the great men

I suppose I'm feeling sentimental this morning, hence the content of this post, BUT in my cold-hearted defense I must say that I've been planning to write this for some time now.  In my humble opinion, I think I turned out alright as a young woman.  I never really did anything I wasn't supposed to and followed along in life as my parents taught me to (except one time, I went to Belize with my BFF Courtney Collins and I had about 1/4 of a margarita.  I was 15.  Yep... it's haunted me ever since.)  OK anyways, the point of this post is to jot down (and by "jot," I mean peck away at the keyboard) my thoughts on how I turned out so great (joking).  I try to love & serve The Lord each day, even though that always looks a little different.  I think that there are 5 men in my life that have told me, SHOWN me, guided me, and sometimes even had to push me down this path that I am SO, so grateful I've chosen.  Jesus, my dad, Karl, Shane, and my Pa.  I have such a sweet relationship with each of these people, a very different relationship to each one of them.  I have learned (the hard way) to see Jesus as my ultimate rock, the only answer to problems, the One who blesses and teaches and heals and moves.  The most loyal and loving of the 5.  One of the five most influential men in my life is certainly my grandpa, affectionately known by friends & family as Pa.  Unfortunately my other grandpa passed away when I was young so I have just had this one to learn from but I would say that he has overflowed my cup with knowledge and pearls of wisdom.  Pa has given me a slice of learning from every single one of the character traits I have already listed.  He is selfless, loving, serves every single person around him unyieldingly, and keeps The Lord as the center of everything in his life.   I have always had a great relationship with him and enjoyed time with him.  He is fun.  Not one of those grandpas who is boring but always telling fun stories and offering Sonic runs :) .  He is full of life and love.  He has afforded me, my sisters, and cousins life experiences and lessons that make up my most strong childhood memories.  He has impacted more lives through meaningful relationships than I could ever hope to.  He is bold and speaks his mind.  He is currently fighting the "C" word that I can hardly speak or type, yet he continues to teach me and share his love for me.  The most incredible thing about Pa is his very clear decision to share Christ with everyone he meets and anyone who will listen to him.  Pa says I should be an author, he is so proud of Karl's choice to serve the country, loves my career choice and was my biggest cheerleader through college, he is from Arkansas (which I obviously love), raised a big wonderful family, and is proud as a peach of each and every one of us.  He is peaceful and strong and humble and very funny.  A newspaper article showcasing one of his most faithful efforts came out today.  I can think of hundreds of things that Pa has done that deserve a front page spread.  I'm full of memories and joy thinking about all the wonderful things Pa has not just told me, but SHOWN me.  So important to do.  I'm also feeling abundantly blessed by the fact that there are 5 men in my life that have done this.  So blessed to have a wonderful example in my dad, my husband, my friend & mentor, my grandfather, and my savior.  Here's the thing, even if I didn't have these 4 men in my life I am CONFIDENT that The Lord would have taught me AND shown me every single one of the character traits I have acquired from them.  He is more than enough and could be/is every single one of these men to me- he has the desire and ability to be both yours and my unconditionally loving father, selfless husband, wise grandfather, faithful friend, and so much more.  I am very blessed that He put these people in my life, physically, to show me all those things first hand.

Well, that's enough depth for now, eh? Join me in praying for Pa's body & mind and praising The Lord for his saved spirit.
Hannah K.C. Burton

P.S.- I'm saving up my "most influential women" post for a rainy day.