Let me tell you about a close friend of ours who we’ve known for over 10 years. He was a statistic who should not have made it. His trouble with the law started at the age of 7. He eventually was abandoned by his mom, put into foster care, abused, kidnapped and incarcerated for attempted murder. We met him when we were living in Hawaii. At the time he was just 15. He was angry, hard-hearted and… well you can imagine the rest.
God gave us a love for this young man that continues to this day. Much has happened in his life. It has not been easy for him, especially when you see how his childhood was so messed up.
But there’s great news!
Wesley went on to find the hope of Jesus. He has been following Christ for many years now. Today he is married, with one daughter and another baby on the way. And last week was perhaps his greatest and most significant milestone in his life: he graduated from Army bootcamp as a Military Policeman! This is his graduation picture. Doesn’t he look terrific?
Last week I asked a few of my closest friends to write a note of encouragement and congratulations to Wesley. Over 90 people responded! PTL!!! I sent those to Wesley as a surprise…can you imagine what that was like to have over 90 new “friends” giving congrats and acknowledging his hard work?
And so with this post, we wanted to celebrate our friend Wesley, but also we wanted to show you that no matter how bleak, how hopeless, “with God all things really are possible.”
It’s never too late to encourage someone like Wesley. In fact, you can leave a note of congratulations right here on the blog for Wesley. And if there’s a young person in your life you’ve been meaning to encourage, do it today.
And if you want to see Wesley in his own words, check him out on the video at the bottom of this page.
