Icebreaker

This has been an interesting week.  For the last several months, I have been a part of Toastmasters, which is an international speaking club.  This upcoming week, I will be giving my first speech, officially known as my Icebreaker speech.  I will be telling my club about myself, which will be a pretty cool opportunity.  This week, I have been practicing, which has been pretty funny, because I have had to start over a bunch of times, and sometimes you have to laugh at yourself, because of how funny it can be.  Over time, I have become more comfortable with speaking in front of people.  Nowadays though, it is a little different and there is more purpose with what I talk about, since my dad died.  Not that every time I talk to people, I tell them about my dad, but when I do tell people my story, it's remembering that it is part of my story, and there is nothing to be ashamed about it.


It is still hard to talk about my dad and what he went through and what we went through as a family.  I was talking to a friend of mine, Steven Roberson the other day, about how hard it is.  I don't want to use the word, vulnerability, which seems to be a cliche word within the Christian church, but it is hard to be open about it sometimes.  There is a lot of pain that we went through an
d still go through, and that only God himself can help me get through, as I continue with my life.  Especially with this as there are other people reading, but that is why I decided to do it.  When I think about it, it is really an honor to share with people about a man, who fought for 15 years like he did.  It is an honor to talk to people about my family, people like my mom and my sister, who had to see their husband and father go through terrible pain, but displayed amazing courage through it all.  My grandmother, who throughout the time she has been retired, instead of not doing anything, she has been there throughout the time my dad was sick, and with that, 4 years ago, lost her best friend, my grandfather (PopPop), after being married over 50 years.  Overall, it is amazing to think about the family that I do have, and to see how they have gone through everything they have.

If you are reading, and again thank you for reading, and you are going through something tough currently or have gone through something, you are not alone.  Just like with my icebreaker speech and as time goes on, you need to share your story.  You need to tell others, because they can learn from you, and through your story, God can bring healing into someone else's life and even your own.  Also, remember that it may not be thousands of people's lives that you touch, but it may just be one person that hears or reads your story.  

Steven Roberson is a great friend, who is an artist, that seeks to share his gift with other people. You can find him at http://stevenroberson.com/.

Thanks for reading and God Bless,

Patrick Mastrianni

Thank you, Jim Kelly

Sunday, August 3, 2014 was a great day.  It was my roommate's birthday and we went to see the Savannah Sand Gnats play.  If you don't know who they are, they are a minor league baseball team here in Savannah, GA.  If you are reading this and don't live in Savannah, but come to visit, you should catch a game. However, try to avoid the actual sand gnats, because they can be pretty annoying.  I am not the biggest baseball fan, but it was a great time celebrating with him and everyone that came. It was really nice being at a baseball game on a Sunday afternoon and enjoying as they say (America's Pastime). Afterward, we went out to eat at a place called Spanky's, which again if you are in Savannah visiting, you need to go. They have several locations, including one right on the Savannah River, which is really nice.  They also have as much fried food as you could possibly want and is a good place to hang out.

Later in the night, we had several people come over to watch the Bills vs. Giants.  It was Hall of Fame weekend for the NFL and both teams had players inducted the night before.  We had a good time watching the game and then came halftime.  They did a piece on Jim Kelly, who used to play for the Bills and was inducted into the Hall of Fame several years ago, but had a teammate who went in this year.  Jim Kelly over the last few years has been battling cancer and it recently came back a second time.  He has finished treatments in the hope that it does not come back.  With all the people that were at our house, hanging out and having fun watching the football game, I was glued to the t.v. It was like everything else faded away.  Here is this former NFL player, who has cancer, when he is never supposed to never get hurt, fighting for his life.  What is also really cool, is that it has been known that he and his family are a strong Christian family.  As he is going through this really hard time, he and his family have stayed strong in their faith.  While also going through cancer, they have been able to help other families who are going through what they went through, having a child with a severe disability.   It was such a powerful few minutes, and am grateful that I was able to see it.

I struggle a lot with not having my dad around and having seen him experience so much pain, and thinking that me and family are the only ones that have gone through something like this.  I am reminded though, that I am not alone, and that even though I may never meet Jim Kelly, his story can help encourage me and others.  God also reminds, that I am not alone, that he is with me, even though I may struggle.  I am also reminded by Jim, that I can help others through my story even though it may be painful. And I want to remind you that if you are reading this, that you are not alone with what you are going through.  That God does love you, that even though you may be going through something extremely difficult like cancer, but he wants to be right there with you through it all.  That whether in the middle of it or things have now passed, you can help others with your story.

Thank you, Jim Kelly

http://www.nbcsports.com/football/nfl/jim-kelly-kelly-tough-fight-against-cancer

Thanks for reading and God Bless,

Patrick Mastrianni