Proof That Showing Up and Praying Matters

Have you ever noticed on a child’s face when a grandparent walks in the door? Or a little girl noticing her Daddy is in the audience when she is on stage? How about an elementary school boy being surprised that when a costumed mascot takes off her head, it’s his mother he has not seen in a year because she was overseas on military duty?

Our parents were always there for my sister Bobbi and me.

Mom was my homeroom mother throughout elementary school. Dad was the police officer who volunteered for security at fall carnivals and special school events.

He was also my Little League baseball coach. Through PTA’s, Texas Public School Week events, plays, ball games and everything in between, they were there.

The night my sister graduated from high school, they had returned from a trip away to watch me graduate that afternoon.

Our parents always showed up, and it truly mattered.

We grew up in the Vietnam War era and watched as uncles, friends, and other family members told their loved ones goodbye.

In some cases, we were there to see fathers and loved ones return home.

I can’t imagine how it was for families during World War I and II.

When a fellow police officer was killed or died in the line of duty, it was especially emotional. The tragedy would hit home. Each time Dad made it home from his shift, it was both a sigh of relief and pleasure.

The world is much different from our growing up years of the 1960s and 70s. Prayer mattered, and we did it at the beginning of each school day, before every meal and bedtime.

In reality, the hard truth is that prayers matter now. America needs them. Our families, neighbors, communities, and the world need continuous prayers.

Will you pray?

God Bless America. God Bless you.

☆☆☆☆