Character That "Bonds" a Family

This entry is from the heart. It is about heart. It is heartwarming. It is soul touching. It is TRUE. It will humble you. It will help you put things in perspective. It will give you a greater appreciation for what you have, and perhaps you won't be as tempted to dwell on what you don't have. I truly hope you will want others to read this. Not because I put it on here, but because we all need to realize that there are these kind of terrific people around us. This is the other side of the 6:30 evening news. This is the good stuff. Here goes....

I have a friend who is a high school football coach in central Georgia. He's the kind of man you would want your son to be coached and taught by. Heck, you'd just want your son to be around this guy. Something good would have to rub off on your kid. The man exudes character with a capitol "C". We hear that adversity builds character. Well, this man can write you a book on that. He has fought (and fights) his own battle with another "C" word. Cancer has never had such an adversary as it has with this man. When people ask me if my friend has cancer, I tell them yes, and that cancer has had just about enough of him! He is a man of Faith. He can talk X's and O's with the best of them, but he can also talk John 16:33! I trust I've given you a good idea of the kind of person I'm referring to. But we're really just getting started here. In his tremendous family resides a wife and three children. Triplets no less! And "Terrific Triplets" I might add! But we have to refer to yet another "C' word again, this time cerebral palsy. You see, one of the three has CP. And he handles it with the same courage and character as his Dad does his "C" adversary. In fact, if you ask the father, he'll tell you the son displays the most character and courage. And fight. And heart. And fortitude. But that's the kind of man the dad is. And that's the kind of young person the son is. In fairness, it really is hard to ascertain who is doing the 'role modeling ' in this family. The wife/mother sees all that happens in this family from a perspective than only a wife and mother can. She throws herself into doing "whatever it takes" for her four. I assure you: "whatever it takes" is no cliche with this lady. She certainly took no back seat when they were passing 'character' out. And Faith. And energy. And focus. That's the kind of person the mother is. Don't forget, if there were triplets, there must be two more! The brother and sister are there all right. They love. They support. They protect. That's the kind of kids the brother and sister are. These are active kids who love and participate in sports. Why wouldn't they? Their Dad's a coach. Notice I didn't say "these TWO kids", because I was referring to all three. One of the three plays in the Miracle Baseball League. It gives kids with disabilities an opportunity to play baseball. We're going to bring back that good "C" word again, because the only requirement for this league is that ya gotta have CHARACTER. No problem for this young player! He's just the right height to ride this pony, Mr. Fair Man! One Saturday morning as the son was getting dressed for his game, he told his dad all he wanted to do was be on a team, wear a uniform and hold a bat. A humble request by an 11 year old who just wants to participate and be a teammate. The attitude of an ultimate team player. You know, big TEAM, little me. The attitude of yet another "C", this time CHAMPION. I've learned from this father/son tag team that an ample dose of the good "C's" can go one heck of a long way in overcoming the bad "C's". Thanks for the lessons guys, and please keep teaching. All FIVE of you!