Praying

For many months, a group of heart sisters called The Scarf Sisters have been praying for Rowan.  Ro is the granddaughter of our sister Cathie.  Ro was born with hypoplastic left heart syndrome.  She had surgery within days of birth and then on Friday June 1, the second of three major surgeries. 
We prayed through Friday and then spent much of Saturday connected via Facebook, hungry for updates.  Between the lot of us (and there are a lot of us!) I think Rowan was covered in prayer around the clock.  I know every time I awoke during the night it was with her name on my lips.  I gave up on contact lenses, too much crying...both in desperation and in praise.
What a privilege it is to pray.  Do we even realize the significance?  To speak to the Creator and tell him what we need.  To be invited into the darkest moments of others and be asked to pray, to be counted somehow worthy to do battle with confidence that our war cry is heard by God.  Astounding.
I doubt I will ever fully comprehend the miracle of mortal words received at the throne of grace.  As the Holy Spirit swept across the country and the world with the petitions of Christians closing the gap between life and death,  it felt to me like a wave of perfect power washing through and crashing around me.  For those hours of complete surrender and unity, the air tasted sweeter.  Just a glimpse of Eden perhaps.  More likely a glimpse of heaven.

Sunday evening update from Ro's mama Katie: "I've been talking to the nurse who has been trained on the ecmo. The nearest ecmo center is west side of the state. Praise GOD for this program that has been available here for only two years. If it weren't for ecmo Ro would not have made it. It gives me chills to think if she had been had surgery elsewhere or not close to any ecmo providers. Also Thank you James who is the p...erfusionist who is so smart (30 years experience) and so nice! He's been buying me coffee the last two days :) very personable and VERY SMART! He has been here since Friday and won't go home til probably tues. Oh yeah.... RO OPENED HER EYES!! They gave her some versed cuz she was actually moving too much haha."