My son, “Sir Dallas James Rutherford,” had a tough day today. He is a junior at Campbell Hall High School in Studio City, and he’s been having some problems with his left knee. After getting some x-rays and an MRI, the doctor informed us that he has a fractured patella. He will be out of basketball for six to eight weeks.

Now for a young man who loves to play basketball, this was NOT good news. He will basically be missing most of his junior year, but hopefully he’ll be able to make it back towards the end of the season. I checked my phone during a break in the middle of my jury trial and it was heart wrenching listening to my son give me this news. Dallas is a fish out of water if he’s not on the court playing a little basketball.

We are doing our best to let him know that God has a plan and that there are a lot of good things that could come of this.

Please keep Dallas in your prayers. He is struggling to discern what God wants for his life. He has been trying his best to honor the Lord recently. God often shapes us through some difficult times and I’m praying that God would do just that. I’ve watched Dallas play basketball many, many times and you can see the joy in him as he runs and competes. I sometimes think of the OLD movie, Chariots of Fire, where God used Eric Liddell to compete in the 1924 Olympic games to honor God. There is such a memorable quote in that movie from Eric. He said, “I believe that God made me for a purpose, but He also made me fast. And when I run, I feel His pleasure.” I’m not sure Dallas has ever totally figured this out, but I do believe he’s at least thinking about it. So hopefully, this will be a time where he can reflect on how to honor God with his life.

I want to thank, in advance, those of you who will keep him in your prayers. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.