BLAKE

Almost three years ago I wrote Christmas Child and the memories were sweet. As I revisit this blog post my heart is heavy.

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CHRISTMAS CHILD

It has been many years now since my wife and I have taken in foster children.  The kids were great but, at times, the advocacy was difficult.  At one point we had a little boy who stayed with us much longer than anticipated.  Karen worked tirelessly to protect and find a wonderful home for this little boy.  The whole process took a few years enabling me to do something I maybe should have shielded myself from....we developed a special kind of a bond.

The image never goes away.  As I would sit and read in the early morning my eyes would catch bouncing, curly hair traipsing down the stairs.  Rubbing the sleep from his eyes he would plop down next to me, wrap himself up in my arms and keep me company.  Sometimes we didn't talk, but often we chatted about "stuff".  It wasn't long now and he was gone, we had all finally settled on a good home, I didn't realize right away but this little boy had cut out a piece of my heart and taken it with him.

How much more must Christmas have felt to God?  He wrapped up His Son, set Him in a cold manger and left Him in a warped, crazy world.  God knew this baby would be mocked, ridiculed, beaten and killed.  But He also knew there was no other way to defeat man's sinful hearts. 

Oh how glad I am that God was willing to suffer the pain of separation so I could find this babe of Christmas.

Merry Christmas!

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After sacrificing his time and life in Afghanistan to protect our freedom Blake could battle no more. He passed away fighting the demons he was unable to cope with. After twenty some years Blake had reached out to us and tried to connect. If I could have just wrapped him up in my arms and talked about “stuff” again would it have helped? Of course there is always the “what ifs”… We were so close, I wish we could have reached him but the past was all too consuming.

That Babe of Christmas is still waiting to wrap us in His arms and shield us from the “stuff” we battle. Don’t give up…He’s waiting.

Christmas Child

CHRISTMAS CHILD

It has been many years now since my wife and I have taken in foster children.  The kids were great but, at times, the advocacy was difficult.  At one point we had a little boy who stayed with us much longer than anticipated.  Karen worked tirelessly to protect and find a wonderful home for this little boy.  The whole process took a few years enabling me to do something I maybe should have shielded myself from....we developed a special kind of a bond.

The image never goes away.  As I would sit and read in the early morning my eyes would catch bouncing, curly hair traipsing down the stairs.  Rubbing the sleep from his eyes he would plop down next to me, wrap himself up in my arms and keep me company.  Sometimes we didn't talk, but often we chatted about "stuff".  It wasn't long now and he was gone, we had all finally settled on a good home, I didn't realize right away but this little boy had cut out a piece of my heart and taken it with him.

How much more must Christmas have felt to God?  He wrapped up His Son, set Him in a cold manger and left Him in a warped, crazy world.  God knew this baby would be mocked, ridiculed, beaten and killed.  But He also knew there was no other way to defeat man's sinful hearts. 

Oh how glad I am that God was willing to suffer the pain of separation so I could find this babe of Christmas.

Merry Christmas!

How Long?

When interviewing, a question that comes up quite often and I'm sure is lied about quite regularly is this ~ "Tell me about a failure in your life."  Nice! I'm here to impress you with my qualities and you want to know how much of a loser I am.  Well, here goes another job offer down the tubes.

One of my many failures came out in a review I once had.  This boss of mine told me that my biggest problem is that I hold on to people too long. "When people don't produce for you, cut them off sooner" he said.  I'm not sure if I have this problem because I want my people to succeed or if I don't want to fail. 

Over the years, being in contact with many different kinds of employees, I see characteristics that irk me.  Some because they remind me of quirks I can't get rid of in myself and some because it causes me trials....more work, more discipline, more confrontation.  When I look at the situation as their fault, the irritation worsens and not only is the problem not solved, I become a problem as well. Comradary becomes worse, my attitude begins to affect other things I do...how I handle situations and relationships.  And certainly this fault thing doesn't help my progress with said party.

Compassion becomes another option.  Wanting to see someone succeed gives an outward goal......something else to focus on rather than worry about poor, poor me.  Many times people are waiting for an arm around the shoulder or a kick in the butt to give them the motivation they need to move on to the next level.  The ability to watch someone grow and develop is exciting.  Unfortunately, growing and developing isn't always the outcome.  Yet, in the battle, many positives about this person surface because my heart wasn't blinded by my self-centeredness.  The time may come, however, for some people to move on and have this mentoring process continue elsewhere. 

Often I look at these situations and wonder if the placement of these people in my life were there for their betterment or for growth in my life.

How long do I hold on?  Always a good question to ponder.