Jodi O’Grady had struggled with a mild form of Ulcerative Colitis, which is an autoimmune disease that causes inflammation in the colon. She had managed to keep it under control with diet and exercise until she became pregnant with her second child in the summer of 2013. Three months after her daughter was born, she found that the disease had spread, and she experienced a severe flare. She was sure that she was going to die and begged God not to take her from her children. She promised she would do whatever He asked of her and would return to church if He would allow her to live.
Keeping her promise, she started visiting different churches but none of them felt like home. A good friend of hers had been attending Lifesong for many years and she decided to give it a try. As soon as she walked in the doors, she felt calmed and welcomed. When worship began, she was surprised when she started to sob uncontrollably. Her friend hugged her and asked her if she was okay, and she answered by saying, “I’ve been sick for so long. I just need SOMETHING!” Immediately after saying those words, she heard the worship leader sing “Christ is enough for me. Everything I need is in You. Everything I need.” In that moment, she realized she had found her church home and began her journey of faith.
After another ulcerative colitis flare, she learned from a friend that there was a small group that he was co-leading called The Case for Healing, so she joined. The group prayed with her, and she grew in faith that God would move in her life. It had been seven years since Jodi had been symptom free. She had tried all kinds of diets and, as part of her treatment journey, she had spent three and a half years on a medication that was only supposed to be used for a very short period of time. As a result, doctors were concerned about her bone density and warned her that she was very susceptible to breakage. Additionally, she’d been battling anemia, and her body was not absorbing nutrients the way it should. In light of all this, she was happy to share that she had just become symptom free for the first time in seven years. On top of that, doctors had just done some tests that revealed that her vitamin levels and bone density were normal!