Poppy, Pablito, and Jesus

Today is April 7.  Today is Poppy & Pablito’s Birthday.  Happy Birthday!!

Pablito, lil’ Paul, lights up every room with his electric eyes and playful smile.  His cute little mannerisms and gregarious personality make it difficult to disciple him when he is being a typical 4yr old.  In fact, I’m confident that he knows how to flash a smile and wink to get outta trouble.  Just ask his Nana or Mia.

Poppy/Uncle Ralph/Mr. Ralph, whatever you want to call him, turns 66 today.  Pops is friend to all, would do anything for you, show up anytime to help you out, repair anything you need fixin’…he just loves you.  

That’s what I want to do while I’m here on this earth.  I want to leave a legacy of love.  My brother, Joshua, and I always knew that we were loved.  My dad made it a point every day to tell us and show us that he loved us. He didn’t do things for himself at the cost of Josh and I.  He always went to work to make sure we had what we needed and more.  If he went fishing, we were with him.  Never was he at the bar playing darts or gone playing beer-league softball.  He was at all of our baseball games no matter what state, even if that meant whacking his hat against his leg down the third base line 😉

See, my dad didn’t hear ‘I Love You’ much coming up.  So, he resolved to make sure that we always knew we were loved.  His heart had been changed by Jesus, so he knew that to leave a legacy of love one must deny self and put others first.

That legacy has bled over to our family.  This Wilson crew hopes that Jesus’ love will be poured out through us to others who need to hear ‘I Love You’.  Folks in this world who need to see God’s love in action.  Our family verses are Matthew 22:37-40, which are Jesus’ words of:  “…You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.  This is the great and first commandment.  And a second is like it:  You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”  We love God and we want to love others like Jesus.

God’s word and the legacy of putting others first makes it easier to be here in Guatemala.  I’m saying that it is easier but is by no means easy to be away.  All cards on the table…we miss family.  We miss our loved ones.  We enjoy FaceTime and Zoom and Marco Polo but it ain’t the same as being amongst family and friends.

Despite the emotions we feel, we understand what love is.  We see it in the Bible and have experienced it by grace through faith…the sacrificial love of Jesus.  We’ve seen it and experienced it from other Jesus followers in our lives…the sacrificial love of Jesus that fills believers to put others above themselves.  

So, we miss our family and long to see South Georgia again BUT our Commander-in-Chief, Jesus, has sent us on a mission.  His love empowers us to love others and to show others His love.  His love is the example to deny self and obey our Commander-in-Chief.  When we miss our fam and long to see Georgia, we recall the sacrificial love of Jesus…the love that took Him to the Cross to bear our sins.