Sunday, February 06, 2011

A Boy Named Reagan

The moment I realized how much I missed Ronald Reagan came at Denton Bible Church shortly after his death. The morning service had just ended when I noticed a Russian teenage boy I knew. A family or two at Denton Bible had adopted Russian children, and they added a lot to the life of our church.

The boy’s name was Reagan.

We were chatting, and loving to teach as I do, I said with a smile, “Let me tell you about who you are named after.” And I told him of Ronald Reagan and of how helped wear down the old Soviet Union. And because of that, Russia and the United States were now on good terms . . . and that was a big reason he got adopted and was with us.

The thing is, I had a lot of trouble getting all that out. I broke down crying before him before I could finish. The boy was a great kid and, with a calm smile, was patient with me.

And, to be honest, I am crying now as I type this.

That boy named Reagan, and us all, owe Ronald Reagan so much.

And I miss him.

Happy 100th birthday, Mr. President. And thank you.

2 comments:

Kelso said...

The only president I ever loved. The only presidential candidate I ever WANTED to vote for - all the others I voted for were just the LESSER of two evils...but not you, Ronaldus Magnus. Sleep well, lifeguard, hero, defender of freedom.

Anonymous said...

Thanks, Mark. I'm going to repost this on my site (with full credit). I also miss the greatest President of my long lifetime.