Posted 8:16 pm Sunday, February 19, 2012
From Orphan To Adoption Advocate
Jim Daly, president of Focus on the Family, recently spoke at Green Acres Baptist Church in Tyler and shared his heartache from childhood.
"I had the normal dysfunctional family. Like many families today, we had alcohol playing a role in separating my mom and dad. It was the end of our family as we knew it."
Living in California, Jim's parents divorced. His dad moved away and his mother remarried. Jim was just 8 years old with four siblings. Things quickly went from bad to worse when his mother became ill. Six weeks later, she was dead.
His brother told him the news.
"I remember I clawed his forearm so hard I drew blood. I remember he just let me squeeze him and I remember that was the day everything changed," Jim said.
After his mother's funeral, his stepfather said he couldn't take the pressure and was leaving.
"And we just all pressed our faces against the window in Long Beach and watched him drive away. Here our mom had died. Our dad wasn't around and our step-dad had just walked out on us... leaving us with nothing."
It was March 1971, all five children were placed in foster care.
"I love that scripture that says, 'God is close to the brokenhearted and saves those crushed in spirit.' There's something that happens in this life when you're at the last rung of your rope. God will meet you there. That's what encouraged me as a kid."
Jim would often cry himself to sleep, wondering if it could get any worse.
"I remember being crushed, just the loneliness of it. I felt that so desperately. Just being all alone and having God step into my life at 15. It was just a wonderful transformation for me."
Jim relied on his faith.
"I was just a faithful little boy. I had ultimate trust that God was in control and I never really lost that even through desperate times."
Jim's football coach took an interest and offered to adopt him, but Jim said "No," fearing it would crush his brother whom he was living with at the time. "But I desperately wanted to say "Yes!"
Jim says he learned a lot from what he didn't have growing up and it's made him the father he is today.
"My dad didn't tell me 'I love you' or 'I care about you' or 'I'll protect you.' So what I try to tell my boys literally everyday is, 'I'm proud of you. I love you. I'm your dad and I'm here in your corner.' And I think that's a reflection of God's same statement to each of us."
Jim says he has no regrets in life.
"Not a single thing! You know, my sibling and I, we've all said if we had to go through all of that again in order to find Christ, which all five of us kids have, we'd gladly do it even though it's been rough. But you know, this life is not about being easy and it seems that God uses the broken things in this life to turn us toward him. If we are willing and open to His instruction."
Jim has helped hundreds of foster children through his ministry with "Focus on the Family." He also reaches million of people each week with his daily radio show, encouraging everyone to reach out to children who have no parents.
To learn more about Jim Daly, join Gillian Sheridan for her "Children are a Gift" report, Tuesday night on CBS 19 ten @ 10. You can also find information on CBS19.tv and tylerpaper.com.
