#31 - One-two punch

Date Sent: Fri, Dec 5, 2008 at 12:36 PM

My last email briefly mentioned the recent prayer time that was had around me (and others) at church, and how I've been breathing easier since then. Praise God! Well, at one point during the prayer I started to get really bad pains in my legs. One of the "mature" men-of-God who was praying explained that it was Satan trying to distract me from the real issue. So, they prayed about the pains and they left. I mentioned to him that I get those type of spiritual attacks frequently. Satan knows that right now I'm struggling with my health, so he keeps sending me more physical attacks (as opposed to emotional/relational/etc.). When Jesus had been fasting for 40 days, Satan used the enticement of food to tempt Jesus into sinning (Matthew 4). But though Jesus was tempted, he didn't sin. Well, I've been dealing with physical/health problems for so long, that he knows that's probably a weak area for me. The past couple days Satan has stepped up the attacks.

Aaron's holding onto some "normalcy" in his life through his job. He can temporarily escape what's going on at home and go to work (though my health is always still in the back of his mind). He's gotten huge satisfaction in his job throughout the past year or two. Of course he has stressors also, but overall, he loves what he does. Well, the past month or so Satan's been tiring his hardest to discourage Aaron at work. It's been working. But hopefully now that we've finally realized it for what it is, we know better how to pray about the situation(s). Please join us in praying for God's will to be done and for peace for Aaron.

For the past three or four years I've struggled with migraines. They started after Alex was born, and the doctors can't figure out what causes them. But I've learned how to recognize them starting, pop a few pills right away, and then can cope because the pills take the edge off. They generally last an hour or hour and a half, and with the pills the migraine is quite uncomfortable, but bearable. This morning I woke up and within a minute or two felt one starting. So I immediately took the pills, and then expected to get on with my day. But today's migraine was different! It put me flat on my back. I couldn't open my eyes because it hurt too much. The pain kept getting worse and worse. For the first time in my life I was vomiting because of how much pain I was in. This morning it lasted three hours! At one point my mother called me from California (because the Holy Spirit told her she needed to call me right then). As soon as the ringing stopped, before I even heard her voice, I started crying, "Mommy, pray for me." She started to, and the pain lessened a bit. Aaron and I phoned several people to ask them to pray - but didn't reach any of them (Satan was trying to keep discouraging us!). Mother also started calling people to ask them to pray. She got through to some and left messages for others. As people kept praying, the pain diminished more and more. And within probably 30 minutes, it was totally gone. Praise God that through the power of prayer we can overcome! With every other migraine I've had, I've been physically tired for the rest of the day. But, I'm not tired at all. I'm geared up and ready to get stuff done. This wasn't a usual migraine - it was a spiritual attack. So, for those of you who got a call and prayed, thank you. For those of you who just felt impressed and prayed, thank you. For those of you who after reading this email, will pray, thank you!

I doubt this is the last attack Satan's going to throw my/our way. He doesn't give up - he doesn't really have anything else to spend his time doing. We both feel that there's going to be other physical attacks coming soon (someone else actually just phoned us and has the same feeling). So, please keep praying for us - that we'll stay safe, and be able to remain strong and keep praising God through all the punches Satan throws our way. But as for this morning's attack - I'm still standing, and still praising God.

~ Julia