In the popular ‘80s film (and one of my personal favorites), Footloose, Kevin Bacon portrays a character named Ren McCormack. When Ren arrives in a small town, he’s shocked to discover that the local Reverend has outlawed rock and roll music and dancing. Ray decides to shake things up by gathering with a small group of some of the towns local teens, including the Reverend’s daughter, and together they embark on a journey to embrace their right to listen to the music they want and dance as they please. Although I’m a millennial and this film came out before I was born, I have to say I can understand Ren McCormack’s plight and respect what he did. He went into a small town and brought change. The Reverend and many of the townspeople weren’t on board with Ren’s desire to change things and they probably felt threated by his desire and influence to bring dancing and rock and roll back into town. Although he was threatened, pushed around, and opposed, he was able to create the change he wanted to see. Dude even used scripture to plead his case. And he won. If you want to create any kind of change, make an impact, or start a movement, you can. I gleaned this lesson from something as entertaining as an old ‘80s film called Footloose. So what are you waiting for? By the way, if you haven’t seen Footloose, you’re missing out. It’s awesome.
About a year ago, I had a dream my dad wanted to talk to our family about something serious. I wasn’t sure what he wanted to discuss, but I knew it was something I needed to prepare myself for. Around the time after I had this dream, I remember stopping by my parents place and sensing something was going on that they weren’t telling me. I tried to dismiss what I’d been feeling, but I couldn’t shake it. Something serious was happening. As I returned to my home after visiting them one day, I was in my kitchen washing dishes when a heaviness hit my heart like nothing I’d ever felt before. Something’s wrong with dad. That’s what that dream was about. God, what’s going on? As I continued washing dishes, I started crying and praying. Then in mid-spring, my dad held an unexpected family meeting that would change all our lives forever. He hesitated at first, and as his voice started cracking and he started crying, he said, “Well, I wanted to talk to ya’ll to tell you that I have kidney disea...