A Father’s Prayer

I was running errands yesterday when I stumbled upon a story on the radio. I think the thrust of the show was about experimental drugs and how when you’re dying you really don’t care how safe they are. The story took a turn when they interviewed a mom who’s ten year old son had cancer. It was bad and the doctors gave little hope…hence the reason for wanting the experimental drugs.

I’m not sure the whole point of the program but what took place on my radio was horrific.

It sounded like a docudrama. As the reporter talked about the little boy with cancer you could hear him in the background laughing at a school or day care. He sounded normal. The next scene was the same boy at the hospital…undergoing some sort of procedure. You could here him talking softly about wanting to go home.

The next person’s voice I heard was the boys doctor giving the prognosis. “Hospice has been called in and he has about 6 months to live,” she said factually. “When he first came in he was full of life and played the violin for me,” she paused and her voices felt thick with emotion. “Now he just wants to go home and lays around.”

Thankfully I had to go into the store at that moment and was glad to turn off the radio. I couldn’t take much more.

Ten minutes later I got back in the car and the radio person was saying, “The boy died and………………”

Oh, man. I could feel the parents pain and prayed, asking God never to ask me to go through that. And yet, I know that sometimes our infinitely loving God does as us to go through those things.

I love my children so much…and yet I forget that I do sometimes. Even when I hear a story on the radio the effect doesn’t last long. But here’s the deal, Dad. You child could be taken away…just like that.

Don’t waste any of that time.

You ‘da dad,

PS – Here’s an interesting story about a dad who lost his daughter and is now walking from Disneyland to Disney World to spread awareness of the disease that killed his daughter.