Prayer Request.

Dear Blogger Friends & Family,

I would like to send out a giant blogger sized prayer request for my Uncle Jared.

This has been a long year for my family. My mom lost six family members in between December of last year and April of this year, including both of my maternal grandparents. As hard as it was losing them, they were from a generation that we have been saying goodbye to a little at a time; we knew our time with them was limited.

There are very few people that I can say I’ve known my entire life; my Uncle Jared is one of them. In fact, if there was no Uncle Jared, there would probably be no Shannon.

You see, my Uncle Jared is related to me by marriage. He grew up in the South Oak Cliff area of Dallas, an area that once resembled the Happy Days TV show. When Lee Harvey Oswald shot John F. Kennedy, he was eventually found hiding in a movie theatre in Oak Cliff.

My dad and Uncle Jared lived in the same neighborhood, and went to the same high school. After graduation, Uncle Jared married my mom’s older sister, Bonnie and they lived in Oak Cliff. My mom came to live with Aunt Bonnie and Uncle Jared once she got out of high school, and it was while she was walking through their neighborhood that my dad first saw my mom.

My earliest memory of Uncle Jared was when I was very small, maybe about 5 years old. They were still living in Dallas, and we had come to visit for a few days. I got up early for some reason, and decided to go outside. I have no idea WHY I was going outside when everyone else was asleep. And I really have no idea why I was up ahead of everyone else. All I know is, I placed my hand on the front door, and pulled it open, only to set off their very loud home alarm.

All I remember next is my very imposing Uncle Jared quite literally appearing in the foyer out of nowhere, dressed in a white t-shirt and boxers and socks, all Tom Cruise-in-Risky-Business like. He was running so fast that he was half slipping and sliding on the hardwood floors, and he grabbed the door frame, barely awake, and said VERY LOUDLY, “OKAY, WHO’S HERE!”  That was probably the last time I ever decided to get up ahead of everyone else.

My cousin Amy was born 8 weeks ahead of me (yes, she is 29 also) and because my mom and Aunt Bonnie are so close, there are as many pictures of Uncle Jared holding me, as there are my dad.

Uncle Jared holding Amy, me in the bed asleep (of course!)

Uncle Jared always reminded me of Mr. Rogers off the old TV show (if you are old enough to know who he is…) Besides the fact that he looks like him, he always wears one of those button up sweaters. My brother calls him ‘Quirky’ in a good way, and said that Uncle Jared is the only one who could make knee socks and shorts look cool. Up until our visit to see him at Thanksgiving, I have never, in my whole life, seen him without his hair combed and slicked back.

Just before Thanksgiving, Jared was diagnosed with inoperable lung cancer. We had hoped he could receive some initial treatment and chemotherapy, but his health has not stabilized enough to allow that to happen.

My cousin called me this morning and said that they had been called back to the hospital last night because he was in respiatory distress. Fortunately, they were able to get his breathing back on track, but today has not been much better.

I wrote a post a few months ago about faith and how it’s gotten me through some tough times. This would be one of them. As a family, we have the utmost faith in God and His plan. But, we do not want to sit and watch someone struggle to breathe, either.

We will never, ever give up on the hope of a miracle but we believe in the power of prayer.

I know just as sure as I know that my kids will ask me to order pizza tonight since it’s Friday, that the power of prayer from many people can calm a soul and bring peace. I know that because I’ve experienced it.

We are hoping for a miracle.

Until then, we are asking for prayers for peace, strength and comfort for Uncle Jared, Aunt Bonnie, Amy and Anne. If you have a moment to say a prayer for them, we would appreciate it. And, if you have the time and want to Re-Tweet this, forward it, or print it and ask someone at your church to pray for him, it would mean a lot to my family.

Someone has gotta be here to keep those white knee socks in style.

(If you are looking for a place to make a year end charitable contribution for taxes, consider the American Cancer Society. Please, please help us stop this devastating disease that knows no limits.)

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