Twenty-three
years ago, my daughter, Hannah, was one month and one day old the day I flew to
Guatemala to pick up our son. Kim and I had hoped to travel together, but with
Hannah just being born, we thought it better that I go alone.
There are many
events that I remember clearly as if it were yesterday. One of the most
significant was the day after our consulate gave us the final approval for Wil’s
adoption. We traveled to Casa Shalom, Wil’s orphanage, in order for me to see
it and for Wil to say goodbye to Tom and Elizabeth, the orphanage “parents” and
for him to say goodbye to the kids with whom he had lived for the better part
of a year.
Two things
happened that day. We stood in the living room, which was sparse and devoid of
much of the trappings we would find in our own living rooms. There were two
boys standing off to the side. The taller boy had his arm around the smaller
boy who was crying. The taller boy whispered something to the smaller boy in
Spanish and the smaller boy nodded, but kept on weeping. I turned to Elizabeth,
who had overheard the statement, and she, too, was weeping. I asked what was
said, and she told me that the two boys were brothers. The older boy told his
younger brother, “It’s okay. Someday we’ll have a daddy, too.”
It broke my
heart. I wanted to take them home with me then and there, but I couldn’t. Deep
down, I knew that, but at some level, it touched me. I can still picture that
whole scene and those two boys clearly today.
The other event that
took place happened as we walked out to the car, got in and started our slow
drive down the dirt track to the road. The kids, along with Tom and Elizabeth,
lined up on either side of the road and waved goodbye. Some cried. Others
smiled. In all, there was a sadness that I saw and felt.
The car we were
in was a small Datsun hatchback. Wil pushed himself towards the front and held
my hand. He started to wave at the kids, but couldn’t. He bowed his head and
wept. I have to admit, I did, too. Saying “Goodbye” is hard. And, there have
been a lot of “goodbyes” in my life. Yours, too, I suppose.
I ran across a
story on Facebook and then on the ABC Nightly News. It was a beautiful story
about the team manager or water boy with Down Syndrome. His name is Robby Heil.
His team and the opposing team conspired together to get this boy into the game
so he could score a touchdown and surprise his mother who has terminal cancer.
If you care to
watch it, you can view it and the story at:
This nice thing
is that this was a close game. I believe the score at the time was 7 to 7, so
the touchdown had significance. A lot of significance, actually. For the two
teams, for Robby, and for his mother. Probably a heck of a lot of other people,
too.
And then there
is a letter from six year old, Alex, who wrote a letter to President Obama,
about a little five year old Syrian boy, Omran, who sat in the back of
an ambulance by himself. He was covered in blood and dirt. A bomb blast had
just killed his entire family, leaving Omran by himself.
Alex wanted his
family to adopt Omran and even had a plan to share his bike and play with him.
The story, and it is heartwarming and moving, can be found at: https://www.yahoo.com/news/boy-6-writes-obama-syrian-183600994.html
I think there is
a direct correlation between one’s Words And Actions . . . if there is truth
and sincerity. I believe one’s Words And Actions come from the heart. What the
heart nurtures gives birth to one’s Words And Actions. In each of these
stories, there is beauty, so much so, my words are inadequate. Woefully so. So
today, I ask each of you to listen to your Words and to watch your Actions.
They bear the fruit of what is in your heart. Something to think about . . .
Live Your Life,
and Make A Difference!
To My Readers:
Please feel free
to connect with me at:
Twitter
at @jrlewisauthor
Facebook
at: https://www.facebook.com/Joseph.Lewis.Author
If you like to
read thriller/mystery, check out:
Book One of the Lives Trilogy, Stolen Lives:
Two thirteen
year old boys are abducted off a safe suburban street. Kelliher and his team of
FBI agents have 24 hours to find them or they’ll end up like all the others-
dead! They have no leads, no clues, and nothing to go on. And the possibility
exists that one of his team members might be involved. http://tinyurl.com/Stolen-Lives-J-Lewis
Book Two of the Lives Trilogy, Shattered Lives:
Six men escaped
and are out for revenge. The boys, recently freed from captivity, are in danger
and so are their families, but they don’t know it. The FBI has no clues, no
leads, and nothing to go on and because of that, cannot protect them. http://tinyurl.com/Shattered-Lives-J-Lewis
Book Three of the Lives Trilogy, Splintered Lives:
The FBI knows a
14 year old boy has a price on his head, but he and his family don’t. With no
leads and with nothing to go on, the FBI gambles and sets up the boy and his
family as bait in order to catch three dangerous and desperate men with
absolutely nothing to lose.
http://tinyurl.com/Splintered-Lives-J-Lewis
The Lives Trilogy Prequel, Taking Lives:
FBI Agent Pete
Kelliher and his partner search for the clues behind the bodies of six boys
left in various and remote parts of the country. Even though they don’t know
one another, the lives of FBI Kelliher, 11 year old Brett McGovern, and 11 year
old George Tokay are separate pieces of a puzzle. The two boys become
interwoven with the same thread that Pete Kelliher holds in his hand. The three
of them are on a collision course and when that happens, their lives are in
jeopardy as each search for a way out. http://tinyurl.com/Taking-Lives-J-Lewis