker","tag-take-up-your-cross","tag-talitha-koum","tag-victory","tag-waiting-game"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mypeacezone.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15638","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mypeacezone.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mypeacezone.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mypeacezone.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mypeacezone.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=15638"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/mypeacezone.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15638\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":15641,"href":"https:\/\/mypeacezone.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15638\/revisions\/15641"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mypeacezone.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/15639"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mypeacezone.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=15638"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mypeacezone.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=15638"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mypeacezone.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=15638"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}