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The Power of Forgiveness - Danny Abdallah
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First of all, I want to say it's an
honor and privilege to be here with men.
I think men for me it's I've got a
special place in my heart. I look at all
of us here.
We're broken and we're blessed.
today. I want to just share with you
all. I ask myself sometimes, what am I
doing here?
I'm a nobody. I'm not a celebrity. I'm
not an athlete. I'm not a superstar.
But what I do know, I am I'm a father, a
husband, and a good friend.
I feel that God called me out on a
mission to share the journey of forgiveness.
forgiveness.
But today, I'm going to take you back to
my childhood. We haven't shared much in
the past.
My parents migrated from Lebanon. And as
a kid, I grew up in Western Sydney
Housing Commission.
And looking back, I was an angry kid.
And then I asked myself now, why was I
such an angry kid? Always fighting,
always in trouble with the police. They
came to me that, you know, as a young
kid, when your parents migrate here,
you're not fully accepted at home
because you're an Aussie
and you're not fully accepted in society
So, you're in limbo.
At the age of 14, 15, I was a juvenile.
Had lots of counts of assault.
I was um hanging around the wrong people.
people.
You know, show me your friends and I'll
You know, my friends, they were doing
armed robs, stealing cars, beating up
people. That was the standard.
drinking and the usual stuff that you do.
do.
And it came to me, I realized that I had
an addictive nature.
And I realized what I put it towards,
I'd either be really good or really bad. Oops.
Oops.
So, I put it towards martial arts and I
started doing kickboxing. If I stand
here, I'll stand up here. Um, I started
I got hooked. I loved it. I loved fighting.
fighting.
I won two Australian titles, an East
Coast title. I went to Thailand. I
trained there. And back in the late '
90s, it was different till now.
Thailand. You had to live with the ties.
And in the camp, there was dog fighting
and there was fighting and all different
types of things. There was 12 of us that went
went
and probably only four or five survi
survived the whole trip. And I was one
of them.
I learned a lot about
about
martial arts and I put it towards my business.
business.
I was doing formwork as a kid and I
always wanted to pursue a goal to have a
formwork company one day.
Everything I learned in martial arts, I
put it towards starting a business.
I learned that you've got to love the
grind more than the glory.
getting in the trenches and working hard.
So I did. I worked my butt off and I
built a business in a few years. I had a
reputable formwork company with a few
I had to find a partner to share this with.
with.
And I met my wife, Ila. Ila, my rock.
You know, I always say to men, younger
men, I say, "The biggest decision you
make in your life is who you marry."
I've seen men turn into mice. And I've
seen mice turn into men just by that one decision.
And make sure she loves God more than
she loves you.
>> Because in your darkest hour,
she'll stand like that. Yeah.
My mom goes to me, "Daddy, why would you
marry a girl from Lebanon? Why don't you
marry someone from Australia?"
I remember telling her, "Mom, and
growing up on the streets I was very
selective on who I hung out with and who
I picked in my life." I said, "Mom,
she's the type of girl in my darkest
hour, she wouldn't leave my side." And
my mom said, "You know what? You marry
her, you're going to marry the family."
And she was right.
We got married. We moved to Australia.
She moved to Australia with me. And I
was able to sponsor through my business.
So I sponsored her mom and dad and her
two little sisters. They came across.
Then I sponsored her brother, his wife,
and their kids.
Then I sponsored her sister, her
husband, and her kids.
You know what my Aussie mates would say?
Mate, you didn't sponsor the government
at the village. He's still waiting for you.
>> Things were great. Business was moving.
Later and I had six kids under the age
of nine.
So life was busy.
>> Yeah. But
>> you know, I used to always say to myself,
myself,
life begins. every day is to say, "My
day begins when I walk in the door."
Because you know why? For most men, we
come home to rest.
But if you're going to come home to rest
and you got little kids, you're setting
yourself up to fail.
So I used to just come home, I used to
sit in the car, say, "Lord, I started my
day as of now." And I'd walk in with
that mindset. And it would change the
whole environment at home because if
you're coming home to rest and you and
you go through it, you end up stressing out.
out.
Things were great. My oldest boy Anthony
is 13. My youngest boy, Michael, is
three. We had three boys and three girls.
girls.
And it was the Australia Day of 2020.
It was a beautiful summer. I don't know
if you remember 2020 there was a
drought. Bush fires had started in September.
September.
It was really hot.
I was with my son and we were at the
beach at the central coast.
He was going into year eight and I was
concerned as a dad. Who's he going to
hang out with?
What's he going to get up to? Yeah.
