Father I Never Had

One weekend, in high school, there was a youth conference in North Pole, Alaska. It was in the winter, because I remember playing barefoot basketball outside in the cold. I was a captain. The game lasted about 3 minutes.

But anywho. At the conference, a singer was there named Joel Engle. He sang one song called "The Father I Never Had." It's about how his Dad walked out on him when he was a month old, and how he finally turned to God to be the Father he never had. I remember him talking about his daughter - how he prays that God will be the Dad she needs even when he can't be.

Fast forward a few years.

I walk into chapel this morning, and grab an announcement sheet like always. And at the top, where they say what chapel is about, it says, "JOEL ENGLE". And oh, gosh. I got so excited! I knew him!

Well, kind of.

So Joel Engle sings in chapel today. And he sings the "Father I Never Had" song. So after chapel, he was standing down front talking to some people, and I walk up. I shake his hand, and tell him about seeing him in Alaska and how that song made a lasting impression on me. And he was just like, "Thanks." That's all. But it was still cool.

Cool that a guy that I saw in Alaska graduated from my college and came back to do a concert. Small world, huh?