A time of reprieve

I am thankful this week for God's mercy in answering several prayers. So many times our family prays and prays for months for something, without any answers. So it brings a rushing sense of freshness and relief when God answers so many all at once, even if small ones. I have been suffering from symptoms of Meniere's disease again since July now, and it has really put a "damper" on most everything - I feel horrible most of the time and have to rest more often, sleep more often and severely restrict my diet. At times I have just burst into tears because of the unrelenting roaring in my ear, and the fact that eating is no longer a joy as I can't eat any salt. Every night before bed my husband and children pray for me the same prayer "help mommy's ear to get better." Then this past week I had a whole week without symptoms. My nasty-bitter salt substitute actually began to taste like real salt to me.

There were several other answers to prayers too. After months of shaking phone and internet connections our phone line finally got fixed well and has a really good connection. The computer problems Jim was having for over two months that were keeping him from making any progress were resolved.

Lastly, one of African guards began slacking on his job and not showing up for work regularly since August and leaving our home unprotected in a crime-ridden city. He also did odd jobs for me, which I highly depended on, and he wasn't showing up for that either. It was really stressing me out and I was getting desperate and feeling so helpless. So we let him go, and found another guy to work for us. This second guy then began asking us for higher wages, four times what the normal pay was, and we had to let him go as well. When we called a back-up worker we had used before, he was not unavailable as he had taken another job. We prayed for 6 days that God would bring us someone faithful to available to do the job. Then Sunday afternoon a neighbor, Aliyou, showed up. He was looking for work. He agreed to our terms with no questions asked and was so grateful and thankful for a job. His wife had suffered a severe case of malaria in August which has resulted in brain damage, and she was now bedridden and unresponsive. Everyone was saying it was a demon, and that she was being punished for having had an adulterous relationship with her brother-in-law. A friend and I had begun to go visit her about a month ago, and prayed over her, read to her from the Gospels. We began counseling the family how to help her using physical and occupational therapy to perhaps regain some of her abilities. We encouraged the husband to be gentle with her, forgiving her and showing love to her, which is what she needed. Little by little he is seeing her come around. Now she is getting up by herself and is talking to him some. And the wonderful thing is that God is blessing us now with Aliyou as a worker.
I am just thankful for the way God works through different situations. So many times I feel like giving up hope that anything good will ever happen in certain situations. I am truly thankful for little blessings and answers to prayers.