He Did It!

Well what do you know, this guy went and got himself voted on the Williamson County Fire & Rescue Squad. Though he just finished Franklin Citizens' Fire Academy not too long ago, this process started well before then and we're excited to see it into the next phase. If you haven't read some about part of that journey, you are more than welcome to here.

I remember just last summer, us talking about an unmet need in his life to serve in a similar capacity. Since leaving West Point and serving small stints doing relief work in Indonesia, Sudan, and Haiti, I've watched Cliff struggle to pinpoint a place in his life in which he can regularly do that thing he doesn't know how to explain he needs to do. Which is to sacrifice a little bit of himself for the good of many others in ways that aren't necessarily the average. Not for show, not for a notch on his belt, but just because.

I love that about him, and yet find myself sometimes in a little bit of fear of it. But not a strong enough kind that causes me to want to tether him down to a safe and boxed life. We often muse over the oddity surrounding his departure from West Point and the multiple times Cliff has looked into returning to the military, be it considering ROTC in his latter days at Belmont or meeting with recruiters from the National Guard (just last year, mind you). In many ways, we believe that departure is the step in his path that brought us together, as much as it didn't make sense at the time.

And so as much as he has continued to long for some part of that kind of life, I have tried to pray and talk and believe myself into supporting at least his small steps into journeying towards that. This is his way, for now; one that I'm sure will prove to be unique, challenging, and a great deal rewarding. I am so, so proud.