Please read this and say a prayer. I am heart broken. Day 2 A week ago a man got out of bed after a long weekend. The best weekend. A weekend when relatives came from near and far for the annual celebration of family. A weekend full of tradition and nonsense. A weekend full of food and laughter. A weekend about the good old days and the promise of days to come. And to this man family is everything. The only thing. The first priority and the last thought at night. As the unofficial patriarch, he is the keeper of the stories; the historian. The generations before him have given him a wealth of anecdotes to share over a stiff drink and a good cigar. Both best savored around the kitchen table or on the back porch. Oh, this man is not the richest man in the traditional sense but his fortune is immeasurable in his mind. No bank account could tally his love for his children and grandchildren. No value can be placed on the time he takes to genuinely inquire about everyone’s well- being. And now it is his well-being that is in jeopardy. You see, while this man was preserving the family legacy of working hard and loving harder, his body was being destroyed. He suspected something the moment he got up that day. But one’s mind does not go there. To that dark place. Not unless it is led there by tests, scans and charts. After the results of those procedures came back, no one can know for sure what went through this man’s mind when they said the word “cancer.” But those of us that know and love him would bet the farm that the initial thought was not for himself. It was instead, the notion of what this diagnosis would mean to his family. And they did what family does. They circled the wagons, dropped everything, made calls, asked the tough questions and tried to adjust to this new reality. Even when the reality got worse and more complicated with each passing day. Most importantly, following his example, THEY LOVED. After a life-time of being loved and nurtured by this man, instinctively they knew what to do. For love provides strength in the face of even the ugliest of battles. They found themselves in the midst of powerlessness, letting the love stave off hopelessness. The silent force that is love revealed a well of inner-reserve that would sustain them. As this family stalwart awaits a long and risky surgery in the coming days, we can only hope that he lets us lift him on our backs and carry him. That our love and prayers will intervene where medical science will falter. That we can return a fraction of what this man has given. He has given his all every day both in crisis and calm. Because, to him, that is what you do with family and those that God has entrusted to you. And now we entrust Barney to God. And I ask that anyone reading this does too. Say a prayer. Say two, because he would do the same. Because this man, this wonderful man would never ask for prayers himself.
Posted on: Tue, 12 Aug 2014 15:58:29 +0000
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