Halfway to forever by Karen Kingsbury

brain cancer and that even now-days after delivering their baby
daughter-she is undergoing severe treatment. Tomorrow morning
doctors will perform a delicate brain surgery on jade, and
truthfully, her chances are not good. She could lose her memory,
her personality... her life." He gave Hannah a sad smile. "Hannah's
idea is this: Anyone wishing to participate will sign up for a halfhour
block of prayer time, starting with midnight tonight. During
that block, you will pray for jade. Pray for her newborn daughter,
her husband, and her son. Pray that God heals her and that nothing
happens during the surgery to rob her of the person she is, of
the dynamic personality she's been blessed with."
He searched the faces of the five hundred people in attendance.
When he spoke, Hannah could hear the ache in his voice
and she wasn't surprised. "I guess what I'm asking is that you'd
sign up. Please. And pray for a miracle for jade Eastman."
After the service Matt and jenny went to get Kody from the
nursery, and Hannah found the pastor. "Thank you." She blinked
back tears. "I'll call you tomorrow as soon as we hear anything."
"No need." The pastor took Hannah's hand, his expression more serious than she'd seen before. "I'll be
there first thing in the morning. I'm planning to stay all day"
Hannah hugged him, losing the battle with her tears in the
process. There was no question that Pastor Steve understood how
ill jade really was. She thanked him again, then hurried off to the
foyer to check on the jade Chain sign-up sheet.
What she saw stopped her in her tracks. What was this? Why
were so many people bottlenecked in the church foyer?
Then it hit her, and her hand flew to her mouth. Father, I don't
believe it... You're so good, Lord.
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She stared, open-mouthed. The scene before her was the most amazing, breathtaking picture of a church
family she'd ever seen or imagined in her life.
f Snaking in a line up and down the length of the oyer were easily two hundred people.
Men, women, children... baseball players from the local high school, elderly men with canes
knew well and others she woman in a wheelchair. People Hannah wouldn't have recognized if she'd met
them on the street. All of
them waiting in line to put their name on the sign-up sheet.
Each of them as desperate as Hannah to find a way to help
Jade Eastman.
Patsy Landers stared at two handwritten letters spread out on her
kitchen table and considered her options.
At first, the activities she and Grace had been doing seemed like they might be enough. Taking a walk,
building a birdhouse, singing a song. Each had been fun, and once in a while Grace would even seem
happy. Patsy knew this because every now and then Grace would smile.
But it was never her old smile, the one that used to light up a room.
Concerned that something might be seriously wrong with Grace, Patsy took her to see a counselor, a
Christian woman whose office was across the street from Patsy's church. For two days, the woman spent
an hour with Grace, talking to her, asking her questions. Listening. At the end of the second session, the