"Seriously Mom…"

I have not written an update recently because, to be honest, I have been feeling downhearted. Although our faith grows stronger every day, we are physically and emotionally drained. (Definition of drained: depleted, burdened, deprived of strength and vitality) Ok, yikes, maybe it isn't quite that bad! But chemotherapy has once again taken it's toll on Araella who describes feeling like it takes enormous energy just to keep all of her organs working.

During this visit we heard different things from different doctors and left feeling a little confused and frustrated. As a result, we have decisions to make. I know the village is wondering, however I don't know what to tell you because Araella and I haven't talked much about it… Without having to say so to each other, we are waiting on having peace before proceeding with plans - as we have been doing. If you feel led to pray with us for that peace, we are believing that He will direct our path (Psalm 3:5-6) Oh, I do have an answer to prayer story to share with you! Before we left I mentioned Psalm 91:11 and for those of you who prayed that with us - WOW!!!

We turned the lights out shortly after 9:00 pm on Monday night. I am never quite sure how Araella feels on the evening before chemotherapy. I am always a little anxious. We listened to a few encouraging songs and prayed a short prayer out loud together. Now it was time to wait. Wait for sleep. Wait for morning. If sleep didn't come for me, I would wait for Araella's breathing to indicate that she was sleeping so that I could quietly work on a blog or read. She seemed to be drifting off peacefully...  It was completely dark in the room except for the light shining in between the separated curtains.

I am not sure how much time had passed when Araella interrupted the silence with, "Mom, what are you doing?"

"Just laying here Araella, are you ok?"  Silence.  Ok, I thought, she is alright.

A few more minutes passed and then, "Seriously Mom, what are you doing??"

"Araella, I am just laying here, do you need something?"

"Why are you standing there again?"

"I'm in bed Rae, what do you see?"

"You're just standing there."

"Where?"

"Between our beds."

My eyes looked upward to where Araella had indicated, and I sensed that there was indeed someone there. An angel! I didn't think to talk directly to the angel (this I regret very much). Instead, I whispered excitedly to Araella, who had fallen back to sleep, "Araella, I think you see an angel!"

Silence. I questioned if the air in the space between our beds was moving. I strained my eyes to see what she saw - but I could only see what I would describe as a colorless aurora borealis.

"Araella, what does he look like?" More silence. "A warrior or a shepherd?"

"A shepherd," I thought I heard her answer in her sleep. But then I decided to just relish in the refuge. To just breathe in the beautiful unexpected gift of being embraced by peace. Too quickly, I also drifted off to sleep under the guard of His angel, whom He had commanded to watch over us.