Georgia, and Anissa, on my mind
I wasn’t sure I was going to do this post. I haven’t known Anissa very long. I was introduced to her through Five Star Friday, when I read the post that made me love her. She told off some redneck asshole in a fast food joint. I think any of us might have done that… At least any of us who are confident enough to recognize and confront bigotry and ignorance wherever we find it.
A few weeks ago I was having a laugh with Anissa on Twitter regarding Twilight paraphenalia. (Just trust me, there are some HUGELY outlandish things out there for the “true Twilight fan”) Then, not a week after that, as I was packing for my trip to Atlanta, I remembered a chat I’d had with her on the FSF vid chat about getting together and meeting (for the first time in person) the next time I was down in Atlanta. It was kind of surreal to be thinking that thought and to log on to Twitter to see every single one of my friends had a hash tag that said “prayers for Anissa” Excuse me? What? What the HELL is going on? It didn’t take much investigation to find that she’d had a massive stroke.
Shock is not how I’d describe how I felt. Pissed off. Yeah, that’s more like it. Anyone who’s visited Anissa’s blog would know that this is not her first stroke. Nor could they not know that her daughter Peyton had cancer. I mean, seriously! Enough is ENOUGH for some people. As someone who’s had more than my share of struggles, I get tired of seeing people suffer; and though Anissa and I have not shared many of the same struggles, we have shared some very similar ones and she is another Sister in Christ and another kindred spirit through personal tragedy. And enough IS enough for this remarkable woman.
I have since been cyber-stalking the http://hope4peyton.org website for updates on how Anissa is doing. This morning, Peter’s post had my nearly sobbing. Well, I should say, rather, that Anissa had me nearly sobbing. (I was just crying relentlessly, hadn’t quite gotten to the sobs yet) To say that this is a testament that our prayers will always fall on the the ears of a God who has suffered as we do would be an understatement. The fact that Peter and Anissa still cling to God through all these overwhelming trials is inspirational. The fact that there are hundreds to thousands of people praying for Anissa brings a whole new meaning to God’s promise of being in the midst of two or more joined in prayer! And the fact that so many of these people who are praying only know Anissa through Twitter or the blogosphere just goes to show those who don’t believe that God works through ANY AND EVERY platform of human interaction for His Glory!
So, here’s what you can do to get in on this and help Anissa get better. There are lots of things, actually that you can do. You can donate directly to the family. Peter, whose company is gracious enough to be as supportive as possible, is still home with the kids or with Anissa at the hospital. 24/7. You can also purchase gift cards for the family members who are traveling to stay with them and help out. (The address where to send those are on the Caring Bridge page. here.) Another blogger has created T-Shirts where all the proceeds go to the family. However, if you can’t afford to make a financial donation and really want to do something to help, blogger, Megan at Undomestic Diva, has decided to collect pictures of people with messages for Anissa. I’m pretty sure the goal is to have the slideshow to her in time for Christmas. So, do what you can, and if you can’t do much in the way of donations or sending a care package, by all means, send a picture. Let Anissa know she’s in your thoughts!
http://tinyurl.com/jesuslovesyouthisiknow
Thank you for posting this, really.