Prayers for the Senator

There are plenty of bad things I could say about Massachusetts Senator Edward M. "Ted" Kennedy. I've been thinking about this for several weeks now.

I am not going to go there, however.

I have heard over the past few weeks talk-show hosts and talk-show listeners of various ilk, persuasion, and political leanings make constant reference to these things, and some have even made fun of the man.

But I refuse to follow in their footsteps.

Because of the brain tumor.

I am not--as others have--going to bring up any of the bad legislation, rumored questionable antics, or alleged scandalous personal issues the man has spawned over the years.

I am going to give him a pass on all that for a while.

Because of the brain tumor.

I have lost two uncles to cancer.

Another one has not much longer to live.
I have rarely agreed with anything Senator Kennedy has ever said, save for some of his positions on the so-called Bankruptcy Reform Act back in 2005.

But I am going to give him a pass this time.

Because of the brain tumor.

He is a human being, after all. The man has a family; a family who loves him. And I know a little bit about what his family is going through and what they must be thinking. What realizations they are having and eventualities they are coming to accept.

I have seen the pain, the physical ravages that this disease causes in the victim. I have seen the pain, the emotional ravages, the psychological storms, the spiritual questions that this disease causes in the victim's family.

The Honorable Edward Kennedy has, by all accounts, received a death sentence.

And that weighs a bit more heavily than partisan politics and disagreeable policies.

I do not know the man and he and his family will probably never know how I feel.

But all the same, I wish to send him and his family God's blessings and comfort. I hope for all the best for him. I truly wish him all the best and hope he has a speedy recovery. I'm going to include him in my prayers.

I hope his family has him around--to love and appreciate--just as long as they possibly can.

Because I know how they feel.