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!
Last week my family and I spent an amazing week at 30A. I can’t even begin to tell you how blessed I am! Yes, we did fun things, hung out on the beach, and enjoyed a margarita or two! It is, however, the people that I was blessed to be with, the conversations we had, and the quality time we spent together that I will forever cherish!
I want to share a couple of stories with you…
A week ago last Monday, a friend of ours from Niceville took our whole crew out on a boat for tubing in the ocean. Have you heard about shark attacks this year? Yeah, we had as well! As we were riding in the boat to our location for tubing, we were peppering our kind and gracious friend with questions. Are there sharks where we are going? The answer was yes. Have you ever seen one? The answer was yes. And then she volunteered that you can’t forget about the alligators either…yes, she has seen those as well! She really should have just kept that thought to herself!!! In any event, the Haslam crew went tubing!
My youngest Tender Warrior, Landry, went on a ride with Ryan, the 10-year-old son of one of our dear friends from Arizona who joined us for the week. As we were whipping around the cove and they went flying outside the wake, Ryan started sliding off the side of the tube…going! Going! But wait, all of the sudden this bronze colored, wiry arm comes flying across Ryan’s back and pulls him back onto the tube. Landry had reached over and literally pulled Ryan back onto the tube…he wasn’t going to fall off on Landry’s watch. As everyone watched in amazement, I stated I was pretty sure that if Ryan did in fact fall in, Landry would go in with him, that he would not leave him alone in the ocean. When their ride ended and they got back on the boat, everyone was telling Landry how awesome it was to see him pull Ryan back onto the tube. Landry said, “Thanks. And I told him, if you go in, I am going in with you.” I knew it!!!
Last Sunday, after we had returned from our trip, Landry went out boating with some friends on the Tennessee River. While they were on the river, they saw a baby deer that had fallen down a bank into the river, was clinging to a rock, and was crying for help. Landry threw on a life jacket, jumped into the river, and, after swimming around after a terrified little deer, lifted the baby deer back up to safety. Watching the video that someone on the boat had recorded was amazing!
So why do I tell you these two stories? Yes, I am extremely proud of the Tender Warrior my son is, however there was a great lesson in both of these stories for me. You see, Landry is 19 years old, and he acts like he is, well, 19 years old! This means we don’t see eye to eye on everything, I don’t agree with everything he is doing, and he doesn’t agree with everything I do. For me, however, there are two keys:
1. I pray fervently for my wife, my sons, Payton’s wife Halla, and Gehrig’s girlfriend Ila, every day. Perhaps this does not make sense to you, however it is everything to me. Every day I intentionally lay every one of them at the foot of the cross. I pray that God will lead them, that they will seek Him and make Him the Lord of their lives, and that He will use me however He wants to lead them. For me, there is always hope because I always have Jesus and I will place my family at the foot of the cross every day until I live my last.
2. I refuse – absolutely REFUSE – to lose my relationship with my wife, sons, daughter-in-law, or G’s girlfriend. I will fight for them, for my relationship with them, every day of my life. No, I don’t agree with everything they say and do, and they certainly don’t agree with everything I say or do. But here is the thing, I absolutely love each one of them with all my heart and whether I agree with what they are saying or doing or not, I am 100% for them. I will choose to focus on my love for them, the greatness I see in them, and respect their right to say and do what they believe is right. For me, nothing is worth losing a relationship with them.
So, to me, the two stories I shared about Landry spoke deeply to my heart. He is getting it, and he is going to be just fine. No, I don’t know exactly what his path will look like, how God will use him, what he will do, etc. I do know, however, that he understands he is to love, care for, and serve others – whether a scared little boy or a terrified baby deer. It is the tender in the warrior – and he has proven himself to be a fearless warrior on countless occasions…not always wise however fearless – that touches this dads heart the most. I truly believe that the key to success in any endeavor is people and the relationships we have with them. To truly value and appreciate all people and to develop genuine relationships requires us to be selfless, to have eyes to see, ears to hear, and hearts to care, to genuinely want good to come to others, and to have the courage to act. Landry is preaching a powerful sermon through the life he is living, and I am watching!
I also want to share a quote with you all this morning:
“Success is knowing your purpose in life, growing to your maximum potential, and sowing seeds that benefit others.” – John C. Maxwell
Go have a wildly successful day!!!
Please don’t hesitate to contact me if there is ever anything I can do for you. 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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