BY WALT ALBRITTON
OPINION —
BY TIM ALBRITTON
Allow me to give you, the readers, a brief introduction. I’m Tim Albritton, Walter Albritton’s son. Mom and Dad had five sons; I was number four. Dad has experienced some health issues over the past month or so, which has led to him to ask me to fill in for him this week writing the article. I know he has a great following because I hear from so many people who read his article and tell me how much they enjoy it. With that said, I hope I don’t disappoint you with my humble attempt to fill in for him this week.
A month ago, after having some medical tests, the doctor told dad he had a mass between his large intestines and small intestines that needed to be removed. At the age of 93, there were some obvious health risks that were explained to dad, but he decided to go forward with the operation.
The surgery was to take place on Monday morning, Feb. 16, and dad was required to be at the hospital at 5:30 a.m. This is where the title of my article “Enlarge your family, God’s way” comes in. As we arrived at the hospital at 5:15 a.m., there were already half a dozen people there that wanted to pray for dad before he went into the hospital. By the time they took dad back for the surgery, there were over a dozen people in the waiting area gathered to pray for dad and support the family. After three hours the doctor came out, said everything went according to plan and the surgery was successful. Stories over right, wrong, this is when the struggle really begins.
At the age of 93, the body doesn’t recover from major surgery like it used to, and dad spent the next two or three weeks really struggling. My brothers and I didn’t think it would be wise for dad to be left along in a hospital room by himself, so we arranged an around-the-clock shift with us and some close male friends of the family.
These men and many others who were lifting up dad in prayer were a living example of how we saw God enlarging our family with loving Christian friends. What a blessing. Often, we think when we accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior, we receive eternal life and we do, but that’s not end of the Christian walk, it’s just the beginning.
As it says in John 1:12 — “But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.” We are adopted into the family of God, and this adoption is not a random selection but a divine decision made in love, reflecting God’s intentional plan to bring believers into His family. My brothers and I witnessed this family enlargement in a very real and personal way. When Dad accepted Jesus as his Lord and Savior, his family was enlarged, but, as his sons also accepted Jesus as their Lord and Savior, their family was enlarged and so on.
The good news for today’s reader is this — God is still in the adoption business. He is calling you today through this article. Enlarge your family, God’s way.
Allow me to close with this great big thank you from Dad and my brothers to all the loving people who have done so much over the past few weeks. Dad is still in need of your prayers, but we are so blessed by everyone’s love and concern. To put it in a way that Dad would say it if he were concluding this story — “Praise Jesus, glory!”
