Digital Discipleship
In the spring of 2020, Jennifer Roy was diagnosed with an aggressive form of leukemia. This cancer—compounded by a blood disorder—left her in the hospital for many months last year. The COVID restrictions made those very lonely months as visits with her family were very limited. Hundreds and hundreds of people joined her family (Jay, Daniel, Philip, and Alayna) in praying diligently for Jennifer.
After undergoing multiple rounds of chemotherapy and a stem-cell transplant, her leukemia count had come down enough for her doctors to believe that the cancer was in remission. This was November of 2020. In mid-January of 2021, Jennifer and Jay received the difficult news that the leukemia had returned.
Jennifer is currently in UVA undergoing a new round of chemotherapy and regularly receiving transfusions of blood and platelets. We are praying once again for God to touch her body and bring complete healing.
As you pray for Jennifer, here are a few things you might be interested to know:
Jennifer’s life verse is Psalm 27:13-14 which says, “I had fainted, unless I had believed to see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living. Wait on the LORD: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the LORD.”
She said, “These verses help remind me that God is there with me every step of the way, and He will continue to do so. I can look forward and choose to believe that I will see His goodness in this life.”
She mentioned that her favorite quality of Jesus was His patience. She said, “I’m rather thick-headed and dense most of the time. I’m so grateful He is patient with me. Because He continues to be patient with me, He allows me to learn more about Him as I grow daily in Him.”
When asked how the physical battles of the past year have changed her, she said, “This one’s a loaded question—as I am still learning and discovering how He’s changing me. My whole life up until I got sick was pretty much all about me. I took a lot of pride in what I did—whether it was training horses, working with dogs, or whatever. I know now that I made way too much out of those things and, unfortunately, my relationship with Jesus definitely suffered. Having this illness, although devastating in so many ways, sure puts life in perspective. I am more focused on my life in the sense of how I can show Jesus through it. I want people to see His strength through me as I fight with Him against this disease. I want people to see there is hope and we can trust Him. And I HAVE to believe like my verse says that I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.”
If you want to join her in praying for healing, here is what Jennifer is currently praying about. “My prayers right now are that the bone marrow biopsy next week will show no cancer cells, so I can go home. Also, for wisdom with my stem cell doctor and her team as we move forward again with another possible donor and transplant. I pray for strength for my family. They are being very strong on the outside, but I know they are hurting.”