Next . . .

After a ton of work, I have completed my Federal Semi-annual report number 4! After completing those nearly 40 pages I am ready to go back to life.

I intend to write a few thoughts about the upcoming election from a bit different perspective in the next day or so. But for tonight, after three LATE nights I am hitting the sack. If I wrote now, you would say, "Man, this guy is totally incoherent!"

Well . . .

Leading a Conference on Marriage

This has been a hectic two month period for me. In addition to the normal duties at my job, (which included the resignation of my assistant and the search for a replacement!) we held our first marriage conference. We were thrilled to have as our plenary speakers Dr. Gary Chapman author of the bestselling book, The Five Love Languages. I have to tell you, if you are in a relationship, and have not read that book, you are doing yourself and your partner a great disservice by not reading it. It has one distinction that is remarkable for a book its age. It was first published in 1992, and has steadily sold more copies each subsequent year. That is the exact opposite of almost every book in print.

Dr. Chapman is from the same home church that I am from, so that is sort of a feather in my cap, and I did nothing to achieve it. (There are other names for that, but I will allow that to pass!) I have had nowhere close to the impact of his life however. He travels internationally, speaks to governments, military personnel, and has rubbed shoulders with presidents (Bill Clinton for example) on more than one occasion. He was a great speaker and challenged us on a level that we all could easily reach.

Our second speaker was Dr. Robert Michael Franklin, President of Morehouse College in Atlanta. Morehouse college is the alma mater of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Dr. Franklin shared with me over dinner that Moreshouse has just been given by Dr. King's widow his entire writings that have been sitting in her basement all these years. Some of that should prove fascinating after they are transcribed and place into public awareness.

You learn a lot from running these conferences, and I have run many over the years. You learn a lot about people and a lot about yourself. One thing I was thrilled with was the opportunity to sit over dinner and learn from two men who I hold in high esteem. To them it was a business dinner but for me it was much more. I learned so much from both men without them even realizing it.

My Two October 2nd Heroes

We live in a time when hero is a cheap word. We throw it around fast and loose. It is applied to persons in a TV series, fictional characters in a movie or comic book, a sports personality, a politician, or any number of individuals.

Here is how Webster even defines it: a: a mythological or legendary figure often of divine descent endowed with great strength or ability b: an illustrious warrior c: a person admired for their achievements and noble qualities d: one that shows great courage

That may indeed be an actual definition, but I have to be honest here, I do not think it truly gets at what we mean when we say someone is a hero. It seems to me, that a hero is someone that looks out for someone else, cares for someone else, protects someone else, or even rescues someone else often (usually?) at great price to themselves.

I have THREE GREAT CHILDREN. I love them all three dearly and equally, and at some point you will read about them all. But on this day, I want to go on a distinct direction relating to one of them.

October 2nd is a very important day for me. It is the birthday of my grandson Gavin. I have five other wonderful grandchildren and I love them all dearly. Words cannot come close. Gavin, however, is in many ways my second son. Legally, he is indeed my son. Although he is my grandson and calls me Granddad he is much more. You see, Gavin had so many things stacked against him. His father abandoned his mother while she was still pregnant with him. That contributed greatly to the fact that he has lost both of his grandparents on both sides. His paternal grandparents are lost due to no relationship with his father, of his father’s choosing. He lost his maternal grandparents in many respects because they fill the parental role in his life.

Gavin approaches life like I believe I did as a child. He has a reckless abandon to enjoy living, just for the sake of living. He relishes every moment of every day. This great little kid, has a growth hormone deficiency and has to have an injection EVERY DAY. How many five year olds get that? The list is very short, I am sure. He takes it every day with almost no grief. His new phrase referring to kids who mock his short size is, “I am tougher than they think I am!” I absolutely love it!

Well, today Gavin is six years old. Happy Birthday Gavin my little man, you are my hero.

Gavin is not her alone however. His mother, my youngest daughter, Lori Beth, is another of my heroes. She became pregnant at the age of 19 and her boyfriend abandoned her in every way that a person can be abandoned. She was 19, pregnant and without any support from the person who provided the genetic material and should have been there for her.

Every reader here knows full well, that she could have taken the easy route, had an abortion, and I would have never known . . . unless she told me. But . . . she . . . did . . . not. She carried this little boy to term; then gave him up to my wife and I to adopt to provide health care, a solid home, and all the rest. She did not have to do that. I am sure many of her friends counseled her to simply terminate the pregnancy. But . . . she . . . did . . . not. The power that must have taken is beyond me. She was talked about, gossiped about, discussed, criticized, had her character impugned and who knows what all. It came many times from the very church family that should have supported her. But she saw this pregnancy to term, in the midst of odds you and I probably could never understand.

I intend to tell Gavin on day, that his mother is a hero. She saved his life . . . literally! She had it in her power to end it and chose not to. She did the hardest thing any woman could ever do in all likelihood and saved her son’s life at great expense to herself.

Lori Beth, my dear sweet daughter you are my hero. And on this October 2nd as your son reaches his sixth birthday, I am reminded of just that. I love you and I am more proud of you than I could ever express in words.