Thoughts from Mark "Hat" Rackley

People were bringing little children to Jesus for him to place his hands on them, but the disciples rebuked them.  When Jesus saw this, he was indignant.  He said to them, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.  Truly I tell you, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.”  And he took the children in his arms, placed his hands on them and blessed them.

• Mark 10:13-16

Many of you know that my wife is on kidney dialysis.  It is temporary and according to the doctor that she talked to last week, some patients that have the temporary catheter, instead of the permanent fistula, can take up to six months for their kidneys to recover.  My wife has been given three months, but maybe that could be extended.  I will give the update in the form of a story.

I rarely use names of people, except for public figures, but our younger son says that it is okay to mention names within his family.  His youngest is five, six in a few weeks.  His name is Pete.  I call him “Pete Pete, the sweet treat, that’s good to eat.”

Pete was the reason that my wife went to Tennessee for five months to baby sit.  They become close.  When she started kidney dialysis, she told Pete to pray for her.  A couple of weeks later, she asked if he had been praying for her.  He replied, “Oh, I forgot.”  A couple of weeks later, she asked again.  Again, he replied, “Oh, I forgot.”

Then our daughter-in-law called the other day.  She had to tell Oma what had happened the night before.  (Oma is the German and Dutch name for Grandma.)

Pete knelt next to his bed and went through his bedtime prayers of thanksgiving and special blessings for each member of the immediate family and of course the dog.  He then hopped into bed and shouted, “I forgot something.”  Our daughter-in-law thought he was doing the typical excuse to stay up later, but he got back on his knees, bowed his head, folded his hands, and said, “And God, please heal Oma’s kidneys.”  He then jumped back into bed, and as our daughter-in-law was kissing him goodnight, Pete asked, “Mommy, what are kidneys?”

When our daughter-in-law relayed that story, my wife said that she had a special message for Pete Pete.  Her kidney function is not improved enough to get off dialysis, but it made a large jump in the right direction, on the day Pete had said his prayers.  We are not out of the woods.  She still has this strange contraption hanging out of her chest, near her shoulder.  But if things continue to improve, they may give her more time after the first three months.  Her three-month temporary period is up in early November.

And what can we learn of this?  Jesus meant what He said in the Scripture above.  The pure, innocent prayer of a child was heard and answered.

And God answers our prayers, even when we don’t know what we are talking about.

Soli Deo Gloria.  Only to God be the Glory.