GinaMcClain.com

Integrity was a core value of my family growing up. 

I never saw it in writing.  It was never a formal announcement.  They didn’t give it lip-service and they certainly didn’t have it screen-printed on a t-shirt.

They just lived it out.  To the smallest detail.

I think I was 10 years old when I learned what it meant to live out integrity.  A life lesson I will never forget.

I went shopping with my mom and younger sister.  Walking out of the store with our things, I noticed something dangling from the back of my sisters long hair.  Snatching the mysterious item off her head, I found it to be a 13cent gift bow.  Must have latched on when we were horsing around in the gift aisle.  Reporting the stow-away bow to my mother, I expected her to dismissingly tell me to throw it away.  But she didn’t.  She stopped dead in her tracks, looked me square in the eyes and said,

You have to return it.  We didn’t pay for it so it doesn’t belong to us.  Take it back.

I thought I was dreaming.  Take it back??  Really?  It’s a 13cent bow.  Even at 10 years old I knew they’re likely not to care about the lost revenue on a 13cent bow.  But my mom wasn’t going to budge.  That was clear.

So I walked back into that store with their 13cent bow, went straight to the customer service desk and told them…

Excuse me, sir, but I need to return this bow.  You see, it stuck to my sisters hair while we were shopping and we walked out with it but we didn’t pay for it so we can’t keep it. 

The customer service man’s response to me was the same as my response to my mom.  Looking me over from head to toe trying to determine if I was being serious or if he was on an bad episode of Candid Camera  Finally he took the bow from me and said Thank You.

I entered that store confused as to why I would waste my time returning a 13cent bow. 

I exited that store understanding the value of integrity.  Adhering to truth in any circumstance… no matter how minor.

I don’t know if my mother even remembers that incident.  But those 5 minutes of my life were defining for me.  They served to shape my character.

As an individual, I learned that integrity is more valuable than convenience.

As a parent, I’ve learned the life-long impact of a right response.

Cliff & Chad have been hard at work for the past few hours packing up the things that fill our home.

Everything from spices to dishes, coats to shoes, toys to crayons. 

The entire contents of my kitchen cabinets neatly fit into their boxes.   My living room is strewn with pictures in bubble wrap and area rugs rolled tightly for storage.

I thought I’d share a few pics of the craziness in my life today.

Although my home is in boxes, there are a few things that simply won’t fit inside a box.

Things like…

• Our excitement to be a part of a the Faith Promise Church family
• Our anticipation for the new adventure that lies ahead
• Our growth as a family as we understand a little more what it means to follow where God leads
• My espresso machine… I’ll transport that myself thankyouverykindly

BTW…  These guys are great.  If you’re looking for a moving company in the OKC metro area, I highly recommend Amazing Movers.  Extremely courteous and fun to work with.

I met Deb Shropshire a few years ago.  I’d seen her around the campus every weekend for a long time.  She had two young kids in my ministry so waves hello and the common “How are you?” exchange was the extent of our interaction.  Last April Deb grabbed me in the hall to ask how my son was recovering.  I was taken back internally trying to determine how she knew my son had been sick.  You see, Connor’s asthma worsened to the point of hospitalization.  Turns out Deb is a pediatrician and one of my volunteers asked her to pray for Connor.

Fast forward to September.  Deb and I sit down over coffee.  From that single cup of coffee sparked a great friendship.

You see, Deb isn’t your average pediatrician.

• She serves as the doctor for the local foster care shelter
• She led her clinic to shift from a general Peds clinic to one that primarily serves kids in the foster care system
• She challenges med students to seek more than the big house, nice car & healthy investments… but to live for a cause bigger than themselves
• She inspires those around her to have hope where hope isn’t common

Recently Deb launched a blog.

Her goal is simply to tell their story.

The story of kids, parents, families caught in a broken system.

A system most people believe can never be fixed.

But Deb believes it can.  And if you spend any amount of time with her, you’ll start to believe it too.

Check out her blog.  Read her thoughts and experiences.  She’ll reveal a world that most people don’t know exists.  And she’ll give you hope for a miracle only God could accomplish… and probably wants to… which is why He’s inspired people like Deb Shropshire.  To make His Hope known in a world where hope is rare.