Why am I praying for Daniel?

 It wasn't the first time and it would most definitely not be the last.  But that was okay.  I believe in uniting prayer for greater strength, so when my friend asked her social media family to pray for her husband, I was more than happy.  ...and I was heartbroken to hear the news.  Daniel is one of the most righteous, good-hearted, sweet men I have ever known.  He came down with Covid-19 and it was anything but kind. 

The request came as Daniel lie in an ICU unit very weak and increasingly frail.  He was battling Covid and pneumonia.  The call for first line angel prayers went out on Monday.  Doctors said that the next 48 hours were critical.  Tuesday, he was still cracking jokes.  Wednesday, ate a little dinner.  It was said that when his daughter shared a loving Facebook message, Daniel's oxygen levels improved.  Thursday, it appears that Daniel is declining.  "Please continue to pray" pled his family.  I prayed and cried for this man until I could not breathe.  On Sunday, my friend was transferred to a larger hospital that could better take care of his needs.  Intubated and lying in the cold hospital abyss, he is paralyzed and sedated.  It is here that he begins kidney dialysis.  Yesterday evening the staff begin Daniel on ECMO (Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation) -- basically taking blood out and putting blood in, removing the carbon dioxide and providing oxygen when one's body cannot provide tissues and organs with enough oxygen.  At that point, the staff decide to send Daniel to Mayo where he can get even better treatment.  ...and the prayers continue; prayers from almost 200+ social media friends and family and multiple fasts.  

And that takes me to today.  

Life can certainly kick you in the teeth.  It kicked me in January.  I lost my daughter-in-law to a tragic and unexpected death.  

I get it.  Life happens.  Only God knows all the why, what, and how.  I also understand that one day, he'll share that with me and I will hug her again.  But in the meantime, I've been in such a funk.  Unlike Daniel's family, we didn't have the time to enlist prayers and fasting of our friends.  It was over nearly as soon as it began.  

When I got the harrowing call from my son, I prayed immediately.  The answer was clear and distinct, "She will be okay."  

I did not, however, know that meant she was going to be okay with her Savior.  That dawned on me later as I tried to make sense of the difficulty.  

As I pray and fast specifically for Daniel, I wonder at the fairness of life, at the brutality of trials, at the pain of living this mortal existence.  

"But behold, I, Nephi, will show unto you that the tender mercies of the Lord are over all those whom he hath chosen, because of their faith, to make them mighty even unto the power of deliverance."          ~1 Nephi 1:20

Had I lacked faith while praying for Melissa?  Was the faith of Daniel's friends stronger?  

I don't know the "whys".  But I know that one day I will see Melissa again and hug her and tell her that I love her.  I also know that she longed for and needed her own deliverance and God took her home.  

Daniel is not even close to out of the woods.  He is fighting and will not give in.  But after watching my son and his beautiful children suffer the pain of loss, I would not, could not, ever wish that on Daniel's wife and children.  He is a husband, father, son, and son-in-law and is very, very loved.  

Melissa was very, very loved.  She is missed beyond words.  And as I continue to miss her, I will, through my pleading with my Father, commandeer the assistance of angels to surround Daniel and his family.  I pray for his full recovery with every ounce of my being.