My Most Precious Thing

My Most Precious Thing
On Mother’s Day, My wife (Amanda) and three kids (Catherine 3months, Samantha 3 years and David 11 years) I went to my in-laws house to visit and have dinner. They have a pool and while dinner was preparing we were all in the pool enjoying ourselves on such a hot day. My son David who is eleven and all boy has a thing with wrestling with me. I think he just likes beating up on me.
At one point I had the advantage. He was sitting on my shoulders and I was holding his hands so that he had no control. I was repeatedly leaning forward dunking him underwater. I would come up and breathe and take him back down. We were just having a grand old time. Then as I came up and began to go back down, I heard him yell, “Dad, no”! I took him under and when I came up I had let him go and he was holding on to the side of the pool. I had moved to close to the side of the pool when I was dunking him. I had slammed his head on the edge of the pool. I quickly jumped and checked out his head. I picked him up out of the water and laid him in the concrete on the side of the pool. I looked at his head more closely and panicked at what I saw. I had hit the left side of his forehead and there was a bump growing before my eyes.
I had never seen anything like it. I touched it and I could feel the swelling behind his skin. I said a quick prayer and yelled for my wife and to get my father in law. I grabbed him in my arms took him inside and laid him on the floor. I began to pray again for help. We told him to stay awake and remain calm. He was crying and looked so terrible. I held up two fingers and asked him how many was I holding up. He responded with three. My wife and I hurried through the house to get dressed since we were still in our swimwear. We were going to have to take him to the emergency room. My in-laws live about thirty minutes out of town and it was a drive that I would never forget. We had got dressed and put David in the car. My in-laws would watch my girls while we raced to the emergency room. I kept an ice pack on his head and talked to him trying to keep him awake. I still kept praying. I was so scared.

We arrived at the emergency and they took us to the back almost immediate. They did a CAT scan and came back and said he would be fine. Apparently being hard headed paid off. So with a fifty-dollar dose of Tylenol and a house payment sized bill we went to pick up our girls and go home. During this whole ordeal is taking place I cried off and on.
I would look at my son and I thought that I had lost one of my most precious things. I have never been so scared in my life. My son and I have a good relationship, but we do have trouble. He get in trouble frequently at school, Talking mostly. He has this problem with lying and is disrespectful to both my wife and I. But this has never stopped me from loving him any less.
Later that evening when everyone was in bed I had time to reflect on the events of the day. I thought about the prayers that I prayed in the heat of it all. At my most desperate time I need my God more than ever. But I felt as if he did hear me.
You see, I had some issues that I hadn’t dealt with. Most of the time we call it “Sin”. I had a few on my plate that I hadn’t talked with him about. How could I ask him of anything? When I felt so filthy, so to speak. I had slacked in my prayer life and reading my Bible. When I need him the most, I could not call on him.
Then he spoke to my heart. David, Did you not try to help your son when he needed you. Did you have compassion for him? Would you not have taken his place if you could? You son causes you grief. He disobeys you. He lies to you. Takes what does not belong to him. But you still love him. If he calls for you, will you not go? If he is hurting, will you not address his pain? He is your son. And you are mine. You disobey me. You lie; take what does not belong to you. You know what you do. It too grieves me. But I still love you. Trust me. I am always there when you call. If you would only trust me.
I thought that I had lost one of my most precious things that day. I thank God that he is still with me. I love that kid. I thank God for him. I thought that God would not hear me when I cried to him because of my sin. Yes it grieves him. But God used that day to bring me to repentance.
I love to share this story with people. I know that God never abandons us. If we would only trust him and turn from our wicked ways he said he would heal us. God used that day to open my eyes to his awesome mercy and grace. One of my most precious things was almost taken from me, But the most precious thing I have was restored. My relationship with my best friend. My God.

Here is the something more. We all have lied one point in our life. We all have taken something that wasn't ours. If we had done just these two, we have dishonored our Mom or Dad. First and most important we have not put god first in our life. It has nothing to do with being religious. It is about simply trusting Christ. Turning from our ways that displease God. Getting back into that right relationship with God. Check this out. Are you a good person? I thought I was. Check out www.needgod.com. And take a quick test to see if you you are or if you aren't.