Heroes: Randall Goeppner

The person who has had the most influence on my life is my father, Randall Goeppner. I can remember knowing that everything was going to be all right if my Dad was there. Whether it was a scary ride at an amusement park or fast ride on a motorcycle, my Dad was my protector. I will never forget the time when he gathered the family in the family room. He had something to tell us. I was like 7 years old at the time and this was not the norm. My Dad called us together in what would be our first "Family Meeting" of many, many more to come. He wanted to tell us something that had happened to him. He told us that he was now a Christian, a follower of Jesus Christ and that things will be different from now on. I don't know if he had accepted Jesus that day, but I did know that things would be different, because he said it. What my Dad says, I believe. Whether it is politics, or car manufacturing or even music. He says it, I believe it. He is such a source of trust in my life. This trust was not manufactured, but earned through consistency and integrity. My father is the spiritual patriarch of the Goeppner family. When he became a Christ follower in 1979, my whole family followed soon after. This man has worked his whole life. I remember him taking a "menial" job in a small town. It was a job that he was WAY over qualified for. His pride could have easily said "I'm too good for this menial job" but no, he did it anyway. He worked this job because he knows that's what a man does, he earns a living, no matter what. What an example to a 10 year old boy that was. Then there was the time he sold his Harley Davidson motorcycle, just so my I could go to Bible college. This man knows sacrifice, he knows hard work, he knows humility. I could go on an and on. Needless to say my father is a true Hero to me. He is the Godly example I want to be to the people that I serve and minister to, whether it is family or people around me.
Protector, Trusted, Consistent, Integrity, Sacrifice, Hard Worker, Humble, Godly. Thats my Dad. Thats my Hero.