Photo-A-Week: Bald

Last week's theme got hijacked for a very special event in our lives at the Eaton house. Last week's theme was Vegetables but we changed it to Bald. Every year for the last four years my son has participated in a shave-a-thon with an organization called the St. Baldrick's Foundation. St. Baldrick's is an amazing organization that focuses on helping find a cure for children's cancer. Matthew has lost two grandmas and a friend at school to cancer and his heart knows that he can make a difference just by collecting money to shave his head and he does it every year; him and 400 other individuals just in the St. Louis area alone. Last year St. Baldrick's was the largest grant provider for children's cancer research second to the U.S. Government.

St. Baldrick's has lots of reasons to be proud of the participants that sign up every year. But I want to focus on just one participant for a bit and how proud I am of him. The Bible says that God loves a cheerful giver, "Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver." (2 Cor 9:7) That scripture has always raised the question in me, what is a cheerful giver? I mean who really is cheerful about giving things away. It's always a bit of an internal struggle when we think about what we could do with our time and money to benefit ourselves and then whether we should give that to someone or something else. I personally am prone to use two lines when I am asked for money or time. Let me check my budget or let me check my schedule. Then I am prone to look hard at each of them and think what I could do with that time or money that would benefit me first. I could go to the store then or use that money to get that new DVD player for the house... the list literally goes on and on. 

Over the last few years my heart has been changed by Christ and I have been given more opportunity in my life now to contemplate that scripture than ever before. Being a father means having the responsibility to make the name Dad look good. Too many children today don't have good daddy's. Which means you have to example for your children what love looks like. Meaning if God loves a cheerful giver then you purpose in your heart to show your children what that looks like. So, you begin to change yourself hoping that your children see it and are motivated to follow.

My view of that scripture changed four years ago when my son came home and put a piece of paper down on the kitchen table and said "Dad I'm going to do this". It wasn't a request he didn't say 'can I' or 'will you let me', it was, I have purposed in my heart that I am going to do this. The piece of paper was a flier about the second annual St. Baldrick's event at his elementary school. I asked him why he wanted to participate, mostly because I wanted to see if he had a reason beyond it seems like fun or some other child like answer. He said, with empathy and compassion with a real sense or purpose in his voice, "Because cancer sucks Dad and I can do something about it." 

A father loves a cheerful giver. I now understand.

Since that day my son has taken me on a journey that has let us meet new people and experience a blessing of joy that can not be found anywhere else than in the service of others. To see so many selflessly give is an encouragement to the heart, especially in these times. And the women who come out and shave full head fulls of hair is amazing. There were 40 kids from my son's school this year, 40 KIDS!!!

Our pastor said it best when talking about my son's compassion. "Empathetic people are people who look at your problem and say 'I feel your pain'. Compassionate people look at your problem and say 'I feel your pain, and I'm going to do something about it." That encompasses not only my son but every participant, volunteer, barber and financial contributor to St. Baldrick's. 

So the photo a week this week is bald because that's what my son is... BALD!