Pray For Clay

As I write this, I am in Houston Texas. Yesterday I flew here so I could be with one of my kids from youth. His name is Clay and he has been battling leukemia for over a year now. We are not from Texas, we are from Arkansas. The reason Clay is here, is because he was sent to MD Anderson. MD Anderson is one of a couple of hospital that has a trial chemo drug, no one else has. As far as chemo therapy, this is the last drug possible to help Clay with his fight. The hope is he will go into remission so that he can have a bone marrow transplant that can save his life. Before you read anymore, will you take a moment to pray for Clay.

For the most part, Clay is in really good spirits. He loves to laugh and tell funny stories. From his demeanor alone you would have no idea he is as sick as he is. You could get the wrong idea pretty quick if you did not know the details. Your first impression would be, "he seems ok, looks good to me, sounds good to me, he must be good." Well, he is not.

Clays blood counts are extremely diminished. His platelets are almost zero. Last night the labs drawn came back with a platelet count of 2. Normal starts around 150 thousand. Without platelets, a person can bleed out just from a simple bruise. His white counts as well are virtually non existent. His body has no way to fight infection. A simple sniffle could put him in the intensive care unit.

Clay is and has been suffering for over a year now. He has spent 90% of his time in a hospital. He and his family are suffering, medically, financially, emotionally, spiritually, dynamically..... Some of us would question why, and have a heart that is broken for them. Others, may simply think "that is sad, and voice a quick prayer." Many will never think twice about Clay or his family. They won't think twice, because Clay and his family do not mean anything to them.

Each of those people exist right here at MD Anderson. People that are here to work on and care for Clay. There are medical professionals who are broken, some that know it is sad, and some who don't really seem to care at all. Believe me, 90% really do care and show it. There are also families who are facing the same struggle. These are the people who are 100% genuine about their compassion and concern. Why? Because they are there themselves. They truly understand what all of this suffering means. The grace and mercy that flows out of there hearts and moths is so deep, so real, and so different. Some of them are health care workers and others families and filters themselves.

Here is my point, God does allow suffering to happen. We all suffer for so many different reasons. When our suffering reaches beyond our control, we can either give up or we can surrender our hearts to The Lord. When you surrender to The Lord, He will give you something new from within. He will change your heart from the inside out. He will teach you compassion, empathy, and mercy. You will know what it means. Then He will use you to unite with those who suffer as well. It won't be superficial, it will run deep and wide.

It is in and through times like this that The Lord reveals His mercy, grace, and compassion through His children. It is finding Him in the fight that He will give you a new heart, a heart that defeats division and brokenness and then unites the broken heart. This is is where true healing begins, hope is revealed, mercy is set free, and grace is given. Wy is Clay so different? I will tell you why, His faith and love for The Lord is rock solid. He has been given a new heart and spirit that came only from The Lord.




Ezekiel 11:19
I will give them an undivided heart and put a new spirit in them; I will remove from them their heart of stone and give them a heart of flesh.

May my life be the proof and evidence of His love!