Pearl Joy Brown: A Miracle, A Fighter

**If you are here looking for my 300 follower giveaway, it will post tomorrow. I found this post to be so much more important and I hope that you will read it in it's entirety.

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There are times in your life when you realize how small your problems are, how easy your life is. In times like these, I often think about this quote from Regina Brett -- 

"If we all threw our problems in a pile and saw everyone else's, we'd grab ours back."

I had one of those moments this week when I heard about sweet Pearl Joy Brown. My problems seemed insignificant and miniscule in light of what this family is going through. 

At 20 weeks along, Ruth and Eric were told that their daughter Pearl has a condition called alobar holoprosencephaly (HPE). In short, this condition causes the brain and features of the face to not form correctly. The condition is deemed "not compatible with life." If Pearl was to survive her life in the womb, she might only live minutes or hours here on Earth. Or she might live days and years. Still, the Brown family (which includes two other beautiful children, Brennan and Abbey) was told by a specialist that they should induce labor instead of prolonging the inevitable. 

Thankfully, Ruth and Eric followed their hearts and did not induce labor. Pearl Joy was born over a week ago and is still alive! Her life has not been without difficulty, she has had spells where she stops breathing, very long epileptic episodes, and the Brown family has been set up with hospice care at home...but still, Pearl is fighting. She is one tough girl. Right now, the Brown family is working with specialists and continuing to search out more doctors who understand Pearl's condition as it is very, very uncommon.   

 

Today, I am asking that you intervene on behalf of the Brown family through prayer. That you run to the throne of God and you ask for healing, for strength, for health, for acceptance no matter what the outcome. Pray for Pearl's parents, Ruth and Eric, and for her two siblings, Brennan and Abbey, that already deeply love her.

 All pictures taken by Pearl's proud daddy, Eric

I think in situations like this, we often don't know what to pray or how to pray, so we don't. If you aren't sure what to pray, you aren't alone. I find myself at a loss for words when thinking of this family so I say a "breath prayer"...it's short, it's to the point..."God, be with Pearl today." "God, give Ruth and Eric something to smile about today." "God, strengthen Pearl's lungs and keep her from having seizures."

Although I do not personally know the Browns, I have had the opportunity to talk to Eric a few times through Twitter and I can tell you that through his tweets and their blog, it is so apparent that the Brown family so trusts in God's infinite grace and love. Eric has sent his sincere thanks multiple times at the thought of all of you praying for Pearl.

Thank you, my friends, for listening to this story and for seeing Pearl as God sees her -- perfect, without a flaw. Thank you for thinking of this family, thank you for praying for this family. It will not go unnoticed. 

You can follow along with Pearl's journey through regular tweets from Eric

or through updates via the Pearl Joy Brown Blog.

If you feel led to help the Brown family financially, you can donate directly to PayPal here.

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