Family Ties
They both called on the same day: my son and my father. One called to see how I was doing. The other called to tell me how he was doing. Long conversations in both cases. Neither call was expected; both calls made my day. There’s something about family, isn’t there? The source of our greatest pain and our greatest joy, both rolled into one. Odd, isn’t it, how love and pain seem joined at the hip? I remember standing beside my now 18 year old son’s crib when he was only an infant. He’d just endured a life-threatening operation removing half of his right lung. His breathing was labored. The night nurse, concerned, would not leave his side. Neither did I. I seriously wondered if he’d ever grow up. It’s not a pleasant memory—even now. That night, I had a choice to make: would I succumb to fear and anger, or surrender it to God? Thus far, God hadn’t seemed to keep his end of the bargain. I’d never felt so angry and helpless in my whole life.. Retreating to a quiet room, I grit...