A late night post...

It's getting late as I jot down these last few thoughts before tomorrow's surgery.

I have my baby upstairs and all tucked in for the night.  Whether she sleeps is another story, but we pray that God will remove the obstacles of a worried mama and that she would rest in the most peaceful slumber ever had.

I trust that her baby is being prepared by the Great Physician for surgery tomorrow to remove the tumor that takes up the majority of her stomach area and her kidney. I still choke on those words, but we all say them out loud so that we will live to give glory to God in all HE is going to do tomorrow.

We continue to pray for full and complete healing.  We pray for no cancer.  No Chemotherapy.  No radiation.  But we also live in the reality that our bodies deteriorate because of the conditions of an evil world.  And how much sweeter the realities of an eternity in Heaven without this crap!  It really makes you hate the enemy of our souls that seeks to destroy us.  I hate him.

I pray for the Holy Spirit to baptize our family with peace.  To fully emerse us in His Holiness that we walk by faith and not by sight.

If you knew Molly several years ago you knew a girl riddled with panic attacks, sleeping difficulities and depression issues.  If you see her today you see a beautiful woman, wife, and mom - living in peace and walking with her hand in God's hand.  We are just so very proud of her!

If you know Hannah Jane you would join us in saying that she is the spit out of her mother's mouth.  She is a stinkerpot and has captured all of our hearts.  Her cousin Lola Mae is giving her a run for her money and her next cousin - AJ is following right in line.

I embrace tomorrow as I see it as the first day to begin the walk up the hill to healing and not down the hill of sickness and pain.

Again - each and every one of you that are praying... it's like God's arms just continue to grow as they wrap around us and carry us through this emotional time of life.  Thank you so much for all your words of encouragement - please keep posting as we cry, and laugh, and love hearing every one of them.  Molly can always tell when I'm reading them because the tears start dripping off my chin.  And of course Paul can't even finish a sentence.  :)  I love that!

We love hearing from you and it's just such an encouragement!  Keep praying - more and more

"Bless the Lord, oh my soul, and forget none of His benefits...

Who saves you from all your iniquities?

Who heals you from all your diseases?

Who redeems your life from the pit?

Who crowns you with loving kindness and compassion?

Who satisfies all your years with good things so your youth is renewed like the eagles?"

Psalm 103:1-5

Blessings - Paul and Janet Coates

PS - the picture above was taken tonight at the hospital as Hannah took her first ride in the wagon.

She's just a sick little baby!

The Day of Rest

Psalm 139:15-18

New Living Translation (NLT)

¹⁵ You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion,
    as I was woven together in the dark of the womb.
¹⁶ You saw me before I was born.
    Every day of my life was recorded in your book.
Every moment was laid out
    before a single day had passed.

¹⁷ How precious are your thoughts about me, O God.
    They cannot be numbered!
¹⁸ I can’t even count them;
    they outnumber the grains of sand!
And when I wake up,
    you are still with me!

These are the scriptures I prayed over Hannah Jane the first time I held her in my arms.  Just this week, on Ash Wednesday, I asked Paul if he remembered what happened 3 years ago - we found out that we were going to be grandparents again!  and it was Hannah Jane that was already being formed in "utter seclusion".

God knew that we would be in this place at this time before Hannah Jane was ever created.  He knew that Molly Coates and Curt Motsinger would be living through these gut-wrenching emotions before they were created "in the dark of the womb".  And He already knows what tomorrow holds for all of us.  He has prepared us for this time.  We talked about it at lunch today - Krista, Katie, Molly, Paul and I - how God had prepared all of us for this specific time.  How 6 months ago this would have been a fiasco, but He had already set the stage for all of us to be at the best place when this was set in motion. 

I am overwhelmed at the responses of you people praying!  I cannot imagine how people without "pray-ers" in their life get by...?  We have had the most wonderful peace today.  The Spirit moves around us and in us and He is being the "Comforter" that we snuggle up to. You know God is blessing us with peace when we can laugh and cry in the same conversation. 

