They Call Me Uncle

Last month I went to a graduation party for my friend’s 2nd oldest child. Yes, my friends Brian and Danielle are 7 months younger than I am, and now they have two high school graduates, with 4 more to go. Hey, you can make disciples or you can make disciples (Right Bill Enslow). Their kids call me Uncle Brian, even though I am not technically their uncle. I like it though. I often wonder what, if any, impact I am having in/on their lives.

Also, Friday (August 7th) was the final day of Vacation Bible School where I got to interact with approximately 100 children for an entire week. It’s a week of therapy for me, and as the daily photographer I thoroughly enjoy it. They call me Mr. Brian or the photographer guy and usually want their picture taken. I even colored my hair blue and orange on different days, but I digress.

If you’ve read the blog before, you know that I am single. God has not yet blessed me with a wife and family. (I spent 20 minutes on that sentence debating on the inclusion of “yet” I could hear Keith Otto’s voice telling me how the meaning of the sentence changed on that one word). I say yet because I’ve prayed for years that if it is his will for me to be single, then take the desire for a wife and family away. However, through much prayer, faith and wrestling with God, see Genesis 32:22-31, that is still a desire of my heart.

However, in these times when I am Uncle Brian or when I am interacting in children’s lives at church in VBS or the Christmas pageant I wonder am I making a difference in the lives of the kids I know? Am I being a good role model, do I model a Christian man to the boys, what sort of legacy am I leaving? Twenty years down the road will it matter? I am neither a teacher nor am I a parent. However, I know I have influence and I hope it is for good.

Proverbs 22:6 says “Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it.”

Proverbs 17:6 says "Children’s children are a crown to the aged, and parents are the pride of their children."
I am just dust and spit but I hope and pray the legacy I am leaving with the kids is filled with memories of love. I may never know the impact I have on the kids at church or my friend’s kids but that is ok, for now they call me Uncle Brian, or Mr. Brian, and I like that.