Being that I am a big believer in signs, it is just funny how things sometimes work out. One of my goals this week was to write two blog entries. For the first time since I started this, I had something hit me that I couldn’t wait to write on. The best part is I have gotten to the mindset now where I’m writing for me. While it would be nice if people do enjoy the content, it is not important to me.
This week as we were getting hammered again by floodwaters I was digging for old pictures of 2017 from Hurricane Harvey. I came across an image that I never knew I took. I did, however, remember the moment, because the moment in the picture changed the person that I will forever be. It was Sunday night about 46 inches into the slowest three days of my life. My family was to safety, and I was setting things up high, packing things, and trying to determine what to do. I wanted to figure out what was essential to bring with me from inside the house because the predictions didn’t look well. As I walked into the bedroom, it appeared I had creek front property. It was a surreal scene I would never wish on anyone. The water was well over the slab and went on for as long as I could see. I looked into the mirror that sat on that chair.
I saw someone who has been blessed with so much in his life — a great family, good health, a good job, and so forth. I was content at that point to know that if I lost every possession in that house that night that I would still live a blessed man. I realized that nothing can be taken for granted and that we must live for the right things which make our hearts full. I realized that we could not take things with us on this earth when we leave. Nothing in this house matters and all we can leave behind that isn’t material are the impressions and impacts we had on others in this world. I realized at that moment that I wanted to make a difference in other people lives going forward. I had always done small things here and there, but it was at that window at that moment I had an epiphany. I realized that I wanted to live in a way that impacted others. I wanted to go above and beyond any way I could to help others in need. I started the new me the following day with Harvey relief efforts and rolled that into several other organizations and projects. Today I live with a different mindset that started that day. Small gestures can have the most significant impacts. You can never affect society if you have not changed yourself. I think this window made me realize it best.
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