Episode #916: "A Time For Every Purpose"
Original Air Date: February 1, 2003

Teleplay by: John Wierick
Story by: E.F.Wallengren & John Wierick
Directed by: John Behring
Produced by: Martha Williamson, Jon Andersen & R.J. Visciglia, Jr.

Cast:
Rob: Timothy Carhart
Pepper: William Moses
Courtney: Dierdre Lovejoy
Sam: Seth Adkins


The Kellermans are the perfect American family: they're business
owners, proud parents, and they have a strong marriage. But life is
about to turn less than ideal for Rob and Courtney and their son,
Sam (Seth Adkins).

While working on pieces of their custom furniture and skipping
stones with his son, Rob begins to notice a loss of strength in his
hand. He can't get a solid grip without his hand quivering. At
first he thinks it's nothing, but when the symptoms persist, he and
Courtney decide to consult a specialist. It seems that their fears
are not unfounded; Rob has ALS, more commonly known as Lou Gehrig's
Disease.

As Rob and Courtney struggle to adjust to the changes in their life,
Monica, who was hired to set up their computers, takes a more active
role in their life. She helps out where she can, and tries to get
them used to the fact that Rob won't be around for ever. She
encourages him to cherish the time he has left and to involve
himself in his son's life while he still can. Rob though not
thrilled, tries his best to carry on, but there is yet more tragedy
to come for the Kellerman family.

Later on, with Rob's conditioning deteriorating, the couple talk to
their doctor, Andrew, about ways for Rob to communicate when he can
no longer speak. This really hits home for Rob, and on the car ride
back to the house, he and Courtney despair for the future. It is
during this drive, that another car runs a red light and plows into
them. Rob wakes up in the hospital, but Courtney died on the
operating table.

Now Rob is given the responsibility of a single parent, when he is
unable to take care of himself. During the funeral, Rob plans to
kill himself. He intends to overdose on his medication. He thinks
he's no good to anyone, especially Sam, and no one will stop him
from lightening the burden of the only family he has left.

Except that Sam isn't his only family. Rob has a brother, Pepper, a
trucker, who was also in love with Courtney and left when she got
married. They haven't spoken since that day, and Rob has written
him off, all but disowning him. But he is on his way now. Gloria
told him what has happened, and what Rob intends to do, and Pepper
is going to do his best to save his brother. When he does arrive,
Rob locks himself into his room, and tries to carry out his plans,
but Pepper is persistent, and with the help of Monica, he gets
through to his brother. They make Rob realize that with Pepper's
help, there is still time for Rob to see his son grow, that he isn't
a burden, but a valued member of the family: a father, a brother,
and a child of God.