A couple of weeks ago my main squeeze went to Oklahoma’s
Baptist General Convention Men’s Retreat called “Rewired”. He told me they
spoke about “being a man of influence” and what that is and what it means.
Speaking from my perspective, my man, while he might not be tall in stature is
certainly tall in influence. I don’t brag often enough on him (I don’t want him
to get the big head), and I know he would tell you that he still has lots of
flaws, but as his wife who sees him day in and out, I can testify he truly is a
man of Godly influence.
In fact, every man is a man of influence, where the rubber
meets the road is what kind of influence are you? At one point, my husband, was
a man of bad influence heading down the wrong road with DUIs (driving under the
influence) and being controlled by what he wanted in life, but praise be to
God, he no longer is a man of bad influence. You can read here, how that
radical change came about in his life.
Today, he is one of the most selfless, scripture driven
people I know and he is mine! He is most definitely not just a hearer, but a
doer. He is a man that loves Jesus first, then his family and others, always putting
their needs before his own. I have watched countless men come to him for
biblical counseling over our almost 18 years of marriage. He provides them
wise, biblical counsel and prays with/for them and they come back often.
He also invests in student lives. First as the student pastor
at our church, those male students who are seeking more always flock to hang
out with him because of the truth of scripture that he speaks out in to their
daily life; not to mention he is just a humorous guy and a big kid himself, which
helps too! This past Friday night he took two of our male students to an
outdoor concert with Christ honoring music. I’ve learned not to call it Christian
music; if you are interested in why, ask and I’ll tell you. They spent about
six hours together and he didn’t come home dragging and complaining that it
took too long, the music was too loud, or any other type of complaint. It was
the opposite, he came home excited about the relationships the students were
building together and how he was a part of the work God is doing in their
lives.
He also devotes time to shepherd students on the baseball
field. That still just seems too crazy to even type the word baseball anywhere
near my husband’s name. That is how I know all the things the Lord has done in
our spiritual is a God thing, because Darryl and baseball just don’t go
together, but they do now and only God could make this awkward match. I really need to take the time and capture how God orchestrated this craziness in our lives. It's always fun to go back and see how God takes you through valleys, because what we learned was that God wasn't trying to take something from us but He was leading us to something.
In this News 4 video, the head coach, Mike Hinckley talks
about what he and Darryl (as he refers to 'his coach' lol) are working to instill in
these young men through the game of baseball. You might not catch my husband in
the video because he is in the background and he is close to the same height and
skin color of the guys they coach, but he is the one with the solid maroon
pullover on. Again, when the students ask, he is there to give Godly guidance,
teaching them positive life skills can be learned through playing a game and
that life is much more.
But even more, he is our spiritual leader in our home; he
spends hours digging in the Word, pouring prayers over our lives and seeking
God on behalf of our family. His faithfulness to our triune God has certainly
influenced me to seek God more in my life. He will probably hate that I wrote
all this about him, but I am one blessed wife! He certainly loves me as Christ
loves the church, or at least I feel like he does. He irons my uniform every
day for work (we are both looking forward to our retirement). He makes my
coffee, starts my car, and loads it every morning before I go to work. He makes
sure the oil is changed, my tires are good and that I have gas in my car. He
does our laundry every week. He takes care of our home inside and out. I am
sure at the point he got his last DUI that landed him in jail he never dreamed
that God could use him or the mess of his life, but God specializes in
transformation. Now as my husband stood before our church congregation this past Sunday, the Lord enlightened him that he is still “DUI” but this time it is much
better, because he is now a “Disciple Under Influence”, which that influence
being the Holy Spirit. My main squeeze is most unquestionably a man of
influence and I am blessed to call him mine.
“And do not be drunk with wine, in which is
dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit” Eph 5:18
No comments:
Post a Comment