Legacy

Life has slowed down the past couple of weeks and has alloted me time to read. I hadn't done much reading over the past few months so this has been a refreshing change of pace.

One of the books I read was Shadow of the Almighty the story of Jim Elliot. To give a brief synopsis  Jim Elliot and 4 other missionaries were killed in the 1950s by an Indian Tribe in Ecuador. There are a few books written about this topic but this one specifically deals with Jim's life through his journals and letters he wrote to others.

It shares about his inner struggles, his faith, his doubts, and his shortcomings. He wasn't a perfect person, he had choices to follow and obey God throughout his life just as everyone else did. In the end he was obedient. The choices he made not only affected him but also his wife and his daughter. The story continued after the death of these missionaries. Some of the families went and lived among this tribe for years to come. The tribe changed their ways and became God followers. The story was an amazing testiment to obedience, and doing the right thing even though it took some tragic and difficult turns.

"the biggest issue right now is fatherless children." A quote I have shared before by an inmate in one of my classes in prison. 85% or so of fathers of special need children leave.

Decisions we make in life aren't just about us. Choices do not happen in a vaccum. The reason I started this blog was to encourage fathers of special needs children to stick it out.

The majority of men of special needs children don't stick it out. It doesn't matter what their faith background is they leave. These decisions do not just affect a few but generations.

Sure there are many reasons why men leave, and some of the reasons may be valid. Some may be justified. Does that mean there will still not be consequences? Does it mean that it will not affect children and grandchildren?

In the end what will be our legacy? In the end is life about making us comfortable, and happy at the expense of our families?

We will all have a legacy the question is what will it be?