Likely the person who had the most impact on my life was my dad. It’s kind of crazy to think about considering he has been gone 26 years now. Still, the stories and the influence of a life lived so well continue to have a deep impact. I have heard it said, the thing that people will remember most is how you finish. I believe that more than ever now.
Like most of us, my dad made mistakes and I’m sure he struggled with some poor decisions. But the years I remember and the last season of his life were lived WELL. So well, in fact, that I continue to hear from many others about how his life continues to impact them today. Just a month ago his best friend, now in his 80s, said again that my dad was the single biggest influence on his life.
Several years ago I started a writing project that really was just for me. I wanted to compile some of the stories about my dad that had impacted so many people so deeply, For me it was a way just to honor him and to not lose the stories, I did not want to forget. Like many things in life, that project began to evolve and expand. It seems there was an entirely different purpose for all the journaling and writing I had been doing. It really became a project that captured my own journey as well.
The last few years have been a crazy, unpredictable ride of extreme highs and lows. Yet, it has been a season of life where I have seen God visibly at work in ways I would never have guessed. I have seen Him through the work of launching a ministry called Harbor that hopes to help leaders live with rhythm, leave a legacy and finish well. He has been there working through the circumstances of some heartbreaking and difficult events. Through all of it, I can’t escape the fact that He has been on the move. This “Wild Goose,” as the Celtics referred to Him, was absolutely calling me out to an exciting and often difficult adventure.
So these random words and stories began to come together. With the help and the prodding of several people, I decided to put it out there in the hopes that it may encourage and inspire others in the steps they need to take.
So perhaps God will work through this book, Harbor Seven. Or perhaps it is just a collection of stories that will honor a man who lived life to the fullest, and finished well.
