March of 2013 was my first time being invited to the event. I had no idea what to expect. I was excited to go and was able to sit with Mike and our dear friends who are heavily involved with one of the YMCA branches. I met new people and was hugged by more than one who had been working with us on Dad's Scholarship Program in Aquatics. Even in a sea of people I felt like there was this joy there that flowed out of the people who were there.
I loved the YMCA stories I heard that night. One told of the special needs sports teams created at certain Y branches and what the volunteers and kids had accomplished that year. Then the aquatics story: a gentleman who decided in his mid 80's that it was never too late to try to improve his health and learned how to swim at his community Y, his daughter cheering him on each week. Eventually, "Mayor Bill" was swimming a mile a day with a snorkel and hand paddles at his community YMCA.
See his Y Story here on you tube. Bill Heller's Y STORY- "Believe in Health and Well Being" It is a great testimony!
There were so many stories and so many people honored for special reasons. The outreach to the community was just incredible and I had fresh eyes to see exactly what the YMCA of Greater Charlotte does in the name of Christ. It was like I had stepped into this world through my father, which I had not fully understood before or seen with my own eyes. Obviously my dad believed in what the YMCA stood for. He wouldn't have made it a part of his life for 4 decades otherwise.
YMCA Mission: "To put Christian principles into practice through programs that build healthy spirit, mind and body for all."
Through this celebration and other experiences at the Y over those prior 3 months, I saw over and over again that my city's YMCA was living the mission statement and it was their focus. I would have never seen things on the inside if it had not been for my dad. I was so honored to be a part of this celebration. I felt like I was saving a seat for him when I sat in the theater. I was sitting next to Mike, but I declare my dad was taking a seat in my heart all night. He would have deeply appreciated this celebration and knowing him he would have been in his "element" of being around other people. He loved people.
I left the theater with a warmth and joy in my heart that did not go away. It was there to stay. The YMCA of Greater Charlotte had made a deeper impact on me in that 90 minutes. It solidified even more my positive experiences with the Y.
"Gosh Daddy, I just wish you could be here!!"
It is quite bittersweet this year as I receive the invitation in the mail. I'm so excited and want March 17 to be tomorrow. The timing of the celebration is what makes it a happy and hard moment at the same time.
The day after the 2013 celebration my dad had a mini stroke and we put him on Hospice Care. It was a scary day in so many ways. Alzheimer's Disease was becoming so advanced for him and exactly one week from the Better Together Celebration my hero stepped off the cliff of the most advanced stage of Alzheimer's disease into the arms of his Heavenly Father. "That's enough Joe…. it's time to come home." When my daddy could no longer smile, laugh or be that bright shining light for all to see, I think his mission in life was fulfilled on earth.
This year I won't have the same perspective as I sit next to Mike in Knight's Theatre. I know Dad is smiling again. He isn't suffering anymore with the cruelty of a disease that stole his life.
The YMCA was a cherished place for him and as his scholarship program in aquatics takes off for children to receive free swim lessons in our city, my brother and I are there to see it through and be the cheerleaders.
You can do it! I believe in you! Way to go! That's good! Come on! Come on! Kick! Kick! That's it! Keep going! Come on now, you can do it! Move those arms!
Breathe! Breathe! Keep coming! Keep coming! Do you see where you are? You made it to the 9 ft end! Fantastic! You did it! ~ Joe
"Better together"….. Dad would agree with that. We are meant to be in community. We are to love our neighbor as ourselves, care about our communities and champion those who need a cheerleader and encourager in their corner. It's up to us. It's our choice. To serve or not to serve. I'm so glad my Dad loved to serve other people. He was such a great example of the person I always hoped I grow up to be!!
"Two are better than one because they have a good return for their labor. For if either of them falls, the one will lift up his companion. But woe to the one who falls when there is not another to lift him up." Ecclesiastes 4:9-10
"You shall love the LORD your God with all of your heart, and with all of your soul, with all of your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself." ~ Jesus
Luke 10:27