>> And I remember telling him, "Come for a
walk." And I was walking along the beach
and I thought, man, if this guy's after
takes after his dad, oh, God help me. So
I wanted to give him some advice. And I
said to him, son,
the choices you make daily determine the
man you become.
He goes, "Dad, what do you mean?"
I said, he's we've got an uncle relative
that's grown up with me. I said, "Look
at you and me and your uncle.
When we were younger, I chose to get up
Saturday morning and not go out Friday
night and go to work. He chose to party
with his mates.
I chose to say no to drugs. He chose to
say yes.
I chose to commit to your mom. He chose
to have lots of girlfriends.
I chose to work with the team. He chose
to join a biking club.
He spent half his life in jail.
And I spent half my life raising your kids.
kids.
I said, but it wasn't a light switch
that was on and off. It was choices made,
made,
just daily choices.
Sometimes we look at ourselves today.
What were the choices we made 5 years
ago to end up here today? Whether it be
positive or negative.
And what choices are you making today
The 1st of February's come, 2020,
friends. That's the day my life changed forever.
I was, it was the afternoon and my
daughter, El Angelina, the second oldest.
oldest.
She was at a birthday party
and my wife said, "Who's going to pick
her up?" I said, "I'll pick her up." I
jumped in the car, went to pick her up.
Anyway, I get to this pool party at the
pools and I see her playing with these
little kids, feeding them and doing
these things that her friends were
playing elsewhere. I walk in and the
mother and father go, "Oh, God bless
that girl. She's such a special girl.
She's been looking after them,
babysitting them and and doing
everything right. She didn't even play
with her friends." I said, "Okay, thank you."
you."
Anyway, we jump in the car and I go,
"Angelina, what happened? Why aren't you
hanging out with your friends?
What did you do? She goes, "I've done
nothing, Dad. They've been bullying me
and they pushed me out of the group."
I said, "What did you do?"
She goes, "I've done nothing." I said,
"Listen, if it was 98% them and 2% you,
what was the 2%."
She said, "Well, I was a bit angry." I
go, "Oh, that's good." And I reacted
like, "There you go. Yep. Yep. Models."
And she started sharing a little bit
what she did. And as I was driving home,
I remember pulling over, I said, "Honey,
give me your hands. I want to pray with
you." She goes, "What?" I said, "Honey,
I want to pray that this year, God gives
you genuine friends."
We said a prayer. She had a tear in her
eye. She gave me a kiss and a hug. She
goes, "Dad, I love you. Thank you."
And that night, the Lord answered my
prayer. She entered eternal life and now
she's with her genuine friends.
>> So that afternoon we had a birthday
party. My wife and I were getting dressed
dressed
and I told the kids to go for a walk and
They went for a walk and then I got a
phone call that no father should ever
get. Come now, something's happened.
I jump in the car and I'm thinking about
my two myony and his cousin Shabil. What
have they done? What have they done?
What have they done?
A drunk and drug driver melted the curb
Four died instantly. Anthony,
Anthony, Angelina,
Angelina, Sienna,
Sienna,
and their beautiful cousin, Veronique dead.
dead.
I get to the scene.
I remember walking and there was a man
in front of me. He was my neighbor. He
looked at me and he said, "Danny, thank
God you're here. we need to find the
parents of these children.
I looked at him. I go, "These are my kids."
kids."
Ila comes, she looks around. She gets on
And I remember going from kid to kid.
Which child do you go to first?
That was the hard part as a dad. And I
looked up.
I remember saying, "Lord God, this is
bigger than me.
I surrender it to you."
That moment, looking back, I learned
there's two types of courage for a man.
The first one's easy. We've all done it
before where we put our armor on and we
fight the good fight. Friends, that's an
easy one. The second one's harder.
The second one is when you know
you can't do nothing from what's happened
and you have to surrender otherwise
Have you all heard the saying that hell
is a bottomless pit?
>> You know what that means? It means no
matter how bad life gets, you can always
make it worse for yourself.
Ambulance came, police came, my wife and
I had my other daughter, Lyanna. She saw
everything. She was there. I grabbed her
and Ila and I said, "Get in the
ambulance and go to the hospital now."
They jump in the ambulance. Ila, I'll be
there soon.
She jumps in the ambulance
and as more police came, more police
came, they just pushed us out and it
became a crime scene.
And then I see from distance,
This is a news clip. I don't if you can
press play if it's loud enough. Maybe
you can um I can share that.
We begin tonight with an extremely
difficult story to bring you. These are
the beautiful faces of four children.
