To be a faithful blessing to the people I serve and serve with; to equip, empower and inspire them to walk towards, in and throught their purpose.
From a very young age, I have always looked to help others feel better about themselves and to lift them higher than where they currently were. I knew that the value of life and what I could give to it would be measured by how much I could learn. I grew up as one of two boys to a mother and father who just barely scraped by working to make a living and never really living a life. My parents who are still together today and now married some 49 years have done the best they know how. I remember growing up being very loved by my parents, however watching their frustrations surmount to a place of constant struggle. My father a Vietnam Veteran and former Marine and my mother the youngest of 5 and also a former Marine somehow managed to survive the war of life all these years. The two most important things I learned from my parents was the ability to never give up and if I was ever going to get ahead in life, the best bet was not working for someone else. Above that I also learned the value of service to others...without reservation.
Times that I can look back on over my life that seemed to pose the most challenges, were the spots that were giving me the best education. We didn't take the family vacations, we didn't have a shortage of bill collectors calling to get paid on the overdue balances, we didn't have the nicest cars and we definitely didn't have a plan other than be in survival mode. What I notice very clearly looking back was the counsel my parents chose to get or lack there of from those who could really help them to get through the struggles they were always facing.
We lived mostly in apartments and manufactured homes (mobile homes) as I grew up. I am not so excited to admit I shared a bunk bed with my brother until I was a senior in high school. I was working by the time I was 13, in a chicken farm, scraping chicken crap and packing eggs if I was fortunate that weekend to make about 30 bucks a weekend. Prior to that I was always living the hustle and bustle of a newspaper delivery boy. This really taught me the value of work. Obvously today that world is a tad bit easier. Once I got into High School I had several jobs to help pay for the family car as well as being very active in wrestling and football, which consequently gave me such a powerful mental toolbox for what would be the next phase of my young adult life. Wrestling more than anything taught me how to act as an individual on a team sport which is just like life. Even though you are on a team when it comes down to the match, there's nobody else out on that mat except you, your opponent and the offical. Sure you get the sideline support of your coach helping you to see your blind spots, however it comes down to how willing you are to fight. Such is life.
