Paul Merrill writes here on the first Friday of each month. We’re sharing this at the beginning of the post because of its personal nature.

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My sister-in-law is about to enter a season of hardship. She will begin kidney dialysis within a month or so. Her kidney is at 14% function, below the level at which dialysis is normally started.

Having kidneys with such low function means nearly constant tiredness and brain fog, along with negatively affecting nearly every other part of her body.

My wife is planning to give her kidney. She is not a direct match with her sister, so her kidney will go to someone we don’t know. That will give her sister priority for a donation from someone else. Without my wife’s donation, the window for getting a new kidney would be six years. With the donation, it’s six months.

We would really appreciate your prayers. Thank you!