what a nice picture that’s me and my dad
let me tell you a story about that young
boy and his father you see I grew up
with a single mother which for me
unfortunately meant that my father was
not in my life
consistently now being the oldest of two
children that he fathered I took on the
responsibility of protecting my family a
family that I didn’t even create now not
how did my father there affected me in
negative ways because I needed that
motivation that support from a
consistent male role model
now although my mother did an excellent
job of raising two sons by herself not
having him there took a toll on me
mentally and emotionally because I
couldn’t understand how a man who
brought me here on this earth he himself
wasn’t there for me now there was this
one summer when I was about 10 years old
that I went to go see my dad and what
was most memorable is waking up to the
screams of a woman and a man arguing
followed by a third of a body being
thrown against the wall being curious me
and my brother looked around to see that
woman running down the hallway with no
clothes on and my father chasing that
now imagine if you will going into your
parents house and not seeing any
pictures of yourself on the wall or on a
mantel in my case Tupac Shakur was on
the mantle
you know when you were young used to go
exploring your parents room
well in my dad’s room you can see
leftover drugs and drug paraphernalia
now let’s fast forward a few years I’m
an adult and I’m a father of my own and
when I entered into fatherhood I said to
myself I’m not gonna be anything like my
dad now in my adult years I would go see
my father from time to time but when I
went it was with this motivation I’m
about to show you how I made it without
you but also to show you how much I
missed and loved you and needed you now
one day I was sitting at home with my
wife and I said you know what I think I
want to go see my dad so she was excited
because she knew that the relationship
and like their uh how it affected me
throughout the years so she said okay
when are we going to go I said now she
was confused little did she know because
I never told her that the city that
we’ve stayed in for the past year that
not only did he live in the same city
but he was 20 minutes away so we went
and as we got off the car my father’s
eyes lit up as we got out and saw my
family and saw my wife so once we got
inside after a few minutes he said you
know what come out on the porch we need
to talk to you okay as we stood out
there and exchange pleasantries for a
minute he looked at his watch and he
said all right you got 30 minutes to say
what you need to say to me I know I’m
messed up I looked at him I was confused
I said well I said to myself was this an
apology
after the years of no calls and no shows
this was an apology
miss birthdays and football games you
really this really is an apology you
didn’t come to my high school graduation
and you missed every major milestone in
my life and this is your presentation of
an apology needless to say that
conversation escalated I looked at
myself well after all these years why
not he said because I want to get to
know my grandsons
and be in their life and I say it so you
can do to them what you did to me and
not be there not ain’t gonna happen my
words hurt because he felt back and he
said why would you say that I’m an
excellent grandfather to my other
grandkids but by that time I didn’t hear
blocked everything out I went into the
house I looked at my wife I said you
know what it’s time to go let’s go we
left that was one of the last
conversations I have with my father you
see two years later I was sitting at my
job I have moved away now sitting and I
received a phone call from an associate
who said my father had passed away you
see the years of hard drugs
and congestive heart failure he end up
having a heart attack and sitting at my
desk I was confused and I had all these
emotions in me and just the tears to
stream down my face Tupac Shakur who’s
absolutely my favorite artist
said his song dear mama as he chronicled
his life without having his father said
it ain’t nobody tell us it was fair no
love for my daddy because the coward
wasn’t there he passed away and I didn’t
cry because my anger wouldn’t let me
feel for a stranger but when I showed up
today at that funeral I wasn’t angry I
was sad as I looked into that coffin I
didn’t see a stranger I saw my dad so
years after that I struggled with that
moment on the porch because in his way
he apologized and I had a powerful – I
could have used but I did and it was
forgiveness the word forgive means to
cease the field or resentment from an
offender and on that day I held on to
resentment I held on for the years of
her now I can’t tell you when I had this
great epiphany about when to truly
forgive but when I finally did it made
peace with that it changed my life
forever and I would take that story
about me and my dad as I mentor and not
talk to students and what I found out
there is a direct correlation between
unresolved issues and the lack of
forgiveness I want to do a demonstration
for you my left hand represents the
person in your life in this case it was
my dad this paper represents the issue
no matter what that issue is and my
right represents me or you so long as
you hold resentment to a person you are
always going to be attached with that
weight in that burden to that person in
a negative way but when you learn how to
forgive and to release that resentment
and let go
it falls away and you’re able to
navigate in a much different way
singer/songwriter India I read in her
song get it together
says the choice is yours no matter what
it is to choose life is to choose to
forgive take a moment and think about
someone in your life that you need to
have a conversation with and forgive
find it in your heart to release that
resentment and to release that weight in
that burden choose life choose to
forgive thank you
