It is always incredible to watch a lightening storm happen
before your eyes. We were sitting outside at my Starbucks doing a Job Life
Skill Group. As we start the group the sun is just starting to set and the electrical
light show begins. Usually lightening happens once in awhile but this was an
ongoing display of the Almighty’s power. This was a great beginning for our
time of hearing from two very different guys about their present life journeys
between school, their interests, families and present life circumstances.
I was so jazzed that Anthony and his Shannon were able to
come. Anthony just recently graduated from the University of Phoenix with a BA
in Business. What makes this an amazing story is that Anthony grew up in South
Phoenix with a mom that raised all of her kids without any help. So as Anthony
shared his story of life without a dad it struck most of my teens. He’s just
like us. His story focused on being a football fanatic that loved the sport and
saw himself going pro. His first job was at the airport helping seniors in
wheelchairs get from point A to point B. He described his life as a teen where
he did school, worked, did football and slept on occasion. What drove him to
live this way was his dream to make it to the pros.
Reality set in after getting into a local Jr. College where
his coach was good but didn’t seem to promote him enough to get a position in a
four-year college. So all of a sudden life’s dreams turned into working and
school minus sports. His story didn’t stop like most of his peers that lived a
pretend life and ended up on the streets hustling. He met his wife in the
school and work context. She encouraged him to sign up for a scholarship
program with University of Phoenix that had 30 slots with 800 applicants.
Against all odds Anthony got the scholarship and the rest is a history of hard
work, late hours and little sleep. He graduated in May with his B.A. in
Business.
My real purpose in having Anthony come and talk was more to
share his dreams of being a small business owner. So for a few minutes him and
Shannon talked about their dreams. The teens asked the obvious how did you come
up with these business ideas. I was excited that my other friend, a retired FBI
guy, could hear Anthony’s story and hear about his dreams.
We transitioned to my other friend who didn’t grow up in
Phoenix. He grew up in Iowa with a dad that worked for John Deer for 30 years.
He wasn’t a farmer type but grew up in that type of community. He didn’t have
great aspirations as a kid growing up but thought he too would work for John
Deer like dad. Ultimately he went to local community college but ended up in
Phoenix to attend ASU. He too had a variety of jobs as a younger person and
quickly learned the secret of saving. This is a foreign concept to my teens and
me, especially when I was younger. Isn’t the purpose of making money to spend
it as soon as you get it?
My group was anxious for my friend to get to the real topic,
“What is it like to work as a FBI agent?” He purposely took his time talking
about life lessons as he grew up. What made this story interesting is that my
friend doesn’t come across as a FBI type of person. Yeah, he is a very tall guy
that could have been a professional athlete but didn’t. He’s very soft spoken
and not someone that would draw a crowd speaking. Anthony was much better at
expressing himself. Yet, as my friend unfolded his story all of us were curious
to hear what was it like to do FBI work. The real question by Jalil and others
was did you ever use your gun or get shot at? His response was a rather
uneventful, no, I never shot anyone nor was I shot at.
He continued to explain that a good portion of his work was
interrogating suspects that obviously were part of criminal investigations. He
shared that his love about this job was being able to talk one on one with
suspects and be able to share his personal faith journey. He last part of his
career was in Phoenix as a pilot where he would be trailing a suspect in the
air to help agents in the field not lose their suspects.
What I loved about his story was his choice to retire young
and now devote himself to doing work for the Lord. He was quick to point out
that the Bible doesn’t mention anything about retirement. His hope is to do
more work with us and include his wife in the coming year. The group had lots
of questions that keep the discussion going until the closing of Starbucks. We
picked up all of the outside tables, chairs and umbrellas and put them inside
the store. As we are finishing the wind continues to kick up with a scary
lightening show behind us.
I end up talking with my friend for another 30 minutes in
this sticky, humid monsoon evening. I was blessed to have 2 special friends
tell their stories that definitely enriched everyone who was present, including
myself.
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