Praise God!!! We want to thank you all for praying and to take this opportunity to give God glory for working in a mighty way on our behalf.
We are so thankful to report to you that Whitney is doing well. She did not need to have the surgical injection into her retina that we had anticipated. Her vision has remained stable and the black spots and fuzziness have diminished. The doctors remain confident that her macular degeneration is not progressing at this time. We have so much to praise God for!
On Tuesday, when we left Albania for Greece, we had such a peace that God was directing our steps and caring for Whitney’s eye. Thank you so much for praying for God’s comfort and protection for us. He heard and answered your prayers. Our trip was quick and uneventful and we arrived in Thessaloniki in time for her Tuesday evening appointment. The doctor performed two very detailed tests (one that scans her retina and another that involves dye being injected into her bloodstream to show if there is any hemorrhaging in the retina). Both of these tests showed very clearly that her macula/retina have not changed since our last visit in June. We were so very relieved to see with our own eyes this good news.
The doctor told us that sometimes these black spots and fuzziness occur because of the scar tissue, as the eye grows and changes, or if she has some excessive activity. We had informed them that she had been hit by a ball at camp just a few days earlier (she is a very active 10 year old). Our concern had been that maybe the bleeding in the retina had started again because of that ball. The retinal specialist informed us that these black spots can occur naturally, but that there is no way to tell if they are the innocent kind or the hemorrhaging kind until we have these tests done in the office. We all were very thankful to have the peace of mind that everything was stable in her retina.
However, the most memorable part of the trip was the drive to and from Tirana. Kris and I have been reading a book together on Biblical transformation. During the 7 hour drive to Greece I was reading aloud and Whitney was intently listening in the back seat. Whenever I had to stop to take a break, she would ask when I was going to start reading again. On the way home, she wanted me to start reading right at the beginning of the drive. Now, keep in mind that this book is not written for children or directed at their comprehension. We continued to be surprised at how engaged in the book she was and that she asked questions if there was something she didn’t understand. It was really exciting to talk about how real biblical change occurs from the moment of salvation and how God continues to tranform and change us through sanctification. The most poinant moment was when she said that she knew God used circumstances to show how He worked in our lives because of what He had done in her life through her eye injury. She recounted a time when we were in Turkey, right after her injury last year, and God had answered one of the specific prayer requests we made while we were in the hospital. I had even forgotten that particular request, but it had stuck in her mind as a way that God showed Himself real and alive in her life! What an answer to prayer. Thank you for continuing to pray for her spiritaul condition. Only God knows the true state of her heart, but we have seen a real softening of her heart and a greater interest and interaction in spiritual things.
God is truly been at work, using this ongoing eye injury to open the eyes of her heart as she sees Him answer prayer and provide all that we need.
Psalm 117 says, “Praise the Lord, all nations; Laud Him, all peoples! For His lovingkindness is great toward us, and the truth of the Lord is everlasting. Praise the Lord!”
We continue to pray that this “difficult” circumstance will bring Him praise among the nations now, while we live in the midst of it, and for years to come, as those who are impacted by it learn to trust the Lord more completely. We are certain that God never wastes pain and we thank Him that He is changing us and growing us through this “light and momentary affliction”. (II Cor. 4:17).
Thank you again for all the love, support and prayers. We are blessed to have you as our prayer support team.
Praising the Lord among the nations,
The Stire family
Comments (1)
Praise the Lord!! That’s great news!! Thanks for the updates, Cons!!