“I think I need another child”

you probably don’t have a clue about this, but one day, seven or eight years ago, when you were seven or eight, you did something that became my favorite story to tell.

It has been one of my favorite stories to tell, because it shows something profound.  It shows the deep impact that faith modeled and taught at home can have on a young life.  It shows that a parent who is lovingly invested in intelligently discussing faith and matters of the heart and culture and, in fact, talking about all things in this life through the lense of a faith and a worldview that says everything in this world belongs to God, can raise a child who sees the people behind and underneath the issues, and values them the most.

Your dad told us all very proudly of how you cared more for him than for your own gain.

He told us how his doctor had advised him to drink a glass of wine each day for his heart…

He told us how he had always kept alcohol out of the home, and now that he was going to be bringing it in, he sat down with you and explained what the doctor had said.  He told us how he had made you a deal that if he ever misused the alcohol, EVER got drunk, or even tipsy, he would give both you and your brother each $500.

Then, he told us how your brother turned to you and asked, “so who are you rooting for, Dad or the money?”

after we finished chuckling at the innocence of the question,

He proudly told us your reply, “I’m going for Dad”  and his voice got a little thicker and husky…

I have loved telling that story.

And now you have given me a new one.  as a teenager, 15 or 16, you came down the stairs one day, recently, and said to your dad, “I have [this much money] in my bank account.  I think I need another World Vision Child”  (as you’ve been sponsoring one already, all on your own, since you were 9…

Thank you.

thank you so much for inspiring such hope in my that faith at home WORKS.

Thank you for allowing your heart to be so beautified, to be shaped.  Thank you for thoughtfully engaging your heart and your emotions with the things your parents talked about.

Thank you for loving others first!

May you always have this same passion and zeal for God and his Kingdom and his children around you, and may you grow to be a strong man raising his children alike!