Be There...

Happy Friday Friends!

I hope and trust this post finds you all having had a great day and an awesome week on this beautiful Friday evening! It was a beautiful, cool, rainy day on the Gulf!

There are two things on my heart this evening that I want to share with you.

1. On Wednesday morning one of the quotes I posted on Facebook was, "When you are available, opportunities to be of service to others present themselves" by Jon Gordon. I truly had no idea how God was preparing my heart.

I had a short meeting right at 8:15 a.m. As soon as I got to my office one of my colleagues said, "Kevin, can I ask a favor of you?" I immediately said, "yes, anything." She explained that one of our co-workers brothers had been in a very serious car accident, he had been airlifted to the hospital and she wanted me to please pray for the family. I said I would and went into my office and prayed. I then asked if she knew what hospital he had been airlifted to as we have a hospital where I work. She stated she didn't know what hospital he was sent to, that she would text our co-worker and find out and let me know. It took me about a minute and I decided I didn't care; I was going to go over to the Emergency Room regardless and, if I was wrong, the worst that had happened was I had a walk. Just as I was walking out the door my colleague confirmed that our co-worker was at our hospital waiting in the Emergency Room for her brother.

When I got to the Emergency Room our co-worker wasn't there as they had moved her to a private, family consultation room. I spoke to the receptionist, told her who I was, explained that my co-worker was in the private consultation room and I asked if she could please take me to go see her, explaining that I didn't want her to be alone. As long as I live I don't think I will ever forget the look on her face the moment I opened that door and walked in. There was this look of...peace, relief. She wasn't alone anymore. There is nothing special about me - I have worked here, we have known each other, less than 6 months. The point was someone cared, someone was there. I was just privileged, in this case, to be that someone. I gave her a big hug and we sat down and talked and talked and talked. We talked about family, we talked about life, we talked about her brother, we talked about his accident. We laughed. We spoke somberly. She very intentionally told me she didn't want to cry - I assured her it was o.k. to cry - because she said she wouldn't be able to stop. We spent nearly 2 hours together before I went back to my office.

Being there for someone doesn't have to be about some great big grand event. We so often associate these things with traumatic incidents however just as the pebble in the shoe causes greater problems on the journey than the bolder in the path, I would offer that it is the daily struggles, the daily grind, that wears on the heart, soul & spirit and impacts the life journey. You never know the impact of a simple smile, a kind word, the smallest act might have on the life of another. I promise you that each one of us every single day pass people who are hurting, suffering, struggling with something. You and I are aren't we? Why do we think they are any different? We get so caught up in our stuff that we forget that everyone has stuff. If we will just lift our eyes a little, if we will just notice the person there, say hi, offer a helping hand, open a door, it really doesn't matter, just be there. I promise you, you will be pouring powerful, life giving encouragement into the heart, soul & spirit of another. We may never know the impact of that small gesture, however I can assure you it has the potential to reverberate through eternity. Why don't we just do our part, be there, and let God do His?

2. This next part is for all the parents, especially Dads, out there. I talk to many of you about the honor, the responsibility, the challenges & the struggles of being a Dad. This was a good one...sure you will enjoy it and, consider yourselves warned!! (I hope it sounds as cryptic as intended) :)

It was time for Payton to come home for Christmas. It is 1,367.08 miles (yes, exactly!!!) from Spearfish, SD to League City, TX. The plan was I would fly up to Rapid City, Payton would pick me up at the airport and then he and I would take 2 days to drive home. That WAS the plan. Then Payton called me and said, "Dad, I have been thinking about it and there is no reason for you to fly up here. I can do this by myself." Gulp! Gulp!! Gulp!!! He was respectfully asking for permission...and I had no clue what to say in the moment. I told him I would think about it and get back to him. Holy Smokes!!!

I spoke to my Beautiful Bride about it and I prayed about it...a lot!! As much as I wanted to be able to say no, there was a peace in my spirit about him doing this by himself. Also, I always tell him I believe in him, now he was giving me an opportunity to prove it. Gulp! Even after coming to this conclusion I waited a couple of days to tell him...you know, in case God wanted to change His mind!!!

So the plan was set, he would make the drive by himself. Had the whole route charted out, hotels reserved...we are set. A storm blows through SD and NE so his departure is delayed from Tuesday until Wednesday. He doesn't like waiting a day however he honors his Dad...I hope I grow up to be the man he is becoming. I should mention that from the time we decided he would make this drive by himself until the actual day of departure was a little more than 3 weeks. You can bet everything you have, as well as everything you might ever have, that I prayed my teeth off every single day, multiple times during the day, when I got up to go to the bathroom at night - possibly too much information but it is true!!! So on Wednesday, yes the same Wednesday mentioned in the story above...think about that!!!, my boy set out by himself for a 1,367.08 mile journey by himself.

Day 1 was pretty uneventful and, as he texted me repeatedly...I am sure when getting gas & not driving!, he was a stud. Yesterday brought something a little bit different. The first text I received yesterday morning was "it snowed here last night." Gulp! My reply was, "No way!!! How much?" O.K., I have no idea how much it snowed, I have no idea what the roads look like, I have no basis for making a decision about what to do next. You got this, right Lord? My boy and I talk about being smart, if the roads are too bad don't go, I trust you and I love you. Oh Lord, guard my heart! He takes off. Right around 8:30 I get a call. "Dad, just had the scariest moment of my life. I was passing a semi, hit a bunch of snow, the car spun and I ended up in the median. I can't believe it, I didn't hit a sign or anything." Gulp! Thank you Lord for protecting him. Think! Think! The first thing I say is, "Don't tell your Mom about this until you get here." First thought that came to my mind!! I then tell him to be smart, I tell him staying behind semis when driving through snow is a good thing, just take your time, etc. I pray again...I did this several times during the day. About an hour after "the moment" I am going to a meeting. I decide to give him a call real quick to check in before my meeting. He doesn't answer. Oh Lord! I pray as I walk to the meeting. I give it all to God again. I ask Him to guard my heart. I decide to try calling one more time before my meeting starts. My boy cheerfully answers the phone, "What's up Bro?!" I tell him I had tried to call and he didn't answer. He says he knows, he was talking to his girlfriend. What?!?! Are you kidding me?!?! We go over protocol for the rest of the trip when Dad calls.

A little after 9:15 last night the front door flew open and my boy said, "What's up fam?!" My heart really did jump for joy. We all hugged, talked, hugged some more...it was an amazing feeling. We told Mom about "the moment"...it was a good decision to wait!

Two lessons were learned:
1. I had no choice but to surrender it all to God. Once the decision was made to let him drive by himself there was nothing I could do for him. To surrender it all, to trust God...I grew a lot. I really can't tell you that I enjoyed it all. I can tell you that I had to intentionally pursue Him, to push the negativity out of my mind, to give my worries & fears to Him. Certain I had sought His counsel, He delivered. Thank you Lord.

2. My boy, the one who will one day have a wife to love, respect, honor & protect, who will have children, my grandchildren, to lead, to encourage, to protect, to help find their individual greatness, just found out he can do something that he didn't know if he could do. He faced his fears, his worries, he prayed and God protected him. He grew, another step in launching a Tender Warrior.

Please don't hesitate to contact me if there is ever anything I can do for you or your family. I will always help you any way I can.

Have a great day, a wonderful weekend and please cherish your precious families.

Kev