Sometimes, on a crazy Monday, our friend, Dave Barton, stops in at the clinic just to see how we are doing. He just checks in, assures us he needs nothing, and then asks if he can do anything to help. He generally turns to the crowded waiting room then and says, “I’ll be glad to see some patients for you if it would help.”
That usually gets a laugh. Or an offer. Occasionally someone is sick enough they don’t care who gives them a shot! But we all know it is Dave’s way of saying he cares. I love the comedic relief of those visit. Even more, I love the real heart behind them.
Because Dave has shown up at lots of other times in our lives. The night Felicity went into premature labor and hovered at the edge of disaster along with her twin girls. I fell asleep on a hard couch at some point in the night. Every time the pressure on my back or the terror in my heart roused me back to wakefulness, Dave was there. He literally stood in the doorway of the waiting room all night and prayed. I could almost see the sword in his hands as he dared death or demons to come near.
A couple of years later, after my husband had checked himself into a recovery center for doctors with addictions, Dave appeared in my office and said, “Well, it’s been two weeks. How are you doing? You told me the first day that you didn’t know how you were, but that you thought you’d be better when we got down the road a couple of weeks. We’re there now. How are you?”
I was much better, in fact. And friends like Dave were one of the reasons. He also showed up at Serenity’s bedside when she had cancer and at Charity’s 16th birthday party with the entire youth group. I believe he was there when Joseph dumped baked beans on our pastor’s lap at a men’s retreat. I could go on, of course. With a guy like Dave, the stories of friendship never end. Instead, I decided to give him a secret tribute. (Although now I’m telling all of you. I hope he won’t mind.) In honor of his Monday visits to the clinic and his lifetime of friendship and support, I named a character in my novel after Dave.
You will find him in chapter twenty-one of Thirty Days to Glory. Approximately page 163, I believe. Calling Dr. Barton…
What a great idea. Readers love the behind the scenes stories!
And “behind the scenes” is Dave’s favorite place to be.
That’s my dad! Sure do love him! Makes me want to be as good a friend to those around me as he has been to those in his life.
A wonderful goal, and you already meeting it.
Oh dear! This made me cry. We have a lot of Dave Barton stories of our own. So glad for your “secret” tribute to him. He deserves it!
Dave was always an example of the kind of dad I wanted to be. He let me in his home many years ago and I always felt like a son. I named a character in my “list of examples to be like some day” after Dave. Simply a good man.
Oh, Ryan! Your tribute is much better than mine. From my vantage point on CyberSpace, you seem to be accomplishing your goal, too.
Um, this picture in my inbox, please. So much special to me in this picture.
Will do!
A wonderful tribute to a man that has impacted so many lives. Thank you so much for sharing.
Thanks for stopping by to join the tribute, Beth.
Pray, pray, and pray some more We are nothing without Christ, and our youth group lessons won’t go far without the help of the Holy Spirit ;). Pray to ask the Lord for direction while you are planning, and for inspiration while you are teaching. God’s heart is to have a deep, personal relationship with each of them, and give them the forgiveness and hope they are hungry for. We are just the vessle of His transforming love!