On the Road Again

 Our middle son has begun the permit driving adventure...so far, so good! He is such a cutie!!

BHP Senior Parade

Joshua Parra Senior Year 2020

Choose Life

What a beautiful truth.

Choice.

I was unexpected, not in the "plan". Money was tight. There were already 6 children. Dispair asked the doctor to discuss "options" with my mother. Options between life or death. Between living or dying. God had a plan. His plan was for good and not evil. To give me a future and a hope. She chose LIFE. Thank you Mom for keeping me. Inspite of the hardship, the fears, the uncertanty. Thank you for following God's plan and not man's. I am eternally grateful.

And while she carried me inside, with all of her emotions of fear and dispair, a search began that changed the course of her destiny forever. Not only her life, but of all those around her. While laying in bed, pregnant with the life she chose to keep, she heard a man on the radio explain about Someone that would change her life forever. One who would never leave her or forsake her. One who could take hard times and turn them into good. One who could forgive her of her sins, love her unconditionally, walk with her through anything. Jesus.

Her tough decision led her straight into the best choice she could ever make. Forgiveness. Freedom. Transformation. A new creation. It was contagious, and spread over time. Her mother, her sister, her brother-in-law. Her husband, her children. Her grandchildren. Her nieces and nephews. Even her hard-hearted father. She met the One who chose her from before time was. He accepted her just as she was. And she was forever grateful for the new life He gave.

So many lives touched and changed for all eternity by the choice of one mother who chose life. Both the life of the one she carried, and New life in Christ.

"This day I call the heavens and the earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live." Deuteronomy 30:19

If Shoes Could Tell a Story.

If these shoes could tell a story, what amazing tales they would tell. All the places and people and emotions of which they have been a part. They would surely recall the first day of insecurity and doubt. Were those feet adequate to make the cut? Did they have what it takes? Nervous heartbeats pulsing through the soles. Of course they would remenisce of friends like brothers, praying together, battling together, winning and losing together. A coach who always believed in him and pulled the best from him. I have a feeling they would speak of the splashes of sweat from shear exhaustion, drops of tears from victories and defeats, precious blood stains and excrutiating pain from injuries that came from giving everything you have. They would remind us of the clay and the sand and the mud and rain and even snow, of all the places they had stepped, wearing out a little more each day. I think if these shoes could tell a story, they would undoubtedly boast of the pride they felt to be used by someone who gave his all, never gave up, loved deeply and fought fiercely, regardless of the outcome. They would remind us of the fancy steps and well placed chips, of the rocket shots and picturesque passes. The miles run, the spills taken, the tough, frustrating times sitting injured on the bench. They would make us laugh with stories of crazy shanks, pretty corners and lucky toe-pokes. I am sure they would recall the play-by-play recaps on the drive home after each match, and the silent ride when it was all said and done.

Oh, the stories we would hear and the pictures that would be painted in the recesses of our hearts and minds...if these shoes could tell a story.