Can you find your way back home?
Once there was a young mother of three boys. Her deceased husband, the boy's father, transitioned to a better place after only 10 years of marriage. He left his young wife to raise a 4-year-old, a 7-year-old, and a 9-year-old. The mother was alone but she was determined to raise her little boys to be honorable men. They all attended weekly Sunday school, Sunday sermon, and Bible study sessions. The mother continued to work in corporate America to provide for her family.
Her home was filled with love, home cooked meals, study times, playdates, and frequent family visits from cousins, uncles, aunts, and grandparents. The men in their families became an iatrical part of their lives teaching the boys how to conduct themselves as men. The boys were very bright. As the years passed, they all excelled in every area of their studies and in all sports. Upon graduation, each son graduated with honors and received enough funding through academic and athletic scholarships to pay the total cost of their college tuition. In their senior years of college, each son entered basketball, baseball, and football pro drafts with the representation of an uncle who was also a professional sports manager. Everyone signed with the team and sport of their choice: the oldest son basketball, the middle son football, and the youngest son baseball. After walking in their college graduations, each reported to training camp.
The oldest son struggled with the concept of pride and popularity. He fought hard not to lose the values that he held close to his heart. He was determined to remain humble and focused on the word of God and basketball. The middle son struggled with the sins that accompanied fast money and loose women. He was lonely so he desired to marry a woman who shared his faith and beliefs. He married his high school sweetheart. However, the third son fell prey to the traps of the world. He surrounded himself with loud people and wild parties filled with alcohol and drugs. He cut off every family member including his heartbroken mother who continued to pray for his salvation.
Eventually, his addiction to drugs and alcohol caused his baseball team to permanently drop him from the lineup. His conduct was so explosive that no other team would sign him. Soon he was homeless, heavy in debt, forgotten by so-called friends, strung out, depressed, and hopeless. Things seemed so bad that he was ashamed to call his brothers, uncles, or grandfathers. So he decided to sleep in his car in parking lots of parks and grocery stores. This lasted for months. Until finally, everything of value was gone. He had nothing else to pawn. Hungry and hungover, he searched the dumpster for food. He began to cry and pray. "Lord help me. I want to go home."
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