This picture was taken a little over a year ago in my backyard after my son's Nerf War party where his posse of friends gathered around and shot one another for 6 hours. It was probably one of the coolest events to see in my life. But as fun as this day was, I'm not here to tell you about the gnarly shots or how the adults won several of the games due to our key strategy: climbing trees.

You'll notice there's one child in particular who stands out from the rest: Dylan (the one with the paintball mask, in case you hadn't figured it out). Dylan had the hot hand on the afternoon of Nerf War. Dylan is also one of my son's best friends. Lately, Dylan has been coming over to the house more; knocking out homework, helping Seth with chores, and hanging out. He's an absolute pleasure to be around. He definitely takes after his mom, Victoria. 

Yesterday afternoon, Dylan suffered a great accident in Port Isabel. And while I rather not get into all of the details of the story, Dylan suffered severe head trauma and is currently being treated in a hospital in Corpus Christi. Many of our friends and family have gathered in prayer and support and the beauty of community has been seeing people rise up to serve in addition to seeing God clearly at work throughout this incident.

Upon Dylan's accident, a retired respiratory therapist was on-site to administer CPR, one of the Valley's best neurosurgeons was on staff at the local hospital for Dylan, and with hurricane weather still diminishing the skies cleared up for an EVAC team from San Antonio to fly in to safely transport Dylan out to Corpus, and I watched Victoria hold fast to what she knows to be true about Jesus in order to be at Dylan's side. These are clear evidences of God's grace. The most common verse in the bible is God telling us that He will not leave or forsake us and while this incident is difficult, His word proves true. 

I'm writing this because Dylan's accident is very personal for me. I have had the honor of hanging out with this young man and his quirky personality is one of his greatest qualities. I was able to spend some time alone with Dylan yesterday in the hospital and though he was unresponsive, I prayed over him, had a few laughs, and shed many tears. Dylan means a great deal to me and I know that Jesus will be glorified throughout all of this, despite the outcome. I suppose, I felt I needed to write this to encourage you on a few things: (1) Please pray for Dylan and Victoria. Victoria loves Jesus, is a wonderful mom, hard working, and is a joy to be around. Dylan is funny, quirky, enjoys Pop-Tarts (not toasted), and is extremely bright and very attentive. (2) Consider donating funds to support this family during this time. Funds can be allocated for lodging, food, gas, and other expenses. Below is a link should you be moved to give. (3) Share this post wherever you can. 

At some point I know that Dylan will read this and my final thoughts:

Dylan, as you have been a part of our lives and have grown closer to Seth this year as a friend and brother, I have grown closer to you, seeing you as a son. I want you to know that I love you dearly and despite anything that may come our way, I am here. Dylan, one of my favorite verses in the Bible is when God tells Joshua (farmer turned warrior), "I will not leave you or forsake you. Be strong and courageous (Joshua 1:9)."

Be strong and courageous, son.

If you would like to give, please visit the following link: Dylan and Victoria