Happy Friday, Friends!
I hope and trust this post finds you all having a great day as a glorious new day begins to dawn in my Sweet Home Alabama! This day, this weekend, they are going to be magical! I am genuinely excited to live each day, starting with this one, fully!
My heart is full of deep gratitude and appreciation this morning. With this Happy Friday, I simply plan to let what is in my heart flow out…
My family and I have been in Florence, Alabama since May 27thish, 2019. This season of life, the people we are blessed to have in it, and this place are truly special. My family has been so blessed, our lives have been so radically transformed, that I can offer no other explanation than the greatness and goodness of God. Thank you, Jesus!
I want to share a few reasons for my effusive praise this morning.
There was nearly 3 months between the time I accepted my job in Alabama and the time I started. During that time, I prayed fervently about the church we would attend, the groups my family and I would be able to connect with at church, etc. We started researching churches and we had a list of 10 or so churches that we wanted to visit as soon as we got here. The first one on the list was Faith Church. We went the first Sunday we were here…we never went to another church. I could tell you how much we love the pastoral staff, how we love the groups we are a part of, and how many people we love deeply at our church, and it would all be 100% accurate. Though deeply grateful for all of these things, what makes my heart want to burst is what happened to my youngest Tender Warrior, Landry. Faith Youth is remarkable, and Landry got connected right away. Almost immediately, Landry could not get enough church! He caught on fire for the Lord! If the church doors are open, Landry wants to be there. He has grown and developed in ways that I never could have imagined! He has given his testimony, he got baptized, and he served an internship at the church. I have told people many times, the reason we came to Florence very well may have been for Landry’s spiritual growth and development…and I am great with it!!!
Tomorrow will be a very special day in the lives of the Haslam family and what takes place will impact eternity. My oldest Tender Warrior, Payton, is going to marry a beautiful, God-fearing, woman. She is from Alabama, graduated from the school where I work, and after graduating from college, she moved to Nashville with her sisters so they could pursue their music careers. It was at a concert where she and her sisters were performing that my Beautiful Bride met her and said, “I have a great son you should meet.” Trust me, Kathy would be very happy to tell you the whole story! To watch Payton and Halla grow in their lives individually and as a couple has truly been a blessing. Perhaps we moved here so Payton and Halla could meet…I am great with it!!!
For a number of years I had suffered with severe knee pain. I was so bowlegged…I don’t even know how to describe it! Over the years I had begun to wobble when I walked because of the pain…didn’t realize it then and I am still not happy that my family did not tell me I walked that way! Seeing a dear friend at a Tennessee football game during the pandemic, he said, “It kills me to watch you walk. Will you please get your knees fixed?” In short order Kathy and I decided I would do just that and so we reached out to our church group and asked if anybody could recommend an orthopedic surgeon. All the sudden Kath’s cell phone started buzzing, over and over again – “Jeff Hovater” “Jeff Hovater” “Jeff Hovater” I told Kath, “I don’t know Dr. Hovater but clearly I need to!” I went to meet with Dr. Hovater, he stated, “you don’t have to be a doctor to be able to tell you need your knees replaced,” and we scheduled the surgery for Monday, December 7, 2020. The entire appointment lasted no longer than 20 minutes! The only thing that didn’t go according to plan was the surgery ended up getting moved from Monday, December 7th to Friday, December 11th. From the surgery to the rehab to where I am at today…there is no way it ever should have gone as well as it did! And I realize, and fully appreciate, that my experience is not “normal.” After surgery, the nurses kept asking, “Do you want any pain medicine?” Repeatedly I kept saying, “No, I am good.” To this day I have still not taken so much as a single Tylenol or ibuprofen. I had a double knee replacement and went from using a walker to walking on my own in 11 days. The people in rehab were remarkable, they kept pushing me and I kept rising to meet their expectations. Today my legs are straight – the first thing I looked at when I woke up and was amazed…I had never seen my legs straight before! – I do not have any knee pain, and I walk on my full foot, not just on the outside of my feet (yes, I was THAT bowlegged!). Now, I know we did not move here for me to get my knees replaced, however I will forever be grateful for the remarkable skill of Dr. Hovater, the excellent care I received in the hospital in our little town, and the exceptional team at rehab. Together, they dramatically changed the quality of my life!
There are a couple of chapters that are still being written as I write this Happy Friday. Kathy has grown exponentially in her faith, she serves regularly at church, and she is leading a group of incredible women in a weekly Bible Study. Gehrig has met a very special girl, he is working full time, and he is going to school full time. I can feel the special things that are happening in their lives, and it is an honor and privilege for me to have a front row seat. God is clearly on the move through this season of their lives though these stories are not yet complete. Perhaps we moved here for their stories…
I will end this Happy Friday as I began it; This season of life, the people we are blessed to have in it, and this place are truly special. The lives of my family and I, as well as all the lives we will impact for the remainder of our lives, are forever positively impacted because we came to Florence, Alabama in 2019. There are not words to adequately express the breadth or depth of my gratitude! With this I humbly say, “thank you” and I exuberantly say, “Praise the Lord!”
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. You can reach me at kevin@whatwillyourinfluencebe.com.
Have a great day, a wonderful weekend, please cherish your precious family, and please stay well!
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