A Tender Heart and a Tough Will

 Alex - A Tender Heart and a Tough Will.

You’d think that a person couldn’t be described as both “tender” and “tough”, but those are the two words that I think best describe my Alex.  He has a heart that’s full of tenderness; sensitive to the needs of the people around him, and in tune with things of a spiritual nature.   His will, though, is as tough as nails.  When he sets his sights on something, he gets it done!

When Alex was just 3 years old, still so little, I was talking to him one day about Jesus.  I can still remember being in the kitchen in our Texas home and as I looked into his big brown eyes, I could tell that he was feeling something.  Acting a little confused at what he was feeling, he said something like, “I think I’m going to cry”.  Even though he was such a tiny boy, I knew he was feeling the spirit, and so we talked about that feeling that he was having and what a wonderful gift from Heavenly Father it is to be able to feel His spirit and know truth.  I already knew by then that Alex was a sensitive little guy, but I was so grateful on that day - and so impressed - that at such a young age, he was so in tune with heaven.

His tenderness definitely doesn’t keep him from having a tough will.  As the 6th child in a family of very active kids, Alex learned to compete early on in life.  At age 3, I was coaching Tiffany’s soccer team (ages 4-5).  Since Alex was always there with me at practice, the league said he could join the team even though he wasn’t old enough.  He was a natural.  He somehow knew all the rules (probably from watching a zillion games that his siblings played in), and he just had a knack for knowing how to dribble and where to go with the ball.  But the most impressive thing was his drive.  He was obviously shorter and smaller than everyone else on the field, but he didn’t let that influence his effort.  He competed for every ball.  He literally ran circles around some of the kids who were new to the game and didn’t really know what was going on, and he scrapped for the ball with 5 year olds who had been playing for 2 years and knew what they were doing.  Either way, Alex wasn’t afraid.  That season, Alex broke one collar bone,  scored a few goals, and entertained a whole bunch of spectators!