Child Abuse? I don't hate you Grandpa, but you broke my heart!

I dropped my son off at daycare yesterday as I do every other Monday morning. As I walked away, he came running behind me."Daddy, kiss," he said. So I bent down and gave him a kiss. Then as I turned he said, "One more hug, dad." I bent down and gave him a hug, and then pretended that his squeeze was hurting me. "You are too strong, DJ," I said to him. He started giggling and ran into class laughing. Instantly my heart was on fire with the love I feel for him.

Then my eyes welled up with tears. Running through my head was one thought. How can anyone hurt an innocent being. How can anyone neglect a child who can fill their heart with such joy if they only paid attention to them. I have always been and continue to be completely mystified by both child abuse and neglect. My heart breaks at the thought of it. I used to be filled with hatred directed towards the abuser. I thought that I had good reason to be.

I was abused as a child. I was psychologically and physically abused for years. There was other abuse too, but that is for another time. I was terrified of my grandfather. He would beat me and then not let me go to school for a week so that I had time to heal up. Sometimes I would come to my senses in the bathroom downstairs (I slept upstairs) sobbing crunched into a corner. All that was flying through my head was that I had lost my grandfathers prize horse, and he was going to kill me when he caught me. It was so real, and I knew that I was dead. That is some pretty wicked stuff right there, if you ask me.

So, I have always had a burning hatred for those who abuse children. I feel that there is something spiritually, psychologically, emotionally and morally wrong with a person who can do that. There is also generally substance abuse or mental health associated with it. As well as I can remember, my grandfather had neither of those excuses. He was just evil. That is what I used to truly believe. As we grow, our perceptions change. Mine have.

Don't get me wrong, I am still filled with a righteous anger when I hear of cases of child abuse and neglect. The place I work at has had several clients whose children have died due to abuse. My heart weeps for the potential that the world was robbed of at the loss of those children. My heart also goes out to those who loved the children. I cannot imagine what the parents must go through when they lose their children and they are thinking right again.

I know that people are responsible for what they do, but there are many things that fuel the fire. Because of that, I have a righteous anger that is directed at things that contribute to the abuse and neglect of children. My anger is aimed at mental illnesses. It is aimed at the doctors and psychiatrists that have parents so doped up on opiates, benzodiazepines and muscle relaxers that they don't even know what month it is. Makes it kind of hard to feed your kids when you can't even force yourself to get out of bed. My anger is directed towards the people who manufacture and distribute drugs. Besides Satan, drugs are the only other thing I honestly hate. I think that there is nothing that makes Satan happier than methamphetamine.

Finally, my anger is aimed at the people who raise the parents who abuse their children. You see, I stopped hating my grandfather. I am not sure when it happened, but after I got saved I realized that I no longer hated him. Instead, I was filled with pity for him. Over time I got to a place where I forgave him for what he did to me. I am still saddened, because I wonder what must have happened to him when he was a child to make him that way. How did his parents treat him? What horrors did my grandfather go through in his life? I never asked, and I will never know what created the monster that I knew.

Top 10 Reasons People Hate Tebow

Last night I was watching the UFC fights. My sincerest apologies go out to Tim, Tom, the Broncos and the Patriots. I am a Chicago Bears fan, and I figured the fights would be more interesting. I have been a huge fan of the UFC since it began, and I was excited to see a couple of the fights. That and I already had plans to have people over to my house for the pay per view.

What I did do was follow the game on my Yahoo! Sportacular IPhone app. I generally follow the chat that goes on during the game on the app too, and it was horrific. There was so many disparaging words that I knew I was not home on the range. They started before the game even began, and as the game continued they got worse. It is amazing that a quarterback has set multiple high school records, won the Heisman trophy as a sophomore and took his team to two national championships but is repeatedly called lucky. Lucky happened to be among some of the best remarks that I read in the chat.

As the Broncos fell further and further behind, the bad mouthing continued to deteriorate. Wow, I had not seen this much vitriol spewed at a man since Obama was elected president. People seem pretty quick to share their hate. Sad when it is done to a guy that gets pile driven into the turf and tells the linebacker "Nice Hit." If he was a rapist or a drug peddler I would understand, but he is a man that is trying to open up a children's hospital in the Philippines and whose foundation supports an orphanage. Wish the haters would do as much to help their fellow man!! I'm not judging, just saying.

I figured that there must be some great reasons that people do not like Tim Tebow (There is an I HATE  Tim Tebow group on Facebook) and I made a plausible (to me at least) list of reasons why he is so disliked:

1. Tim Tebow does not do drugs (C'mon, We need a role model. If you can't lead your team in drug arrests how can you be a team leader?)
2. Tim Tebow has never had a DWI or been arrested for drunk and disorderly conduct (Must not appreciate his wins enough to get drunk and then drive when celebrating them)
3. Tim Tebow has never been convicted or even charged with any felonies (He is too soft for the NFL!)
4. Tim Tebow doesn't raise pit bulls to fight or even run a dog fighting ring (He hates animals so much he will not let them compete)
5. Tim Tebow visits children in hospitals and makes terminally ill kids wishes come true (To mock and belittle them when no one is looking, I'm sure)
6. Tim Tebow has never been seen in a bar fight (What a WUSS!!)
7. Tim Tebow doesn't sleep around or spread STD's (Tim Tebow is selfish and does not share)
8. Tim Tebow does not cuss and is a role model for children (Quit making so many other athletes look bad. How can we say we are not supposed to be role models when he is such a great one)
9. Tim Tebow is building a hospital in the Philippines for children (It's in the Philippines because he hates America, not because he was born there)
10. Tim Tebow has no visible tattoos (He must be afraid of pain)
11. Tim Tebow represents a great ethical and moral standard of living ie Tim Tebow has values (I could never parent that good of a kid, stop making me look bad Tim)
12. Tim Tebow doesn't beat women (I got nothing for this one, I tried but could not come up with a reason to hate on him him for this no matter how hard I had to stretch it. This one is just simply not in the least bit funny.)

The bottom line is this; Tim Tebow IS a role model for our children (at least for mine). If my son graduates from high school and then goes to college and the worst thing people can say about him is that he is a lucky quarterback and too open about his faith than I will consider myself one blessed parent! I look at how many of the professional athletes are getting arrested for drug possession, DWI, rape, assault and child molestation and it hurts me. Many children look up to these people and want to be just like them. At least he lives a life worth imitating!

Tim Tebow is a man who volunteers and donates loads of time and money and has never been attached to a crime or scandal. He is a role model in every sense of the term and he is hated on? If I was an atheist or agnostic (which I once was) I could still use how he acts in his life as an example to my son. I would talk to my son about why he represents his beliefs so openly and encourage my son to do the same with his beliefs. Don't hate, emulate!!

P.S. - Shout out to Edson Barboza for one of the coolest knock outs ever. Then mad props to Barboza for giving all glory to Christ. Classy guy, and just like Tebow I bet that he would have prayed in defeat too. We know we get more strength and wisdom from the loses than the wins!