I Believe

Last week I wrote about a friend of mine who lost a kidney. Well, he didn’t really lose a kidney, he gifted it to someone in need… and potentially saved his life! This week I would like to write about another amazing friend of mine who also lost something… his life.

Let’s call him Robert (because that’s his actual real name) and let me start off again by saying that I admire Robert very much, especially for the way he worked so hard to serve others. Robert was a loving father and a devoted husband. Unfortunately his four children were still very young when he passed away, but yet he had already accomplished a great deal of good in the world. He owned a very successful law firm, served on local City Councils, and was the Mayor of Laguna Niguel. Robert was also President of the Laguna Niquel Military Support Foundation, helped launch the Bonner Institute for the advancement of Choral Music, and was Chairman of the Board of Stoneybrooke Christian Schools. He was also extremely active in his church and incredibly somehow found time to write and publish an exciting novel called “Awakening the Solider”. Like I said, Robert accomplished a great deal of good in his short lifetime, primarily serving others.

Sadly, Robert lost his life in a single engine plane crash. He was the pilot, the only one on board.

At Robert’s funeral his wife handed out a thank you letter to every person that attended. The letter included Robert’s own personal “Faith Statement”. I came across that letter this past week and re-read it once again. It is clear, concise, inspiring, and quite profound. In fact, so profound that it inspired me to write my own “Faith Statement”. Robert may have lost his life on this earth, but his spirit lives on in the many people he served and cared about… like me.

 Joe’s Faith Statement

I believe that God is the true essence of love and that He created us out of love, in his image. Therefore, the best way for me to honor God is to do my best to love and serve others. I know it can be hard at times. Life itself is really hard at times. But I am okay with that because struggles strengthen my character, and when I fail I usually learn, grow, and become a better person. More importantly, my deep and abiding connection with God assures me that He is always with me and will never leave me. I believe that to know God is to experience truth, love, and happiness.

My Amazing Friend Robert

Faith is the bird that feels the light and sings when the dawn overcomes the night.

~ Joseph Thrailkill