Too Beautiful To Keep To Myself...

I know I said I would be writing every day...well, this was written my son, Joshua, He is a remarkable man and I am so proud how he has been true to himself and continually expresses love, kindness, and gratitude. He is not your typically 'millennial', in fact, there is nothing typical about him. At a young 23, he is changing the world for the better.... 

I'm generally the last person to post sappy, long posts but today I am just feeling the inspiration of someone that influenced my life in my childhood that I don't think realizes how much they have changed or moved me through tough years and challenges.
Today I want to give a shoutout to Glenn Owens. When I was young I grew up in a Fundamental Baptist family. We were the first generation in our family to follow this religion. To this day, I do not consider myself to follow this religion anymore but follow the morals of life from it. Every Wednesday night we had a church program called AWANA, this program started about 6pm and went till 8.
In the short story, Glenn was my 4th grade AWANA counselor, where every Wednesday from about 6:30-7pm he was helping 5 kids in my class memorize Bible verses (which gave us points to earn prizes and such). It was common for my previous and future teachers to just push the memorization aspect and get those points, which is not a good system for teaching. But that is how it was.
What was different about Glenn, is I was struggling hard on memorizing these verses and getting emotionally frustrated at my competitive classmates, feeling I could never do as good as them. Glenn sat me down every Wednesday for several weeks and worked with me and TAUGHT me what each verses meaning. He didn't have a text book referencing any of these verses, he authentically taught me what they were about and how I could apply them to my life.
I did not entirely know as to why this verse stuck with me from those few weeks, but 1 Thessalonians 5:11 was one of them. "Wherefore comfort yourselves together, and edify one another, even as also ye do". This verse told me to treat others the way you want to be treated. The context of what it was written might not be so direct but to me, it was a life changer. Every time I struggled with anger and hate and every day to day life (especially working retail), it helped me keep a level head and gave me perspective of others.
From that single verse and Glenn, I have learned that one single moment in time, especially in the eyes of children and young adults, what you say and do can change their lives for good or bad. All I remember is going back to Glenn, days, weeks, and even a few years later quoting that verse and thanking him for being the best teacher I ever had.
Thank you Glenn for every bit of inspiration you gave me.
Also, thank you to Barton Ink for the amazing ink! If anyone from the area needs quality work done and inspiring and good people to give you memories for life, make the drive to West Bend. Those people are family once you walk through those doors.

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Joshua McNeil is the owner and lead fabricator at McKydex (Milwaukee Custom Kydex). Feel free to check out his website and send him a message if you liked his heartfelt writing.