You know the old cliche “You don’t know what you have until it’s gone”? Well I’m continuing to learn what those words mean with each passing day. Today and yesterday, we gave our full time Filipino staff some much needed time off and a hopefully relaxing vacation away from the home. We are so blessed to have the staff we have, and I’m thankful that they are all a part of our ministry. I’ve learned that even more in the last 24 hours…
Lalio is officially our driver, but that title does not even begin to fulfill his job description. He takes care of all our cars, when he’s not driving, he’s doing some form of manual labor, and on top of all that, he always seems to have the kids around him. In the midst of a home full of female workers, or mothers, it’s nice to have a consistent father figure, and that’s what Lalio brings to the table. Of all of our workers, he probably has the least dominating personality, but I just love watching him work his tail off and watching the kids run to him.
On top of all of this, he is a father of 5, including twin boys around the age of 5, and he is the sole bread winner for his family. He was made a widower a little over a year ago when he lost his wife to breast cancer, so since then he has done anything to provide for his kids. With this job, he is in a great position to provide for his kids as he makes the choice that so many single parents have to make. He will work nonstop, at the expense of time with his kids, so he can love them by providing for them. Of course he would prefer it were different, but it can’t be now, so he’ll be obedient any way he can.
One thing that I love to see is on Saturday when Lalio drives nonstop to get all the kids to our Saturday fellowship. Whenever the last load is there, Lalio sits in the back, usually with his twin boys sitting on each leg. He holds on to them so tight, and they always have the biggest smiles on their faces. When we think of workaholic fathers, we often see them as distant from their children emotionally as well. The one difference here is these boys know how much their father loves them. They can see it.
I’ve taken over most of Lalio’s day to day jobs and I don’t know how he does it. Driving all the kids back and forth to school, some with different schedules, plus being involved in every meal, gets quite exhausting. I’m thankful for all the work that he does, but more thankful that he will do whatever it takes to provide for his family. It’s a tough picture to look at it, but I’m so blessed by his example. Do what you have to do dads…
