Pray for David’s Dad

I remember the very first time I met David’s Dad, Keith. David and I had been dating for a few months. His family was living in Indiana so I hadn’t gotten the chance to meet them yet. Dave had big plans to go on a fishing trip with his dad to the Canadian wilderness, so Keith flew up to Minnesota to meet David and then the next day they planned to drive David’s pickup truck to their destination.

 

They hit a bit of a snag when the water pump went out on David’s truck. My dad went over to assist David and his dad in repairing the truck so they could still hit the road. That evening, David and Keith came over to my parent’s house for dinner. That’s when I knew our relationship was serious.

I was a little nervous about meeting Keith. I wasn’t sure how much David had shared about me to his family. I didn’t know how they felt about their son dating a young woman who already had a daughter. To be quite honest, I don’t know how I’d feel about that if I was in their shoes.

But the butterflies in my stomach quickly disappeared as the evening meal continued. Keith was warm and funny. Conversation came easy. We laughed and listened to stories. While he might have had some reservations, he never voiced them or made me feel like less of a person. He welcomed me, and my young daughter, into his son’s life and into their family eventually.   That says a lot about a person. Over the past twenty five years, I’ve grown to love David’s dad as if he truly were mine.

Our family would like to ask you for some help. We’re needing some special prayers right now for David’s dad.

Ten years ago, David’s Dad, Keith was diagnosed with esophageal cancer. The doctors performed a radical surgical procedure where they removed his entire esophagus and reshaped his stomach to act like an esophagus. They caught the cancer in its very early stages and he was cancer-free!

Keith can run circles around many of us.

He loves to use his hands. That’s one feature that has always stood out to me about Keith. His hands have a strength about them and they’re an integral part of the man he is.

Keith chooses to use his hands for so many wonderful things.

He builds things. He fixes things. He tinkers with things. He uses his hands to teach and to create, to discipline and to love. Many of us have beautiful projects displayed around our homes that Keith has made out in his shop.

Even after having a double knee replacement, Keith has continued to build houses for Habitat for Humanity and has gone on several mission trips with David over the years to help communities rebuild from the devastation of hurricanes and mudslides.

• He climbs ladders and swings a hammer.
• He fishes. He loves to create things.
• He makes the most amazing things out of wood!
• He plays with his grandchildren and helps them finish projects for clubs.

I remember when David was in the Burn Unit, over sixteen years ago and we were uncertain of what was in our future, Dave’s mom and dad were such a strong support for me. While we spent countless hours together in the hospital waiting room, Keith was a source of strength and comfort to me.

He helped me keep track of my expenses in a perfectly precise and organized ledger so I could turn them in to Workers Comp. I’d never seen such straight lines! While I teased him about it, I was so very grateful that he was willing to help me keep track of things.

I remember the uneasiness I felt about all we were going through and the struggle of not knowing if I’d ever be able to hold my husband’s hand again or get a hug from him. I also remember the comfort I felt when Keith would embrace me in a quick hug in the waiting room. It was like I was enveloped in a hug from David. Those hands had shaped David into the man he was. They had taught David so much. There was wisdom in those hands. Those hands had seen a lot of storms and yet, they survived and that gave me hope that David would too.

Keith hasn’t been feeling quite right, and last fall he lost his voice, with no evidence as to why. After some testing, we were told the week of Thanksgiving, that there are two tumors in his throat. One is wrapped around the nerve that controls a vocal cord and that’s why Keith lost his voice.

Four weeks ago, Dave’s mom and dad embarked on a new journey that’s involved chemo pills and an intense radiation treatment plan for the next six weeks. The potential side effects are scary and the potential prognosis is even scarier. Please keep them in your daily prayers. Keith is feeling very tired and his throat is beginning to hurt. The doctors told him that it will get worse in the next few weeks. Of course, we are praying that these tumors will disappear with the treatments and that Keith will be cancer-free.

Hearing the diagnosis of cancer is downright scary, especially when it effects someone you love. While Keith’s prognosis isn’t great from his doctors, we know and draw comfort in the fact that God knows everything that’s happening now and he knows the number of days we all have left. Nothing comes as a surprise to God. I draw comfort from that. When things happen that we simply don’t understand, it’s difficult to remember that God is good and that His ways are bigger than what we’re capable of understanding and that He works all.

There’s a song on the radio right now by Chris Tomlin and our worship band has been singing it at church. It’s such a powerful reminder to me right now. I find myself singing it or humming it almost every day. When I start to doubt, it’s a great reminder to me as well. I love how it says, “You are perfect in all of your ways.” There are just so many things that happen all around us that we cannot understand but I cling to the fact that God’s ways are perfect.