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The smallest fish I've ever seen bite a hook.

Another boy caught a fish, too. He yelled and they all crowded around as he reeled it in. They ran up the hill as one unit, like something you'd see in a cartoon, to show the men.

I stood, quietly observing. "That's what I was supposed to do", I thought to myself. I chose not to participate in the celebration. My fish had been larger than his. But now, nobody would believe me. I didn't even say anything when I caught the bass just minutes before. I didn't know I was supposed to say, or do, anything.

It was summer camp. I was about ten years old and hadn't been fishing since my dad died five years earlier. I kept it to myself, only telling one friend that I had also caught a fish, "but", I added, "I know that no one will believe me since they didn't see it." He agreed.

That day stands out to me as one example of what it meant to have no father in my home. Whether it's fishing, hunting, working on the car, or whatever, our boys need us to spend time with them. This is how they learn what a real man looks like.

Yesterday, Tucker caught the smallest fish I've ever seen bite a hook. He insisted that I take his picture with it. He knew, somehow, that the size of the fish wasn't the point.

Men, be a father to your sons by spending time with them. Do MAN things together.

This is your legacy.

Who is it? Tell me who it is.

Daniel was at work when he heard there were cops at our house. He rushed home. When he got there, he knew someone had died. He simply said, "Who is it? Tell me who it is."

I said, "Georgia".

The next four kids, by age, had spent the night with my mother-in-law. When they got home, I had to tell them, too. "I have some very bad news about Georgia," I said. "She went to sleep and didn't wake up. I tried to wake her, but she's gone. Her little spirit is in Heaven with Jesus now."

This scene from March 10-11, 2006, replayed in my head while I was driving to work today. I didn't ask for it, expect it, or even want it. But there it was. Emotion and everything.

I have worried that I had become too numb to feel that anymore. But I am grateful to know that my heart is still tender enough.

It is sad, I know. But, the story doesn't end there. My life didn't end with Georgia's life. I survived. We survived. You will survive.

The Hope of Eternal Life in Jesus Christ, and my beautiful wife and eight remaining children kept me going. Time has allowed the wound to heal. I am scarred.

Life is full of change. Good and bad. Be encouraged. You will heal in time.