My son has no idea how profound his words are...
Back in October, I went to Africa for a mission trip and left home for 10 days. It took a lot of work for me to convince myself that it was okay to leave my family for that long with my son not even two years old yet (go ahead and cue the stories from people who think that statement makes my life posh beyond belief). When we explained to him what I was doing, I was well aware of the fact that he had no ability to comprehend that Dada was going away for 10 days, but we explained why by telling him that I was going away for a while "to help people." He latched onto that and I'm happy to say that it has become a staple explanation for many things...
what is that ambulance doing? help people
what is that firetruck doing? help people
why is Dada getting a phone call and leaving the house at 10pm on a Tuesday? help people
This morning when I left, I gave my little big shot a hug and told him I was going to work. He responded by saying "Dada go work... help people."
BOOM!
I realized that my son operates under the assumption that anytime I'm not with him it's because I'm doing something to help someone. That's heavy, Doc... I mean, on one hand, I couldn't be happier that he's gotten that impression of what his dad is about, but on the other hand, it kinda scares the running shoes off of me. That's a lot to live up to... am I making good on that? Is my life truly focused on helping others?
I know one thing... in terms of what I tell him and what I hope he will learn and live by, the litmus test for a good day is "Did I help someone today?"
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