Siblings 13-year-old Anthony,
12-year-old Angelina, 9-year-old Sienna,
and their relative, 11-year-old
Veraneique. They were mowed down by an
allegedly drunk speeding driver just
around the corner from home at Olland's
in Sydney's Northwest. A grieving father
telling us today the tragedy has left
him numb.
The unbearable pain of a father grieving
three of his six children. Danny
Abdullah's sense of loss only equaled by love.
love.
>> I was always always say full-time
father, part-time worker. They were my priority
priority
and now they're gone.
>> Danny and his wife Leila want you to see
their beautiful faces.
Anony's 13,
very handsome boy. He's love basketball.
He woke up that morning and said, "We're
going to play this game for Kobe."
Angelina, she was my MLH, my little
helper. Anything I needed, she had my
back. And Sienna,
They've gone to a better place.
The fourth victim, their relative
Verinique Sika, described by her family
as a vibrant 11-year-old, full of life,
love, and with a maturity well beyond
her young years.
The children were among a group of seven
walking and riding bikes with a
babysitter at Oakland's just before 8
last night. The man behind the wheel of
this blue four-wheel drive had allegedly
run a red light before he was captured
on camera speeding down Bettington Road.
Moments later, the vehicle was seen
mounting the curb and plowing into the
children on the footpath.
>> When the first crews arrived on scene,
they were confronted with um with
carnage. Very, very difficult scene with
obviously a lot of um chaos.
Anthony, Angelina, Sienna, and Verinique
were killed. Three other children were
taken to hospital, including a boy in a
critical condition.
>> In my time in policing, this is one of
the most tragic involving young children
um dying in a very tragic circumstances.
>> Police say the 29year-old driver is
Samuel Davidson. He allegedly returned a
blood alcohol reading of.150,
three times the legal limit. So far,
Davidson has refused to be interviewed.
He was charged with 20 offenses in
total, including four counts of
manslaughter, high range drink driving,
dangerous driving, occasioning grievous
bodily harm, and running a red light.
He'll stay behind bars until his next
court appearance in April. Oatlands is a
community in mourning and in shock. The
Abdullah children's mother, Ila, praying
at the site where they were taken.
Flowers, rosary beads, teddy bears, and
cards now adorn the path where an
adventure ended under the most horrific
of circumstances.
>> Please drivers be careful. These kids
were just walking innocently, enjoying
each other's company.
And this morning I woke up, I've lost
>> Peter, the outpouring for these four
children has been overwhelming. There
has been a line to pay tribute from dawn
and now till dusk. The boy critically
injured. His condition has slightly
improved in hospital. He's now listed as
serious but stable. The two other little
girls will be physically okay. They
suffered a few cuts and bruises.
>> When I saw, I knew they were gone.
I jumped in a car and went straight to
the ambulance, straight to the hospital.
My wife and my daughter were there in emergency.
And then I remember
the owner coming up to me, my daughter. Dad,
Dad,
where's my where's Anthony Angelina in
Sienna? I said to him, she I didn't know
what to say. I said, "They're in the
room next door. Are they okay?" I said,
"Yes, yes, they're okay." She said, "Oh, good."
good."
Anyway, 10 minutes later, she asked
again, "Dad, where's Anthony, Angelina,
and Sienna?" I said, "They're next door."
door."
As I was walking, there was a nurse. She
came up to me. She goes, "Excuse me,
sir. Sorry to be rude, but please don't
lie to your daughter.
If you're going to lie to her, she's not
going to trust you.
Friends, I don't know what was harder.
I'm a dad. I protect my kids.
If my daughter needs a hand, I cut my
hand off. And you know, there was a
point where Lyanna accidentally put up
on her face. You know what I did? I put
the same decker up on my face so she
could I could feel her pain. You know,
men, we have a kamicazi love.
How am I going to tell her this? And I
remember telling her this.
The honor Anthony Angelina Sen have gone
to be with the Lord. That was the
hardest thing as a man to share with
your daughter.
And she said each name and started crying.
But you know what she said to me? She
goes, "Dad, I don't want to be the
oldest and I don't want no one to pity me."
me."
Two days later,
Lea gets to the scene.
She goes to each place where the kids
land gets on the knees and starts praying.
praying.
Starts praying and starts praying.
As she was walking away,
the media stopped her.
They said, "Tell me about your kids."
She talks about Anthony, how much she
loved him, Angelina
and Sienna, and who they were in her life.
life.
Anyway, one of the journalists somehow
somehow mentioned the driver's name or
something like that. She said, "I think
in my heart I forgive him, but I want
the courts to be fair."
Our religion doesn't teach us to hate.
