Great is Thy Faithfulness.

It's been a tough few weeks.
I went up and down like a yo-yo in terms of my health... My skin would like semi-decent (although never close to normal) and then I would wake up with my eyes swollen, my face cracking apart and my neck ridiculously inflammed. To be perfectly honest, I felt terribly discouraged...
But God is good.
Wednesday, February 3rd, was a breaking point... I phoned Kyle to come home from work because I was feeling so frustrated, and alone... and just sad. He came home, but could only stay for about an hour and a half as he had to run youth that night. So he left...
And just a little while later, my Auntie Marilyn called. She asked me to tell her what was going on, so I explained the whole situation - the months of unanswered questions, the medications, supplements, lotions, tests, trials, etc. And she prayed for me. She reminded me of my worth in the Lord, of the beauty God had created in me, and that Satan wants to use situations like this to break us... to cause us to despair. She told me to rejoice in the Lord - to sing songs of praise and to remember that God is bringing me through this. She said that she had been about to leave the house - coat on and all - but felt that God was telling her not to leave until she called me. I have never been more thankful for God's timing.
So I started to sing... and the phone rang. It was whitt - and she encouraged me to persevere. She also told me to take a couple of pictures of my skin so that I could see the transformation in the days to come. I will post those pictures in a few days along with some pictures of my face now.
We hung up, I sang another worship song, and Gatlin called - just wondering how I was doing. Wanting to let me know that he was praying for me, and so was his entire floor at school. While I was on the phone, Sarah texted and asked if she could come over and hang out - YES PLEASE! We watched some tv and chatted about the events of the night. Kyle came home with flowers and a movie he rented for me, and although I was looking rough, I felt joy, hope and a peace that could only come from the Lord.

The next morning my mom phoned to ask if she could take me to Emergency in Abbotsford that afternoon for some bloodwork. I was still MUCH too sick to go to class, so I said "sure, why not!" She also asked if it would be alright to have Steve and the Elders from the church come over (in Tsawwassen) that night to pray over me - sounded like a good plan to me! My dad also called to see how I was doing and to tell me to "let your mom take charge here! It's time for answers!"

Kyle was home for the morning and we relaxed and watched a movie together, and then mom came to Abbotsford and took me for some sushi (no sauce, no sesame seeds, no soy!) and then to the hospital. Eyes followed me through the hallways - understandable, since I appeared to be suffering from severe burns on my face and neck (nope, just eczema!) Bloodwork was done and I was told that I have "suprisingly great blood for someone who looks like you" haha. I attribute that to Dr. Sunny Lee who has me on a strict detox. They gave me some Steroids to calm the inflammation, some lotions to soothe the pain, and a recommendation for some Vaseline (awesome stuff. I love it.) Throughout that afternoon I recieved texts and phone calls from a myriad of people who told me that they were praying for me... and I could feel it.

We picked up whitt from Langley on our way to Tsawwassen, and I actually felt quite happy, riding along with mom and whitt. I expected God to do big things... and He did.

Melissa and Michelle came for a "girly visit" and in the time that they were there, I was already transforming...By the time Steve and the Elders came over I could fully turn my head (doesn't sound like a big deal to you...) and smile (which I was doing a lot of). It was great to be covered in prayer - and I woke up the next morning almost unrecognizable. God is good.

I'm ACTUALLY on the road to recovery now, I believe. I'm sticking with the detox and supplements - and acupuncture treatments - because God also gave me a brain, and to just quit on the detox or on any treatment would be ridiculously stupid.

Thank you, to all of you that have been praying for me. Like I said, I'll post some "before and after" pictures either later on today, or in the next couple of days... and when you see them, you'll know why I'm praising God.

Love.
Jay