My greatest heroes, also happen to be my biggest fans–my Parents. Whenever I think of those who have helped me the most in this life, I can't help but think of my generous, and selfless Parents, especially my Mother. My Mother, Esperanza Miranda, gave birth to a son with multiple learning disabilities and childhood difficulties. Despite the adversity that surrounded me as a child, she was always right beside me, defending me, loving me, protecting me, and encouraging me to persevere, especially when I most needed it. She never gave up on me.
As a child, one of my greatest difficulties growing up, was overcoming my dyslexia (if there happens to be some evidence of it in this post please forgive me;)) and ADHD. I can't even imagine how difficult it was for my parents when my school alerted them that I had a learning disorder, and that I was going to be held back due to my condition. It must have been difficult when "experts" were recommending my Parents to suppress my condition with medication, or else I wouldn't learn. It definitely was uncharted territory for them, but however difficult it was, my Parents never gave in to the "symptoms" labeled on me by others. Instead, they dedicated their lives to helping me grow and live an abundant life free of restrictions, free of labels.
I remember my Mother whole heartedly (and joyfully may I add) took on the many challenges ahead of her in order to help her son not only learn and develop knowledge, but also, grow in wisdom and faith in the Lord. I still can remember my mother coming to our little humble home after work, only to labor away into the night with me, as I fought to learn how to read, write and decipher my minds interpretation of letters, rhythm and word structure. There were many late nights, and many frustrating nights, as I feared I would never improve.
But improve I did, and it was because of my Mother! In fact, I remember the first book my Mother gave me to read–a Precious Moments Bible. It's amazing to look back and think about the things that stood out the most growing up–that little book was one of them. Indeed it became very precious to me. I can't begin to tell you the elation my Parents and I displayed when I could read and dictate the words of the Precious Moments Bible on my own.
Their grace and love led me to continue my Bible reading. For my fifth birthday, my Mother upgraded my Precious Moments Bible to the real thing, an old Good News Bible, the one with the cool little drawings (which I still have till this day:)). I remember reading that Bible every night until five years later I came to the last sentence of the book which read,
"The grace of the Lord Jesus be with all. Amen." – Revelation 22:21
My Parents have supported me so much over the years, even when my decisions have been uncertain. But one thing that has remained constant is their love for me. One of the greatest legacies they've shown me is this:
Grace has the power to change a life.
Their love changed me. Their grace grew me. Here's to you Mom! Here's to you Dad! Thank you for lifting the barriers when I couldn't and for setting my mind free to live a life that is pleasing to the Lord!