{"id":10561,"date":"2014-05-23T16:05:03","date_gmt":"2014-05-23T16:05:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/billfortney.com\/?p=10561"},"modified":"2014-05-23T17:08:29","modified_gmt":"2014-05-23T17:08:29","slug":"a-fathers-answered-prayer%e2%80%a6%e2%80%a6","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/billfortney.com\/?p=10561","title":{"rendered":"A Father’s Answered Prayer\u2026\u2026."},"content":{"rendered":"

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October 21, 1970 \u00a0– \u00a0Alone in a dark hospital waiting room I was on my knees, my eyes were filled with tears, my hands were shaking, I was about to become a father. \u00a0I cried out to God that my unborn child would be healthy, that Sherelene would be o.k., but most of all, that He would make me what I knew I would have to be to be, a father to this new life. \u00a0If you judge the answer of that prayer by my son, William Scott Fortney, He certainly did much more than answer my prayer!<\/p>\n

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This is the first of three blog entries I will be doing, one for each of my children, in honor of Father’s Day. \u00a0What makes a father’s worth is how his children turn out, if for no other reason, I have been a very successful man. \u00a0The occasion of this entry is an award given to Scott. \u00a0Awards are nice, they make a statement, but what matters more is why we are singled out to be honored. \u00a0Earlier this week Scott was presented with a wonderful award that signifies who he is<\/span>. \u00a0The award is called the Legendary Caregiver Award presented annually to only three members of the over 3,500 staff of the Baptist Hospital professional caregivers. \u00a0What makes the award all the more special is that those considered must have been nominated by their patients and co-workers, those that truly know them best. \u00a0I just read in a wonderful \u00a0book just a few days ago, and in it a famous pastor said it was his desire that, “Those who respect me most are those that know me best.” \u00a0Those that know my son best are those that respect him the most. \u00a0To know Scott, is to know; integrity, honor, compassion, grace, dedication, honesty, sacrifice, and love. \u00a0My son embodies all the qualities I prayed he would not only have, but exhibit to others, ever day of his life. \u00a0Apparently the people he serves, and that work alongside of him, know the man I prayed he would be.<\/p>\n

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I could not be more proud of Scott, and his wonderful family, Diane, and my grandchildren, Hannah and Ben. \u00a0 I’ve watched Scott raise his children along with Diane and I’ve seen what wonderful parents they are, and what that love has brought forth.<\/p>\n

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A father hopes and prays that his children will be not only be what God wants them to be, but to know Him. \u00a0 I’m so proud of Scott’s faith as a father and a man. \u00a0He has brought up his children to know what is the most important things in life and he is a loving brother to Wes and Catherine.<\/p>\n

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Saturday night I will be with him to celebrate Hannah’s high school graduation and \u00a0I know I will be so proud of Hannah and the young woman she has become. \u00a0A father’s work is never done, even when our children go off an start \u00a0their own lives, we lift them in prayer and serve as a counselor and partner through out their lives. I don’t think any man is truly ready to be what we have to be as a father, but I know God has placed his \u00a0hand on my life and lifted me into the position I must hold, He has done the same for Scott.<\/p>\n

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So, Scott, I am so very proud of you, I never had a moment of fear that you wouldn’t become the man you are today. \u00a0Thank you for teaching me so many lessons along the way and helping me be the father I needed to be to you, Wes, and Catherine. \u00a0You’ve made being your father a pleasure, an honor and a privilege. \u00a0I love you son.<\/p>\n

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You’ve blessed my life,<\/p>\n

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Dad<\/p>\n

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  October 21, 1970 \u00a0– \u00a0Alone in a dark hospital waiting room I was on my knees, my eyes were filled with tears, my hands were shaking, I was about to become a father. \u00a0I cried out to God that my unborn child would be healthy, that Sherelene would be o.k., but most of all, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-10561","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-chronicles"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/billfortney.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10561","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/billfortney.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/billfortney.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/billfortney.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/billfortney.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=10561"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/billfortney.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10561\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10570,"href":"https:\/\/billfortney.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10561\/revisions\/10570"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/billfortney.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=10561"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/billfortney.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=10561"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/billfortney.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=10561"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}