Posted by Mike:
Well another year has passed and what a year it has
been. God continues to bless our family
and guide us on an incredible journey.
This past year of life sure has been full, and today I get to sit back
and reflect on all that has happened.
Next to me is my precious baby boy, asleep. I am such a happy and proud dad to care for
and raise three amazing kids. I love the
feeling of watching over, protecting, teaching, and sometimes disciplining a
child. I don’t really know if there is
any preparation or training one could have to be a parent but it is awesome!
I also can’t help but reflect on the big news from baseball
with the passing of Oscar Tavares. He
was way too young to die and he had such a bright future ahead of him. The thing that caught my attention the most
though was reading somewhere that Oscar and his girlfriend had a baby. I can’t help but think about a little boy now
who suddenly has no earthly parents. I
know the pain of losing a father but I also had the benefit and blessing of
being grown when my dad passed away. I
had an incredible example to follow and still continue to feel dad’s guidance
in life. Is it easier to lose a father
at such a young age? I don’t know if
anyone can really answer that.
The sad thing is that there are so many other kids out there
right now who have lost parents to death, drugs, or abuse. God laid a big burden on my heart for kids
just like Oscar’s son, kids who in some way lost the right a family. I was raised in an incredible family and have
been blessed with my own family to raise but to me that’s not good enough
anymore. Kids are out there all around
us because of tragedy and they deserve the right to a father and a mother who
love them, who will teach them, who will discipline them, who will show them
the love of Christ.
I am grateful for every family member out there who has
taken into his or her home a young relative.
For some it may be easy to incorporate them straight into the family and
for others it is a huge challenge. Unfortunately
there are many out there who don’t have that opportunity, to be with family. I know this journey God has placed before us
won’t be easy but for me the right to a loving home trumps the difficulties of
providing it.
I jokingly started growing a beard several weeks ago and
said I won’t shave it off until we purchase the land to build Hope House. It was something fun when I started it and
it’s fun to tease my wife about the beard since she hates it so much. Something happened shortly after I started
letting it grow. The beard became a
reminder of the kids that need a home.
It is a physical daily reminder for me to not stop working on opening
the doors for Hope House. I know it
sounds cheesy but every day when it itches a little or sweat drips down it I
know that we are one step closer to providing a life that these kids deserve
and it makes me want to work harder and prepare more for the opportunity to
invest in these little lives.
I am thankful to celebrate another year of life but I
reflect on a life taken too soon. I
reflect on the lives of those who right now are losing their right to a family
and the potential peace that God can bring them with a new family at Hope
House.