let me tell you a story about that young
boy and his father you see I grew up
with a single mother which for me
unfortunately meant that my father was
not in my life
consistently now being the oldest of two
children that he fathered I took on the
responsibility of protecting my family a
family that I didn’t even create now not
how did my father there affected me in
negative ways because I needed that
motivation that support from a
consistent male role model
now although my mother did an excellent
job of raising two sons by herself not
having him there took a toll on me
mentally and emotionally because I
couldn’t understand how a man who
brought me here on this earth he himself
wasn’t there for me now there was this
one summer when I was about 10 years old
that I went to go see my dad and what
was most memorable is waking up to the
screams of a woman and a man arguing
followed by a third of a body being
thrown against the wall being curious me
and my brother looked around to see that
woman running down the hallway with no
clothes on and my father chasing that
now imagine if you will going into your
parents house and not seeing any
pictures of yourself on the wall or on a
mantel in my case Tupac Shakur was on
the mantle
you know when you were young used to go
exploring your parents room
well in my dad’s room you can see
leftover drugs and drug paraphernalia
now let’s fast forward a few years I’m
an adult and I’m a father of my own and
when I entered into fatherhood I said to
myself I’m not gonna be anything like my
dad now in my adult years I would go see
my father from time to time but when I
went it was with this motivation I’m
about to show you how I made it without
you but also to show you how much I
missed and loved you and needed you now
one day I was sitting at home with my
wife and I said you know what I think I
want to go see my dad so she was excited
because she knew that the relationship
and like their uh how it affected me
throughout the years so she said okay
when are we going to go I said now she
was confused little did she know because
I never told her that the city that
we’ve stayed in for the past year that
not only did he live in the same city
but he was 20 minutes away so we went
and as we got off the car my father’s
eyes lit up as we got out and saw my
family and saw my wife so once we got
inside after a few minutes he said you
know what come out on the porch we need
to talk to you okay as we stood out
there and exchange pleasantries for a
minute he looked at his watch and he
said all right you got 30 minutes to say
what you need to say to me I know I’m
messed up I looked at him I was confused
I said well I said to myself was this an
apology
after the years of no calls and no shows
this was an apology
miss birthdays and football games you
really this really is an apology you
didn’t come to my high school graduation
and you missed every major milestone in
my life and this is your presentation of
an apology needless to say that
conversation escalated I looked at
myself well after all these years why
not he said because I want to get to
know my grandsons
and be in their life and I say it so you
can do to them what you did to me and
not be there not ain’t gonna happen my
words hurt because he felt back and he
said why would you say that I’m an
excellent grandfather to my other
grandkids but by that time I didn’t hear
blocked everything out I went into the
house I looked at my wife I said you
know what it’s time to go let’s go we
left that was one of the last
conversations I have with my father you
see two years later I was sitting at my
job I have moved away now sitting and I
received a phone call from an associate
who said my father had passed away you
see the years of hard drugs
and congestive heart failure he end up
having a heart attack and sitting at my
desk I was confused and I had all these
emotions in me and just the tears to
stream down my face Tupac Shakur who’s
absolutely my favorite artist
said his song dear mama as he chronicled
his life without having his father said
it ain’t nobody tell us it was fair no
love for my daddy because the coward
wasn’t there he passed away and I didn’t
cry because my anger wouldn’t let me
feel for a stranger but when I showed up
today at that funeral I wasn’t angry I
was sad as I looked into that coffin I
didn’t see a stranger I saw my dad so
years after that I struggled with that
moment on the porch because in his way
he apologized and I had a powerful – I
could have used but I did and it was
forgiveness the word forgive means to
cease the field or resentment from an
offender and on that day I held on to
resentment I held on for the years of
her now I can’t tell you when I had this
great epiphany about when to truly
forgive but when I finally did it made
peace with that it changed my life
forever and I would take that story
about me and my dad as I mentor and not
talk to students and what I found out
there is a direct correlation between
unresolved issues and the lack of
forgiveness I want to do a demonstration
for you my left hand represents the
person in your life in this case it was
my dad this paper represents the issue
no matter what that issue is and my
right represents me or you so long as
you hold resentment to a person you are
always going to be attached with that
weight in that burden to that person in
a negative way but when you learn how to
forgive and to release that resentment
and let go
it falls away and you’re able to
navigate in a much different way
singer/songwriter India I read in her
song get it together
says the choice is yours no matter what
it is to choose life is to choose to
forgive take a moment and think about
someone in your life that you need to
have a conversation with and forgive
find it in your heart to release that
resentment and to release that weight in
that burden choose life choose to
forgive thank you
Please follow and like us: