“Are you being sincere?” is a thought I often had when I would come upon a “Please pray for our _____” post on social media.
These “plea’s for prayers” (thats what I call them) are seeming to become ever more present. I can’t get more than one scroll down my news feed without seeing a request for prayers for a family member, dog, new job or for a stain to come out of a beloved sweater. The cynic in me rolls my eyes and keeps scrolling. Not reading as to why the prayers were requested. I, myself have never been in a situation that warranted asking the general public for their thoughts, vibes, prayers or whatever else. Until 28 days ago.
My little brother was in a terrible work accident. He is an arborist and got wrapped up in some line that pulled him into the mouth of a wood chipper. He has 2 broken femurs, severed arteries from his knee down which has led to the amputation below the knee of his right leg and has had over 107 units of blood and blood products. At this very moment he is in having his 14th surgery.
Since October 6th our family has been the recipient of what I estimate to be 1000’s of prayers, well wishes, good thoughts and vibes. Some of which were because of family members posting their very own “pleas for prayers” on social media. And as I read each and every one several times over, I not only believed it but felt it. I felt it in everything I did, wherever I was. I felt the sincerity in every letter, in every word, in every sentence.
A couple of weeks ago, a nurse came into my brother’s room with a stack of papers and asked if she could show us something. We said “of course”, and she sat down. She said “each one of the pieces of paper represent a blood product order that you received. I stopped counting at 107”. I asked her if she had ever seen that many, and she replied very quickly with a short “No”. We don’t know why or how he is still here with us, but we are very grateful that he is. And we believe that he is here because he is meant to do something powerful and great. And for that, I am very. truly. sincerely thankful for all of the prayers.
East Coast Approach 