The Archangel Mike

Now Mike did not look like an angel. He looked like a tough CFO (Chief Financial Officer) of a major U.S. Company. That is what he looked like --at least on the outside . He was a tough talking hombre and he knew how to squeeze money out of a turnip (and often did, by the way).

I had the opportunity to go with Mike, his wife and a number of other executives to a heart banquet. The final offering at this charitable auction was a simple piece of art from a handicapped girl. I watched Mike begin to bid on this piece of art, which really was just a simple piece of art. Well believe me when I tell you that there were some doctors from the local hospital that decided to begin to bid on this simple item as a way of making a contribution. Slowly Mike matched those doctors bid after bid until he had won that piece of art. I dropped out early having exhausted my meager funds on a dog with whom Brokerbelle had earlier bonded. I learned something about Mike from this experience. He had a heart for children.

Life often surprises us. Sometimes profoundly. That auction taught me something about Mike. I saw qualities in his life that impressed me more deeply than the most astute financial planning and judgment. I saw compassion in him for a simple girl with a terrible heart problem.

Later, I saw Mike adopt a troubled child-his granddaughter. Mike and his wife ML began the trials of raising a wonderful child with challenging issues. Mike fought the public school system here in Ozarklandia for his daughters care and education. Finally Mike took early retirement from our company and moved to a city in the South where his adopted daughter could be educated.

A tough man who had a tender heart for all children and for his granddaughter/daughter. Mike does not see himself as a hero or an "angel." Mike has had his problems and has made mistakes like all of us. However, I am instructed by Mike's and ML's lives. They are good people, doing the right things and making the hard choices.

HarleyDad is a student of people and of life. Mike, though he does not know it and probably never will know it, is one of my instructors.

He has taught me about the heart. He has surprised me with his compassion and tenderness for children. I think Mike's heart in the process has some how grown and I suspect that his compassion has touched the heart of God.

Mercy and kindness ambushes us when we least expect it.

HarleyDad