I have not stopped thanking God for you. I pray for you constantly. ~Ephesians 1:16

My youngest son, Luke, was diagnosed with Chiari Malformation in September 2014 at age 10. On February 2, 2015, he had brain decompression surgery in which a piece of his skull was removed as well as his top vertabrae and the cerebellar tonsils are cauterized. This journey to his diagnosis, surgery and recovery has been life changing in so many ways.

During this time, he was given a knitted prayer shawl made by a precious local ladies fellowship church group. Later, he was also given a prayer bear by a sweet friend of mine.

His bear was placed at the right corner head of his bed and was there for almost 2 years. His prayer shawl went with us to the hospital and brought so much comfort to him. He told me he could feel the love of God when he had it with him from all the prayers that had been prayed over it and love that had gone into it. (And just let me say, there is something indescribable for me as his mommy to know that others knelt around it and went before the Creator of Universe on behalf of my son!)

Nearly a year after his surgery, my co-worker was battling cancer. Luke and I wanted to reach out to her, to give her comfort, but in all honesty I simply CANNOT knit. So we decided to send her a prayer bear. Luke picked out the softest one he could find, just the perfect size to hug. We prayed over it, calling her by name before God. Here are a couple of links you can read about this story: First for Women The Mighty

After that, we decided we could bring comfort in a very small way through giving prayer bears. To start off, Luke sold some of his toys for donations. We do this completely on our own and with the help of donations. Since that first bear, we have given nearly 30 bears in just over a year to others who are sick or hurting, most to children with Chiari like Luke and other conditions. It is such an honor to be entrusted by these parents to pray for their precious children!

If you would like to help, please visit my home page and click the Donate button. If you have someone that you would like us to send a prayer bear, you can contact me at @Lukesprayerbears

If you would like to read more about Luke’s journey, type Chiari in the search bar below the donation button on the home page.