Thinking Out Loud

I'm joining in Kingdom Mama's Titus 2 Tuesday this week. This is my first attempt at this, so I hope I do it justice; and I hope I do my friend Lezleigh justice as well. For more Titus 2 Tuesday, click on my Titus 2 Tuesday picture on the side of my blog....that will take you to Kingdom Mama's blog.

Today I wanted to honor a very sweet lady and a good friend, Lezleigh. I am going to try to tell you some things about her, and I am going to use her own words for part of this post (to keep it accurate). I met Lezleigh at church several years ago. We shared the same Sunday School class for a few years, and we have been involved in many groups, committees, etc. at church. She is a good solid Christian woman who is strong in her faith through good times and bad. Lezleigh has a great husband and a sweet little boy. They have faced some challenges with their son, because he has some special needs (which aren't always being addressed in his school environment). She has and will continue to fight for her boy. Because her son hasn't officially been "diagnosed" with something that the schools consider a "special need," he is not given special services that could and would really benefit him. It's really disheartening to know that a child, who has special needs, will be denied services because of a lack of an "acceptable" diagnosis. She and I have traded a million e-mails and conversations about what she can do to get her son the help that he needs and is legally entitled to but isn't given. Lezleigh has even pleaded with his teachers and given them information to let them know how to help her son, but her information has been dismissed or ignored. It is very frustrating to me, and I know it is EXTREMELY frustrating to her; but on she fights for her son and his well being.

Lezleigh's family suffered a horrible tragedy a few years back....when her brother, Casey, who was in his very early 20's, lost both of his legs in the war. Casey has suffered so much physical and emotional pain, that I can't even imagine, and in turn so has his family. Lezleigh is a strong woman and has supported her baby brother through this tragedy every single inch of the way. I truly believe that God brings good out of, what can seem like hopeless and awful, experiences; and I know that Lezleigh embraces that belief as well. Because of her faith, her love for her brother, and her devotion to other veterans....she has become involved in a really wonderful organization. I think this is where God chose to bring the light of good, out of this tragedy, and into Lezleigh's life and in turn into the lives of so many others through her. The following are her words about this fabulous group....Impact Player Partners http://www.impactplayer.org/ They are a support organization that helps out the wounded Iraq/Afghanistan vet as well as their family. They give financial support, emotional support, support getting back into the workforce outside of the service. They have an inside track with alot of sports authorities, who give MASSIVE support in many ways to the guys/girls. Casey's been to Hawaii for football Pro Bowl, he's been to several events in the US sports wise thanks to their generosity. They have been a sponsor of his skiing on his challenge team. They have given mom and I massive financial support every time we've had to go with Casey somewhere for a surgery (they pay for our hotel, meals, etc.) We have also made connections with people in every walk of life that want to support our vets in any way they can, it's been an amazing way to network. Most importantly, we have made lifelong friends with the founders of the organization, Dick Lynch and Jim Hoelker. They have been there in some pretty tough times 24/7 for us when we needed them. I've had some conversations with them at the most bizarre hours getting through some times I didn't think I/Casey would. They have been there for us and for Casey when others have forgotten about the war, and still are.
Thus, I go and speak about the organization whenever called upon--I owe them more than I could every repay. I've spoken to small groups, I've spoken to large groups, I've been on the radio.
I've also spoken on behalf of Challenge Aspen, Casey's ski team. This is a group who is training for the Paraolympics in 2010, and they run completely off sponsorships. So whatever I can do for them, I do.

Today I want to honor my friend Lezleigh and let her know that her courage, will to fight for those she loves, and her strong faith speak to me in a much deeper way than words ever could.

Once again, I thank God for this introduction!