He is only eighteen.
Yet as he tells me about the events of his last twelve hours, I am struck by his maturity. It is no easy stuff, but he sits here composed, ready to take on whatever is ahead, doing anything to help.
"How are you?" I ask.
He crosses his leg and leans back in his chair, inhaling slowly. "Oh, I'm fine. My faith is strong enough that I can take pretty much anything." He blushes a little as he smiles and says again, "I'm fine."
I realize he could be putting up a brave front, but I am still so proud of him, proud of his tactful handling of the situation, proud that he cares and does what is best, proud that he does not scare easily and run away, proud of his unwavering devotion. I pray my own sons display the same character at his age.
Bravo, my friend. You may only be eighteen, but without a doubt, you are a man.
And I am thankful for the reminder from an unexpected source that action is always preceded by a choice to do the right thing. My heart may not be in it and I may not be sure I can do it, but deciding to do it anyway is the first step. Saying the right things comes before doing the right things. Intention counts because it determines behavior.
Happy Thursday, my friends! Be sure to visit Sting My Heart for more Thankful Thursday posts.
9 comments:
Bless you sweet one.
I sure home my boys are like that when they are older too.
That was so sweet! Many blessings to you today.
I'd like to meet this young man. He sounds like a wonderful candidate for the ministry. :~)
What a joy to read of this young man's character and unwavering devotion. I pray, my own son will be the same as he grows and matures. God bless you! :)
Uh - I LOVE it!!!! You are right that words precedes actions. But I go a little further -- it starts with the right heart :)
Thank you so much for sharing your grateful heart with us this week, Tami.
I hope you have a blessed and relaxing weekend ahead of you.
What a great story. And you are such a talented writer that we didn't need to know the details of the situation . . . the point came across almost more effectively with them. Great job.
Tami, I really wanted to submit a couple of your posts to Stumble It, but you have no permalinks. You really need them. Do you know how to turn them on in the Blogger software? If not, let me know and I would be happy to walk you through it. You will get more traffic & readers to your blog if you enable them. And you deserve more readers because you are such a fine writer.
Email me! And drop by the redesigned and greatly improved "On the Horizon" when you have time!
What a joy to have such a wonderful young man! Remember to give yourselves some credit in getting him to this place. He has become this man because of your love and devotion and your loving God's presence. Way to go!!
Love, Denise R.
Wow! This post was amazing. Not to mention moving and inspirational. I know that I'm one of the luckiest people in the world to have him in my life. Love you!
Post a Comment