Fathers Day Prayer Request

Dad’s Approval
I suppose it is true what the experts say about fathers. They have a powerful effect on their children long after the children are no longer children. I never really felt that true about me. Our dad’s absence from the home was a bit of an embarrassment for me at times. “Where is your dad?” “I don’t know. He doesn’t live with us.” But I never felt I was adversely affected by this lack of a strong father figure. I have always been well adjusted (whatever that means). I had a happy childhood. I chose a totally different path than our father. And I never chose to resent Dad. I did feel bad for him. I felt bad he missed out on what a great family he had. It was his loss to miss those formative times with us, his kids.

I remember the good times. There were not many that involved Dad, but the memories are still powerful to me. Perhaps because they are so few. I remember mornings on his bed laughing about the things he said and did the night before after returning from a night on the town. He would want his back scratched, or the white hairs pulled out of his head. I guess the memory lingers because Dad was home. And sober. And even winsome. We were almost a normal family.

My most potent early memory of dad was when he came to watch me play baseball. It happened once. I played pitcher and catcher that game. I had two put-outs at the plate. I didn’t think anything about it until Dad told me how proud he was of me. I had blocked the plate and made the tags despite the fact the kids running home were much bigger than I. It was a fact that had escaped my notice. Dad took note. His pride made me proud of me.

I’m sure we lost the game. We always lost. But Dad told me that the man who sat next to him on the bleachers said that I was the best player on the team. I don’t know, and didn’t know at the time, whether Dad made that story up to make me feel better, or if it was true another man had said it. I only know my dad said it. That was good enough.

Please Pray
I got a call Friday night from a young friend whose wife was due to deliver a baby boy. Joe and Melissa Adam had been part of our small group until January when they launched a new group with some other young couples. Melissa was full term and we had been expecting Jackson to come this week. But I could tell there was something wrong in Joe’s tone. He said, “Yes, Jackson is here, but I need your help.” He told me how that Jackson had inhaled meconium (stool material) and was not able to breath on his own. The meconium fills the lungs and does not allow the flow of oxygen. They immediately put him on a ventilator. As soon as was possible they transferred him to Children’s Mercy Hospital which is better equipped to handle such cases. Joe was barely able to tell me the story through his tears. The doctors were giving Jackson only a 20% chance to live. And if he were to live the chances of brain damage were significant. Could I get the church to pray for them? We made some calls and got the prayer chain started, then Linda and I went to the hospital to be with, to cry with, and to pray with Melissa.

Here is the latest. They had to sever Jackson’ carotid artery, run tubes down it and cycle the blood through an ECMO machine that filters and reoxidizes the blood. He may have to be on this for 3 to 14 days, depending on several factors. We spent a little time with Joe and Melissa last night. They are in considerably better spirits. Jackson had survived the first battles. He is a very large baby at 9 lbs., 7 oz. His carotid artery can never be reattached, which means he will have only one artery to the brain. There will always be a scar present. But he could come through this a normal healthy boy otherwise. It’s a tough way to spend your first Fathers Day as a father. Jackson is their first child. Please pray for Jackson. And for Joe and Melissa. Thanks!

Have a great week! I hope all you fathers had a great fathers day.