Stormy Weather

It's 12:18 a.m. on Sunday morning. I should be in bed, but I can't seem to make it back to the bedroom quite yet. I'm burdened with sadness, and can't help but feel like I need to be awake.

Our friends are at the emergency room right now, praying that their daughter will make it through tonight. She has cervical cancer (caused by HPV), and was rushed to the ER earlier this evening because she was bleeding everywhere. This young woman (early 20's) has gone through so much in the past year or so. I can't imagine what they're feeling, what she's thinking, etc.

We came to the hospital, and found her dad outside giving an update to someone on his cell phone. Once he hung up, Matt embraced him, and all this hurting father could do was cry. Sob. Meltdown. He hung on to Matt with desperation for just a few moments, and then gathered his emotions together to let us know what was happening. "This is when it sucks to be a parent," he said.

We stuck our heads in the hospital room to say hello, but left quickly so as not to disturb anyone. The mother has been so strong through all of this. Tonight she looked tired, but stayed as calm as she could, and helped her daughter as much as possible. We hugged for a moment, and she thanked us for coming. We decided to leave, chatted with the father a little bit longer, and let him know to call us - no matter what time - if anything should change.

What do you do? What do you say to these people who are going through the toughest battle of their lives? How do you pray through something like this? I wish we could do something to make it better, but nothing I can do will heal this girl. No dish I can cook, no errand I can run, nothing I can do will make this situation better. I don't know words to say to people who have a dying child.

I'm sad. I'm scared. I'm hurting for this family. Please join me in praying for them. They need all the help they can get right now...