Battle-Fighting Fast

Esther's surgeries for both biopsy and the port placement were done Monday.  She is doing amazing and the hand of God is all over her remarkably fast recovery.  She slept very well (not perfect) last night and amazingly, too, she and baby Josiah both slept till 7:45am!

Although Daddy Jim had to move to the hotel off-campus late afternoon Saturday, we were able to enjoy some quiet time together beforehand.  We were also able to spend Monday and Tuesday at Le Bonheur's Children's Hospital together, which is where Esther's surgeries were performed.  We are planning to regularly take Sundays "off" from posting and make time and space to hear the Lord's voice more clearly.  We are still seeking direction for Esther's treatment and miracle, both short- and long-term.  We are beginning to see God's plan formulating in small ways.

One way is when we visited the Chapel at the hospital on Monday, and I read several Psalms out loud from the beautiful KJV Bible there.  I told Jim how I wish I had my paper Bible with me, and Jim pointed out a freshly wrapped Bible sitting in the corner by the door I first came in - I didn't even see it sitting there!  So I have a paper Bible now to read over Esther!  Even though this Bible is from the Dollar Tree (I know the Dollar Tree company name on all the labels LOL!), it is worth far more than $1 (or $1.25 I guess these days!) to me and our precious baby Esther.

The second way is in regards to treatment options. Daddy Jim and I are typically “happy-middle” kind of people, and tend to find the best of both "worlds" and blend them together in that just right "sweet spot."  While we are leaning towards the standard six weeks of radiation, and we are looking into clinical trial options Esther may be eligible for, we are also digging deep into natural remedies.  The standard care of treatment for this tumor is somewhat based on the assumption that there are no survivors - so the medical world rarely considers long-term effects or harm when it comes to kids like Esther.  Any one of us may only have 10 seconds, or 10 minutes, or 10 days, or 10 years left to live before the Lord calls us home - does that stop us from making long-term plans??  Of course not!  We choose life and blessings, and we plan for a long full life - for ourselves and for our children.  God wants to give us life and life more abundantly.

So where better to start than God's Word?  There was no "modern" medicine or western medical technologies when the prophets, Jesus, and the first disciples walked the earth.  Yet there were miracles.  And Jesus said we, His disciples, would perform even greater miracles than His.  I kept hearing the Lord whisper to me Monday as Esther was recovering from the surgical procedures about the Daniel fasts and the Esther fast.   Daniel 1 and Daniel 10 both discuss Daniel fasting for two different reasons, and Esther 4 discusses Esther fasting for yet another reason.  I couldn't go to sleep on Monday night till I did my Biblical research.  Daniel 10:4 may not seem that important, but it hit me like a hurricane-force wind: “On April 23*, as I was standing on the bank of the great Tigris River,” - can you guess why??  April 23, 2022 was Elizabeth's graduation day AND the first day we noticed symptoms in Esther - her left eye was getting "stuck" inwards, towards her nose.  I actually read that verse several times before I could believe that specific date was actually in the BIBLE!  God sees the little things and He cares about us all the way down to the itty bitty details.

This is now the third week since diagnosis, and Daniel was also experiencing a spiritual battle - for three weeks!  He fasted those three weeks, and then found out that while he was fasting, the angels had been delayed because they were delayed fighting demons on their way to him.  Daniel's fasting and praying helped to tip the scales in his favor and open the way for the angels to fight off the demons and continue on their God-given mission to speak with him.  It has now been nearly three weeks since Esther’s diagnosis, and Jim and I have been experiencing a similar "all quiet on the front" during this time, in which Esther's treatments and prognosis are being fought over on the spiritual battlefield.  This is why we haven’t heard a clear word from the Lord about this yet. We have heard, however, how we need to join Him in the fight for Esther and her future.  We need to fast again, the Daniel 21-day fast, and we invite everyone, including Esther, to join us in fasting and prayer for her life, her future, and the plans God has for her!  

What does the Daniel 3-week fast look like?? How can we join together with the Spirit to fight this battle in the Lord’s army??  Daniel 10:2-3 describes Daniel’s fast like this: “When this vision came to me, I, Daniel, had been in mourning for three whole weeks. All that time I had eaten no rich food. No meat or wine crossed my lips, and I used no fragrant lotions until those three weeks had passed.”  This description gives a general idea of this battle-fighting fast, although it does not include many details. Unltimately, how we fight in the Lord’s army is up to each individual believer/soldier with the Holy Spirit General.  Three things are clear though - no meat (does that include eggs, etc? I don’t know - consult the Holy Spirit and follow His directions), no rich foods (avoid desserts, treats, self-indulgent foods - again, consult the Holy Spirit), and no self-pampering (fragrant lotions, perfumes, etc. - consult the Holy Spirit again). We have been using frankincense, myrrh and olive oil to anoint Esther, so you may want to use some of those, too, instead of Bath and Body Works, for example. 
Please fight for Esther at least from Thursday, May 19th to Wednesday, June 8th. We will let you know if the battle is still being fought at that time.  Please share any word the Lord gives you during this time of fasting and praying as well.  Thank you for joining hands, hearts and spirits for Esther’s life and for God’s glory!!! 🙏🏻

*10:4 Hebrew On the twenty-fourth day of the first month, of the ancient Hebrew lunar calendar. This date in the book of Daniel can be cross-checked with dates in surviving Persian records and can be related accurately to our modern calendar. This event occurred on April 23, 536 b.c.