First, I am so thankful for Byron. I feel this strange sense of helplessness with the Mighty Men. That is not to be confused with hopelessness. I am very hopeful, but really when you think about it, I have very little power over who they will ultimately become. I am doing a lot for them, if you think about what most men do for young men in their neighborhoods. But when you think about what a father does for his sons, I'm not even coming close to what that role should be. Two to three hours per week, even purposeful, love-filled hours, cannot replace the role of a man in their homes who will lovingly train them to be men of God. Some days I feel like I should be doing more, but then I look at the needs in my own home and acknowledge my limitations. Most days, though, I feel this peaceful sense of helplessness. These boys belong to God. He picked them. He created them, and He is the one in charge of making them Mighty Men. I mostly feel honored to be able to participate in what God is doing. I see His hand all over Byron. Byron is special. He is already leading young people to Jesus, and most importantly, he is a young man of character who really loves Jesus. I'm proud of him. I just want to state here publicly that God saved Byron and God gets all the glory for who he is. I am very thankful to be sharing in his life, but he is who he is because of the grace of God. I love being a dad to Byron, and I'm really glad that God is his Father who takes care of him when I can't. Pray for the other boys to follow Byron's lead.
Tonight my friend Richard called me. I met Richard a few months ago. He sleeps under a bridge. We don't always agree, but I think he knows I care about him. He has a cell phone that doesn't always have minutes, but tonight it did. I figured he was calling to ask me for cigarette money. I didn't answer the phone because I was praying with the kids. I just checked my voicemail and his message was just to tell me that he got a place to live. He ended the message with "woohoo!"
I guess it was something about the "woohoo!" that made me happy. Richard is not terribly expressive. I doubt he called anyone else tonight to share his good news. I am humbled and honored that he called me. Pray that he will keep calling. Pray that I won't forget that he isn't defined by his address or lack of one. Pray mostly that he will find Jesus. I will be shouting "woohoo!" with him, when he does.
3 comments:
I barely know Byron yet I too see how amazingly special he is. Its so neat to see the Lord in such a young man. Im so glad he has you to walk alongside him on this journey! And Richard.....made me smile. The Lord is using you in his life, its awesome!
I'm thankful for this grace that I see at work in you, Randy. It's so encouraging that I think I want to move there.
I love the way you are fathering Byron. And since you mentioned it, I'll share what President Bush said about that on Saturday. He was talking about the riskiness of running for president and the harsh criticism he gets from the world. He said (and I use quotation marks sort of loosely), "None of that matters because I have the unconditional love of my father--both my earthly father and my heavenly father." He said if you have that, you can do anything. You have the great honor and challenge of serving in that role in Byron's life. What a blessing! He will be a different man--a man who isn't full of fear, but is confident in who God made him to be. With that, it will be beautiful to see what God does in his life. I'm so proud of you both.
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