Prayers and Friends

Al's dream for Kingdom Roadhouse is to have a full house. Last night, as Al lay in the hospital, that dream was fulfilled. Friends, neighbors, relatives and co-workers filled the sanctuary, sharing prayers and stories of a man with a heart as big as Texas. A nervous Kristen stood beside me and shared the latest news abut her father. She never thought an exciting event would be Dad wiggling his toes. They removed him from the coma inducing medecine and he is fiollowing commands. Dr. Jon Bortz shared how Al's improvement is well beyond where anyone in the hospital would ahve expected. Gods' love is evident to doctors and nurses, and all attending him, through everyone that visits.

One of the largest impressions I got, looking over the attendees, was how many fellow riders have had incidents while riding. Most everyone there, that were riders, have had an encounter with either another vehicle, or the ground, while riding. Some shared those stories. Some shared of God's protection. We never know, when we leave the driveway, exactly what the road ahead has in store for us. We need to maintain a high sensitivity, and take nothing for granted when we place our hands on the handgrips. Havng been down several times myself, my memory always returns th=o the event just 200 yards from my home one Friday night. Rounding a turn two up, my kickstand was down. Realizing that I wasn't going to make the turn, a bailout was my only option against hitting the telephone pole. As others said last night, I made the same statement, "This is going to hurt."

So, as I locked the door last night behind me, a part of me went to look for Al, who wasn't there. Several of us went for a meal at Perkins afterward, leaving an empty chair for Al. We laughed, knowing that Al was right there with us in spirit, and always there to share a meal.