JoAnna’s Journal

My mom was just moved to the 9th floor ICU of UCSF. They want to keep her on consistent dialysis because what they have been doing before just isn’t working.

We keep praying – keep trusting. I am continually reminded that faith is being sure of what we hope for and confident of what we do not see. We see the pain; God sees the glory.

My wisdom bank has run out at the moment. God has given me an abundance of peace, and I seem to be gliding on that right now.

Today someone asked me how my mom was doing, and as I was answering, he said, “You are probably sick of people asking.” And I thought, “Not at all; it means that people still care, and that they are still praying.” Thankfully we have friends and family who are ceaseless in their prayer. As we learn to come before the throne of God moment by moment, I am reminded of the woman who begs and pleads with Jesus to heal her daughter:

“And He answered and said, ‘It is not good to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs.’
But she said, ‘Yes, Lord; but even the dogs feed on the crumbs which fall from their masters’ table.’
Then Jesus said to her, ‘O woman, your faith is great; it shall be done for you as you wish.’ And her daughter was healed at once.”
(Matthew 15:26-28)

He is the God who spoke the world into existence and the God who laid the foundation of the earth. He was there when the morning stars sang together and all the sons of God shouted for joy. He is the God who commands the morning, and causes the dawn to know its place.

He is mighty. We trust Him and believe that, even today, He can perform mighty miracles.

I don’t know what the future holds, but we wait… remembering that it’s a day-to-day journey… walking in faith and obedience… His love will never leave…

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I don’t have the update yet from this morning, but I see that no one updated from last night. Last night my mom’s bones were causing excrutiating pain – they were giving her pain medicine. They were also monitoring her heart rate because it had picked up. All of her other vitals were fine, so they think it might be just the amount of pain she is in, but they were still be very cautious nonetheless. I’m sure my dad will update something soon, but I just knew how we have such faithful friends who are praying so I wanted to let you know what you can be praying for. Thanks!

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The other night I briefly mentioned the woman who touched Jesus’ cloak and was healed (Luke 8). I have been thinking about that ever since.

I have always liked that woman. She had so much courage and so much faith. Not only was she societally unclean, but she would have been looked down upon simply as a woman in Biblical times. I also love Jesus’ reaction because it shows how unconventional, yet wonderful, Jesus really is.

Because she was bleeding, she was never allowed into normal society – always kept away from people and interaction. She was “unclean.” But she took a risk. She believed that Jesus could heal her. So she risked being brutally rejected, by not only the people surrounding Jesus who knew of her disease, but by Jesus himself. Yet she believed that if she simply touched Him, she would be clean. What radical faith.

The fact that she was a bold woman could have gotten her banished quickly as well. Jesus could have chosen to not even speak to her because she was of a lower “class” as a woman.

But Jesus did neither of these things. He called her out, yes. But He did not call her out to expose her or to humiliate her and “put her in her place.” He called her out to make an example of her faith, which had made her well. Not only that, but He owned her by calling her “daughter.” “Daughter, your faith has made you well.”

This is why we cannot lose faith. How many times in the Bible did Jesus say, “Your faith has healed you”? I’m not a theologian, but I’m pretty sure it’s many, many times. We wait in anticipation. We wait for Jesus to pass so we can run and push through the crowds. We cry, “Just let me touch Him! Move – I just need to touch His cloak, and my disease will be healed!!” We wait for Jesus to say, “I know that power has gone out from me.” And we sit at His feet in thankfulness as He acknowledges, “My daughter, take heart. Your

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