SecondIron's Blog

Sharpening Iron to Live Second

When Do You Finally Tell Your Story?

Everywhere you look lately, you read or hear about people telling their story. The question is when do you finally tell your story? Whether it is a story of success, recovery, or disastrous brokenness. Everyone has one to share. Until recently even I hid behind the pages of my story. Burying the pain, awkwardness and sin behind the curtains so that no one could see. It was not that I was any better or any different from anyone else. My story was my story, or so that is what I had been conditioned to believe. It was not until I was able to face my past head on that I could finally breathe, at last, give my story to Him to read.   Although He was the author all along, scripting my every step. I spent most of my life trying to edit the ink with a pencil and eraser. Not until on bended brokenness, was I was able to kneel down amidst my filth and give Him credit. It was not until I faced my mortality in a third world country, years later that I finally was able to give Him the glory, and truly humble myself into serving others. For years, I occupied a pew in one church or another. I went through the motions year in and year out. Attending mass because I felt it was the only way I could make it through the week. It became more of an obligation than a source of repentance. I felt unforgiveness within the […]

Things Roe vs Wade Have in Common With Me

On January 22, 1973, in a historic vote of 7 – 2, it was decided to be a woman’s choice to have an abortion. On that day I had just turned one-year-old a few days before on January 18th, I easily could have been a statistic as so many others have since. Being born in the early 70’s to parents that could not or would not take care of me, I ended up abandoned and in foster care. I could have been aborted, legally had I been born a year later.  I spent much of my childhood, teen years and even as an adult angry at my biological parents. Anger turns to an unforgiving heart, I turned cold to most everyone around me. Feeling like I never fit in made me more awkward than a normal boy would be. My social prowess lacked in almost every aspect. I turned to befriend the outcasts, always clinging to the broken and needy. All of this was to fill an empty hole in my soul, a longing I could not understand a thirst that could not be quenched. This is not a headline, this issue could have been me, maybe even you? Click To Tweet By turning to alcohol and other troublesome behavior, I hoped to bury my pain. A pain of loneliness that I never understood. I had little stability in my life, as I never allowed myself to be happy. I used to wish that I had never been born, maybe my brother was right when […]

3 Lessons Learned from my Latest Mission Trip

Just over four months ago I would not have known anything about Haiti beyond what you read or might see on TV. After I asked a simple question at a fundraiser back in August and, in turn, received a challenging question that would end up changing my heart. An offer to have me travel to Haiti and see what the nonprofit was doing first hand. Little did I know as I write this I have been to the country twice now and had my heart shattered and slowly rebuilt. When anyone steps outside of their comfort zone they tend to never be able to go back like they used to be. Similar to when you pack for a trip or try to put something back in its original packaging, things just never are the same. As I revel in the Haiti honeymoon hangover of this past weekend’s trip I figured I would share some lessons learned from my latest mission trip shared with the Haitian people. Lessons that will leave me forever changed, longing to go back and willing to take you along the next time I go if you are so inclined. Lessons Learned from my Latest Mission Trip Joy is Real As Americans, real joy  seems to come few and far between. Sure there are some people who are overly happy that it is borderline annoying. Yet real joy still seems to be missing. We complain about the simple things in life, yet in Haiti, they are happy and joyful over the simplest […]