Please Pray for My Cousin

The Lord works in mysterious ways.  I don't understand, nor do I try to understand.  And some days, it can be harder than others.  Tonight is one of the harder days.

I just received the news about an hour ago: my cousin had an accident playing on a four-wheeler and suffered a bad head injury.  She was life-flighted to the nearest trauma center and is in intensive care.  I don't know anything else about her condition except for that.  But, it doesn't sound good right now.

I know that God is going to take care of her, but that hasn't stopped me from worrying right now.  Right now I'm scared and unsure and crying like a baby.  The thing is, my cousin and I were never that close.  I mean, we girls have to stick together in a family that is mostly boys, but there's about 10 years difference between us, and our personalities are so different that it can be hard for us to find common ground.  I'm embarrassed to say that when I first heard the news, my reaction was one of mild concern, like you might feel when you learn that a total stranger had a major issue, not your own cousin.  Perhaps that's because I only see her maybe twice a year, and even then we hardly talk.  But, the more I thought about what I hard heard, the more scared I got.  I've been crying over this and I'm praying and praying that she is going to be okay.

The thing that frightens me the most is the knowledge that everything happens for a reason and that God's ways are not our ways.  If my cousin dies, or has permanent brain damage from this event, I know that there was a reason for it, and that this is all part of a greater plan.  But, I don't want to see that happen.  This is the most difficult part of faith.  I know that God will answer our prayers, but I also know that I might not like that answer.  But, it is part of the divine plan, and I have to trust.

I experienced a lot of emotional trauma as a child, actually when I was about the same age as my cousin is now, and it made me an atheist.  For years, I was teetering on that line of atheist/agnostic, and through God's grace I returned to my faith, strengthened and restored.  I know this isn't going to push me away from God, but it feels too real, too sharp right now.  And I'm starting to go numb and I'm so scared.  I'm really scared.

Please, if anyone is reading this, please pray for my cousin.  Pray to Blessed John Licci, as he is the patron of head injuries.  Pray for healing.  Pray for a miracle.