Traveling the Rock Road

Returning this week to the early days for my Lady and me. We had an agreement that once we started having children Cathy would no longer work and I would be the sole provider of income. On December 31,1979 we were blessed with our 1^st child; a daughter we named Jamie Melissa. Twenty months Jeremy David came on the scene, and 20 months after that Justin Michael rounded out our family. It was a time where we had to watch every dollar, but still, we were all quite happy. We built a small home and it looked to be a storybook life for us. That is, until I did probably the stupidest stunt I could have done back then. An Acquaintance convinced me I should go into investment real-estate; that would ensure my family a good income to support us and help the kids in the future.  No doubt there is money in real-estate. That is if you know what you’re doing and understand well just what you just got yourself into. Unfortunately, I didn’t have a grip on either perspective. It started out fine at first. But because of lots of money spent on repairs, bad tenants who got behind on rent or would trash a place; it made things extremely difficult financially. Then there were bad contracts that we didn’t understand at the time of signing that eventually threw us into an incredibly large debt; one that seemed impossible for us to crawl out of.  A friend suggested I file bankruptcy and get out from under all the mess.  There was something inside me that couldn’t do that. I made the mess and I was going to clean it up. So, every extra dollar we could scrap up went to the indebtedness.

For over a year I worked two full-time jobs and picked up anything to generate cash. From softball umpiring to collecting scrap metal to redeem for money, I was on it. We had to go to driving the best car we could find somewhere in the price range of $200. These buggies would be okay for a while, but when they broke down (and they did!) I’d take them to the junkyard where I’d get 50 bucks, then go out and buy another of these rolling junk mobiles. Granted, they weren’t always the best-looking thing on road. Far from it! I remember times I would have to pick up our daughter from school.  She didn’t want anyone see her get into this jalopy, so I’d have to wait for school to be out for a while and pick her up at a more secluded spot where she would run as fast as could to jump in the back and flop down on the seat so no one could see her. Gotta admit, looking back now I have to chuckle. But overall, she, her brothers and Cathy were wonderful and gave me much support during this time of life. The kids had to sacrifice a great deal back then, but they never complained.  Cathy, the financial genius of the Miller Mob, did an incredible job stretching dollars to make sure every bill was paid. She also did a miraculous job with the grocery budget to ensure we got the best meal we could.

Yes, friends and neighbors, I’ll be the 1^st to admit; I made our lives a living hell with my foolish get rich scheme. Yes, I single handedly made a terrible mess. But I thank our Lord for my supportive family who stood by me no matter what. That’s the love of a family. That’s the love of God.

1 Peter 3:8 “Finally, all of you, be like-minded, be sympathetic, love one another, be compassionate and humble.”

There were ones that accused me of all kinds of things that brought on ruin. Truth is I wasn’t doing anything underhanded or illegal. I was plain stupid on what I had gotten myself into. It was a dark chapter in life for sure. But the one shining light that kept me going was I knew I had my family’s support no matter what came. Their support and love meant more than anything else that came. I was truly a Blessed Man.

Billy Graham: “A home filled with love and a family working in harmony is a little bit of heaven on earth.”

Well, we made it through that catastrophe; paid off all the debts and moved on. When all three children entered high school Cathy went back to work which made life easier.  The kids are grown now; all in their 40s, with families of their own. Because of distance and different schedules, it’s seldom we can get everyone together. But still, I’ll always remember how we worked together “Traveling the Rock Road” on one of the hardest treks we could have found ourselves on. And we made it! Not because of anything, except the love of the family. And God’s Grace. When you have that, is there anything that comes along that you cannot overcome? Yeah, I can’t think of a thing either.

See Ya Next Time.