Conner is going to eat too much Halloween candy and throw up.
You won’t even notice him eating it either. You can come up with all the plans you want, that is happening. On October 31, Conner will get sick from too many twizzlers, too many dum dums, too many tootsie rolls.
That’s what 7 year old boys do. They sprint up front stoops, ring door bells with enthusiasm, and pray they find a house with an unattended bucket that says, “Please only take one.”
This is one of my many memories of our neighbor Conner who lived a few houses down from us in Atlanta. I had two daughters, they had two sons and they all became friends before any of them contracted cooties and could no longer play together.
Blonde haired Conner loved my skateboards, something a dad in the suburbs is not expected to have. He was a tornado of energy and excitement, the king of jumping in the pool or building a zip line in the backyard. And then cancer snuck up on all of us.
Conner fought it. For years we thought he had beat it, but then it came back.
At an age when learning cursive in the second grade should be his biggest challenge, he’s facing 200 days of chemotherapy. At an age when his 9 year old brother should be watching his toys to make sure his little brother Conner doesn’t take any, he’s watching his little brother lose his hair.
A few weeks ago I read an update on his progress on Caring Bridge. (His name is ConnerArneson1 on Caring Bridge) His mom said it meant so much to her that people who don’t even know Conner were praying for him. And then I remembered, I know a lot of people who don’t Conner.
I know thousands of people who don’t know Conner.
So today, instead of a normal Serious Wednesday, I want to do something different.
Today, I want to carpet bomb Conner with prayer. We always hear about the dangers of social media, but as a member of the SCL family for four years, I’ve had a chance to see the beauty of it too.
Today, pray for Conner. Leave a comment to let his mom know you did and if you don’t mind, post where you’re from. I’d love to send her the link to this post and let her see hundreds of people from dozens of countries praying because they know a Conner too and they know how much prayer can matter to a mom with a son in the hospital.
Thank you.
Jon
