Ari, Jezziah, and Owen (And little miss Oakley, still on the way!)
That letter that I wrote about not giving up? Still applies. Turns out that relationship that I had built (a very little one) with the RVP at AUS turned out to be not that bad. As we all learn in situations in hind-sight, (much like the saying, “hindsight is 20/20”) I needed to maintain that relationship enough that I wasn’t crossing the bridge, but I wasn’t burning it either. I sat shoulder to shoulder with that man in negotiations with SEIU6 for security contractors operating in the Seattle Area. Turns out he’s a decent guy – a lonely one by that; but an okay guy. I don’t think that changes my opinion about the acquisition machine of AUS, as he was very open about how he liked and hated his job equally, and I couldn’t help but notice that there was some reluctancy about the decision he made to stay and continue to stay with the company that approached him with a dangling carrot to keep him working there.
All that to say that you should be like Jesus in every interaction – a lesson that I will continue to learn throughout my life. Even though it may be difficult, and you would like nothing else but to see your enemies face down in the dirt and triumph over them, there’s no reason for you to burn a bridge, because at the end of the day, we are all human. And as Jesus says, the battle is God’s – not ours. Jesus did this when he allowed the religious leaders to persecute him, the guard to have his ear back after it was chopped off while he was being betrayed by Judas, and while he hung on the cross, murdered by the Romans. We will never fully understand why God is the way that he is, but we should at least try to understand some very basic things about His love: 1. His love is everlasting, and 2. it is for everyone – you need only accept his love and declare that he is Lord and that He died for your sins.
Life is crazy like that then. How crazy of an idea it is in a day like today where we should love our enemies. It’s an idea that is incredibly different than the divisive rhetoric that leaders/politicians/news media outlets are peddling these days. But like it, and perhaps more understood to great secular leaders of our day: don’t burn bridges. You’ll never know when you need to cross them again; and if nothing else, remember it’s a commandment by God: love God with all your heart/soul/mind, and love your neighbor as yourself. You don’t always have to like your neighbor, but you must love them.
My hope is that you will take that into every interaction, and even if the judge says that you have a right to be mad, that you don’t. That you forgive, so that you can be forgiven with that same tenor. God says for what you sow, you shall also reap. Be loving, forgiving and care for one another and your neighbors.
That’s not to say that this world is not full of it’s issues, and that you should go out and trust everyone. There are definitely people that do not have the best of intentions. Be wary of whom you trust, but love your neighbor as yourself. You wouldn’t want everyone in your business, or to have to talk to everyone, so love your neighbor like that. If their house is burning down and you don’t really like them, don’t let that keep you from dialing 911 for them, or rushing to them to aid them in their moment of need. Bring blankets, food, water; allow them to stay in your house; bless them, and the Lord will bless you bountifully. God demands that we even treat our masters with the same tenor. Love, and be loved.
I am so proud of each of you, and I am lucky to be your father. I pray each of you finds the salvation to lead a God-fearing life full of love and forgiveness for yourselves and others.
I love you always,
Dad