"Tinkered by a Thousand Hands..."

I think it is extraordinarily important to understand and constantly remember the individual elements that make up the person you are.

To believe that you are a monolithic, self created, self sustaining entity, with no understanding of where you came from or what people had a hand in making you, is the height of arrogance. So, in an effort to cultivate in my behavior what I believe is good, I would like to take this post as an opportunity to think about and recognize those people who have made me who I am.

"Here I stand or fall, a man,
Tinkered by a thousand hands.
Countless people making me,
Forging, molding, patiently.
How do I thank a thousand hands,
That saw a treasure in the sand?
I choose to honor what they've done
By being another's, one thousand one."

To my father, I owe my patient nature.  I would not know what it is to be a patient man if I did not have his example my entire life.  He taught me that there is always more patience, and that the patience comes from hope.

To my mother,I owe my love of language and the knowledge that people are always more important than things. There are few things on this earth I love more than people and words, and I owe my love of both to my mother.

My brother Jon taught me, by virtue of example, that hard work and studious application opens doors to new opportunities.  Don't take your eyes off the prize.

To my brother James I owe my loyalty to things I believe in, and my steadfast belief that if no one else moving, they are probably waiting for you.

To my sister Kate, I owe my belief that I can probably do whatever it is I am unsure I can do, simply by virtue of being me, and the relentless knowledge that adventure is waiting.  Constantly.

To my brother Daniel, I owe a couple scars, the knowledge that I do, I fact, have a temper, and more deep conversations about the nature of God and the world than I could ever remember.

To my brother Patrick, I owe my great and relentless hope of heaven, the greatest moments of experiencing God's comfort I have ever known, and the joy of writing music.

To my brother Joel, I owe the death of the self centered notion that I am the only one like me.  Joel keeps me remembering that, no matter how it might seem, there is always someone who is going through what you have gone through.

To my wife Caroline, I owe the hope I find in my darkest times, the (still under developed) ability to not only see grand visions and world changing ideas, but also the details that make up those big ideas.  She is the calm guide to a crazy man, and I love her for it.

To Joanna, I owe my love of the nations, my deep understanding of God as a dear friend, and the reminder that crawling up in Jesus' lap for a good cry is sometimes exactly the right thing to do.

To Andrew, I owe my inner zealot, the notion that God can use someone to impact the world, and more random adventures than either of our mothers would prefer.

To Timothy I owe my first understanding of what like minded brothers in Christ looked like.  Every deep friendship I know started from the context on our first four hour conversation about everything under the sun.

To David I owe my first real understanding of what Christ-centered missions looks like.

There are countless others, but it is 2am and I have to be up by 6, so this will have to do.
Do yourself a favor and think about how you came to be the person you are.  I think you will find that it was not by accident, not in vane, and mostly, not of your own doing.