I love picking up my phone and having a gamillion facebook posts of the blessed pray-ers.  So, keep it up! :)  As much as you have shared and reposted - please continue to do so.  

Paul and I could hardly get out the door this morning because we would check our phones for any last minute "bring me's" from the hospital - and there would be many more posts.  Of course we had to stop and read them right them - I would be in one part of the house and he in another - both crying our eyes out at the amazing and ultimate pouring out of love in each and every post.  How do others survive these difficult times without brothers and sisters that share from their hearts as you all do.  I really do pray that God will dump tons of blessings on each and every one of you.

The surgery is scheduled for tomorrow, Monday, at 11AM.  They will make a fairly large incision to carefully remove the tumor and her kidney.  She will also have a "port-a-cath" in her shoulder area to make her chemo treatments go much easier and smoother.  The surgery will last approximately 4-5 hours and her time out will be twice as long - so we are looking at 8 - 10 hours.  UGH!  Two year olds are not supposed to have tumors - the two are not supposed to be in the same sentence.  

To pray specifically - besides the obvious...doctors, surgeons, healing, please pray for easy removal of the kidney and tumor, and pray for no need for chemo and no more tumors.  Lots of peace and rest.  

Again, we are just overwhelmed at the out-pouring of love.  We will never be the same again.  Our prayer for you is that you realize "how precious are God's thoughts about you - they cannot be numbered!  You can't even count them - they outnumber the grains of sand!  (think about that the next time you are at the beach) and when you wake up - God is still with you - laying next to you in the bed - just waiting for you to open your eyes!" (my paraphrase)

We love each and every one of you - Blessings and Love - Paul and Janet Coates

Here is Hannah Jane - just last week - playing with Mamaw's phone!  

What can happen in a day!

"I once thought these things were valuable but now consider them worthless because of what Christ has done.  Yes, all these things are worthless compared to the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord." Philippians 3:7-8

How quickly theses verses came to life 24 hours ago.  How worthless everything else is... everything that I think is SO important just fades into the distance when the true value of life is set before me.  It sickens me when I consider the "value" I put on such stupid things, when the precious gift of life trickles away every day.

Sitting here in the hospital - I watch Doctor's come and go, tests taken, needles prodding, blood drawn.  Every grain of life is of highest value.  When you have to sit and watch your own daughter struggle so desperately as she watches her daughter struggle to fight her pain - all the "these things" are just garbage!

Unanswered questions become secondary while we keep praying for the Author of Life to relieve us from the anxious thoughts that creep in.  The wonderful peace will sooth us until another battery of questions come.  We live for a faint smile from a little chapped lip mouth.

I pray that God will dump heaps and blessings on all those that are holding us up in prayer, when we aren't sure what to pray.  I am the one that asks God to wake you up in the middle of the night to pray.  All of a sudden "knowing Christ Jesus" is the most valuable thing to have in this life.  I pray that you never have to experience this in the way that I am right now.

And through this difficult time...I will let God - I will receive from God - the knowledge of all the "worthless things" I waste my time on.   And with His faithful help, I will replace the "these things" with the better choice - the eternal choice of each minute spent of the rest of my life.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Above we see Mama Molly with Hannah Jane in the pink and Lola Mae in the yellow.  (Lola is the 1 year old daughter of Katie and Stan)

Just yesterday morning we had Hannah and Molly going through their regular routine of going to Pre-School, coming home for lunch, trying to take a nap, and ending up in the emergency room at Brenner's Children's Hospital in Winston Salem.

After tests and spending the first night (of many, I'm afraid) in the hospital, we found out that Hannah has a tumor the size of a baseball that is most likely cancerous.  She will have to have surgery to remove the tumor and because it has grown out of her kidney, the kidney will be removed too.  If cancerous, there will be chemo treatments to plan for.

Wow! How quickly life takes on a lot more meaning.
I can't find the words to express our love and appreciation to all who pray their guts out for us at this time.  I truly do pray for God's most unusual blessings on all of you.
Thank you and Love You... Keep Praying,
Paul and Janet Coates