Day 61: PRAYER

This morning, my prayers are being sent to a hospital in Indianapolis where my coach is undergoing surgery for pancreatic cancer. He has been battling it - through six rounds of chemo and four rounds of radiation - since last August. Not everyone with his diagnosis makes it to surgery, and I am praying for a successful result: for comfort; for steady hands; and for his family (his wife and sons, and his extended ND family) who are anxiously waiting the results.

Today is also a tough day in our house, as my senior son is not preparing for the prom he was supposed to attend this weekend; and for my younger son, who just learned that his summer camp (where he was supposed to work as a CIT) was cancelled. These might not seem like monumental events, but they are to them.

Since the day my boys were born, I have only had one prayer for them: God, Please keep them safe, healthy, and happy. I have never prayed for a specific outcome; I have never prayed for a base hit, a good grade, a successful achievement. I have only ever prayed for their safety, their good health, and their happiness.

This is hard right now. There were times I wanted to pray that camp would open; that graduation would happen, that baseball season wouldn’t be over, and - my most tempting - that colleges will open in the Fall. But I remain steadfast, as hard as it is; I will only continue to pray that my boys are safe, healthy, and happy. And right now, that meant cancelling baseball, school, prom, graduation, and camp. That doesn’t make this any easier, at all. But I have to trust that my prayer is being answered, even if it’s being answered in a way that I don’t want to hear.

Safe. Healthy. Happy.
Prayer. Trust. Love.