Lessons From a Friend

When I was a child, I heard someone say a word I had not heard before.    The way the word was being used clearly conveyed it was something important.   Later, I asked my Dad about it.

“Hey Dad, what is wisdom?”

He gently responded, “It is when someone is really smart about stuff that REALLY matters”.

I am not sure if I said it, but I remember thinking, “Then, that’s what I want!”

Since that time seeking wisdom has been important to me.    It is a quality that impacts all areas of life.

Today, I had breakfast with a friend.  Our conversation reminded me of just how important this trait is because it shapes the core of who someone can become when they are seeking the right things.

As we started to talk, he told me a story about the birth of his son.    He and his wife had been dealing with infertility for years and had given up on ever having a child.   They were ecstatic beyond words to find out they were having a baby!  

Then the bottom fell out.

During the pregnancy his wife’s blood pressure became dangerously high and there were serious concerns about the condition of her heart. However, the doctor assured them, once the baby was delivered all would be fine. Then, at about seven months, my friend heard words which should have been exciting, but the timing made them terrifying.

“We are delivering the baby right now”

Hope and fear clashed in a way that these two opposing forces almost became one.    Their beautiful son was only four pounds with severely underdeveloped lungs.    As my friend prepared to share this moment with his bride she plunged into a coma.

He heard words he has never forgotten.

“She might never wake up”.

“Even if she does it could be worse.”

“If she doesn’t wake up in the next 48 hours she probably never will.”

I truly cannot imagine the agony of those hours.    Two people he loved more than his own life might soon be gone.

As he tried to get through each moment, I would imagine he was trying to keep breathing at the thought of facing a lifetime without his best friend; without his miracle son he already loved beyond words.

So how does this story end . . .?

I heard his son sing this week in front of hundreds and trust me his lungs are great!!

I got a hug from his beautiful wife and based on the fifteen things she was headed to do . . .. she is doing awesome.

I wrote this to thank my friend.

For living a life of true wisdom.      

Why?

Because he is REALLY smart about the stuff that REALLY matters!