So yesterday was the last day of our trip out to Arizona. With it being our last day, my sister-in-law and I faced the challenge of the drive back. Sixteen hours in one day. By the time we pulled into Dallas, the only thing I wanted to do was swan dive onto my bed and wake up as many hours later as possible. I was successful with that goal, so tonight I will post a couple of blogs to catch up. Thanks for putting up with my tardiness from time to time, I’l try not to make it a habit.
I went to the gym today after guilt set in from overeating during Thanksgiving and had a great workout. I wore my Alabama shirt proudly even after the game this weekend, and actually had more conversations started by that than any other time. I almost wanted to ask “What game?” just to see their reactions, but I did my best to be a fan and have my conversations. I get bored pretty quickly talking about one game though (I know, it’s not one game, it’s THE game, blah, blah, blah…), so I tried to change the subject, but most of the conversations ended there.
That was at least until I ran across Leigh. She was actually in Tuscaloosa for the game this week and was born and raised on the Crimson Tide. We traded stories back and forth for a while and then she asked the question I get asked all the time, “Where’s your accent? You don’t even sound close to Southern.” There’s not too much southern about me. I can’t even say “y’all” with a clear conscience, but I assured her I was born and raised in Alabama between the cities of Selma and Tuscaloosa.
I saw the shock take over when I mentioned Selma and she began to play the name game. Unfortunately, I don’t remember that many family names from there, but it was rare enough to find someone that at least knew the name of the town. After she went on for a while, she tried to change the subject back to me and asked me what I was doing now. This question never gets old, and I very rarely give the same answer. I just told her how the Gospel had changed my life and I was doing whatever it took to live it out and right now that means helping the Philippines.
She nearly teared up in the gym as she told me about her kids and how she wanted something like that for them. She even said that moving the family out of Highland Park and to an area like Selma could help with the flood of consumerism they face. But she regretted how her family could never survive somewhere like that.
There’s just one question in my mind towards parents. I truly love, respect, and support wanting your kids to have and see more than they have, but instead of pushing or providing opportunities, why not do it with them? Sure, finances are steep for anyone to fly overseas, much less a family. However, what I’m talking about is doing more here and now. If you work your tail off to provide more for your kids, then guess what they’re going to do? They’re going to work their tail off to provide more for their kids because that’s the example their parents set (or the other extreme out of rebellion…).
You know what I think is so unbelievable? There’s no age limit or income bracket that sets apart those that can help the needy or travel the world to do it. You can’t really pass your prime in this area. If anything, the older you get, the more you have to offer. But unfortunately, there’s this stigma out there that almost mandates an age for this kind of stuff.
The thought I just left Leigh with was, if you want more for your kids, then show them the right things to focus on. You can’t just point them in the right direction, you need to walk it with them for a little while. I’m not a parent yet, but that has to be a fulfilling road to walk…
