Blog - Latest Letters

July 20, 2025

Subject: Encouragers In Time of Need

Dear Alexis, Ian, Noah, Anna, Eli, Josiah, Levi, Emily, Isaac and Mathias,

It was supposed to be a time of great celebration. Our oldest son, your Dad or Uncle Aaron, was graduating from High School. Because he was also the oldest grandchild and nephew on either side of our extended family, almost the entire extended family had traveled to witness the right of passage and celebrate with us. We had a house full of people.

At the time, my dad was 64 years old and still ten years away from his passing. But, he was not in good health having experienced cancer, kidney failure and a kidney transplant, a heart attack and a quintuple bypass surgery, as well as multiple other issues including degenerative spinal issues. In short, he was a physical mess at that relatively young age.

Just as we were about to begin a pre-graduation celebratory lunch, Dad started hyperventilating and immediately laid down on the couch, clutching his upper chest. Thinking he was having another heart attack, within minutes we called the ambulance and he was whisked away to Riverside Hospital in nearby Columbus.

Wanting to interrupt the festivities as little as possible, yet still care for my father and be there for my mother, as soon as the ambulance departed, I quietly went to my office and called my friend Paul to explain the situation. I knew he would help make any changes in the graduation ceremony at Aaron’s school in the event Aaron would not be able to be present to give the closing prayer since he was class chaplain. And, I wanted to ask if he would please call some other friends to begin praying for my dad.

Following that call, I went to look for Aaron before I left for the hospital. I wanted to let him know I would be at his graduation, but needed to leave for now to be with both my mom and dad. However, I couldn’t locate him amid all the other people. As one last attempt at finding him, I bounded upstairs and gently opened the door to his bedroom. Sitting there in his old dilapidated easy chair was Aaron with tears streaking down his face, praying for his grandfather. I quietly closed the door, ran back downstairs and grabbed my jacket. As I kissed Gramma goodbye I told her to try and keep everything else as normal as possible for Aaron, then headed to the garage and the car.

Once I got to the hospital, I learned that the doctors had already determined it was not a heart attack, but they had admitted Dad for observation for the rest of the day and night. I had been in his room about ten minutes when I heard a light knock at the open doorway. When I stood and looked around the corner, there stood my friend Paul, motioning me to come outside into the hallway. I couldn’t believe he was there, in spite of having his own son, Uncle Aaron’s best friend Nate, graduating that afternoon. In fact, Paul was also scheduled to provide the opening speech at the graduation ceremony which was to begin in just a couple of hours.

As I walked out into the hallway with Paul, he held up a small Gideon’s Pocket Bible to me and said, “I thought you might need some encouragement so I brought you a Bible and wanted to pray with you briefly.” I immediately began to tear up, but not because my dad was sick. I was crying because it meant so much to me that Paul would care enough to interrupt his own firstborn’s graduation celebration to come be with me and encourage me in a time of need.

That isn’t the only time in my life that Christian friends have gone out of their way to encourage me when I’ve been in difficult circumstances. About ten years later after Dad’s episode at Aaron’s graduation, he passed away during a particularly difficult time for me in our business when we were negotiating to sell one of our companies. I was already stressed, but Dad’s passing nearly had me at a breaking point.

As I was standing in the receiving line at his visitation the evening before his funeral, I saw three of my senior staff members from our company walk into the room. They had driven a round trip of nearly seven hours to come be with me that evening and encourage me. I don’t think I shed a tear all evening until I saw them. I don’t remember a word they said. I just remember they were there for me.

The Apostle Paul has a lot to say about encouraging one another. In I Thessalonians he tells us, “Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing.” (I Thess 5:11 ESV) And in Romans he says, “Let each of us please his neighbor for his good, to build him up.” (Rom 15:2 ESV) But he’s not the only writer of scripture who exhorts us to lift each other up. There are many other verses in the New Testament, and stories from the Old Testament where we are reminded of this important assignment. For example, the writer of Hebrews says, “And let’s consider how to encourage one another in love and good deeds.” (Heb 10:24 ESV)

Until you have had someone care enough to cry along with you, or provide words of encouragement, you can have no idea how much it means. The next time you have a friend who you know is hurting, be that person who comes alongside them and “is just there.”

Love,

Papa