We have forgiven him.
Friends, that one act of forgiveness
shook our community,
our country, and the world.
>> Right now, I can't hate him.
And I don't want to see him. I don't
hate him. I think in my heart I forgive
him, but I want the court to to be fair,
right? It's all about fairness. So, I'm
not going to hate him because that's not
who we are and that's not what our
religious tell us.
I forgive him, but I wanted to be fair.
>> We got messages from Iraq, New Zealand,
San Francisco, Venezuela,
London, Lebanon. People were shocked on
how she forgave the driver within 48 hours.
later and I sat down and she said,
"Daddy, I want to honor God." I said,
"Me, too." She says, "All right, we're
all going to wear white at the funeral,
not black."
And I remember
that funeral had come
and I'll never forget I'm I'm outside
the front of my house and I see three
hears driving in with three coffins
and I look and I walk in and I fall back
on the stairs and I start crying and I'm
saying I can't do this. I can't do this.
I can't do this.
Remember I said the biggest decision you
make in your life is who you marry. they
can make you or break you. I'll never
forget Ila walks down the stairs in a
white dress. She goes, "What are you
doing?" I said, "Layla, I can't do
this." She goes, "Get up."
She goes, "All we ever wanted to do was
get our kids to heaven." And God
answered our prayers.
This is not a funeral. This is a wedding.
>> I felt 7 foot tall.
I stood next to her. And by the Holy
Spirit, he lifted us and guided us
Guys, I'm going to go deep because we're
men and I'm taking us on a on a on the
the true journey.
And I remember at the funeral, we went
we went to the burial and somehow the
Lord works in ways we never understand.
Every time I was weak, she's strong. And
every time she's weak, I'm strong. And
it's been 5 years now.
So anyway, we get to the burial
and the three of hers start coming. Now
Laya becomes weak in the knees.
She starts screaming, "Send them home. I
don't want to bury them. They're my
kids." And she starts crying. She starts
hitting my brother and everyone holding
it. And I'll never forget,
there was an undertaker there. And there
was a truck and there was the hole. We
get the first coffin and my mom and
everyone's screaming and crying and it
drops. And I can share with you this cuz
he's a fellow Christians. And then I
hear a voice. I hear my son Anony's voice.
voice.
Dad, bury me. I'm not there. I was in my
suit and I grabbed the undertaker and I
took the shovel off him and I started
shoveling, digging and burying my my
son. And once that happened, everyone
And Ila was saying, "Please God, give me
a sign. Give me a sign that these kids
are are with you." And then my
father-in-law came up and said, "Have
you ever added the kids ages together?"
Angelina was 12,
Sienna was eight, and Anthony was 13. 33.
33.
Christ died at 33 and there was three
crosses in front of us.
When I had the shovel and it was quiet,
I said, "Guys, stop looking down and
start looking up. Our kids are in
heaven. They're not here. These are vessels."
vessels." >> Yeah.
>> Yeah.
>> The funeral came and went
and I remember sitting down after the
funeral. We got invited to Parliament
House. They done a new law called the
four angels law in honor of the four kids.
kids.
That law is whoever gets done for alcohol,
alcohol,
you're allowed to drug test them now.
And if you get done for both of them,
it's like a quadruple charge. We went
and saw the premier and we said, "Look,
in honor of these kids, can we have a
day called I forgive Day on the 1st of
February every year on the anniversary
of the kids?" Without any hesitation,
Glattus Birician at the time said we
would uh we would be honored and the
prime minister Scott Morrison endorsed
it straight away and that's when I
forgive was born.
You know looking back later and I
forgave because we were obedient but now
I understand the science behind it.
Forgiveness is for the forgiver not just
for the forgiven. As you can see, it's a
gift you give yourself and your children.
children.
It's not something that it's a sign of weakness.
weakness.
It's actually a sign of strength.
Forgiveness isn't the easy road.
Forgiveness is the hard road.
Forgiveness is a choice, not a feeling.
Anger is a feeling. Revenge is a
feeling. Forgiveness is a discipline.
And most of us men, we're all called out
to be disciplined. We always hold strong.
Anyway, a week after the funeral, I told
Leila, I want to meet the driver. I want
to meet this man that took my children.
She goes, "Why?"
I said, "Lila,
this person, I need to see him."
You know why? Because the people that
impact your life the most, first it's
your parents
that mold you to the work person you
become. Then it's your siblings, then
it's your partner, and then it's your
children. They are the people that have
mold you to the person you've become
today. I said, Lena, unfortunately, this
person is in the same arena as those.
He's changed my life forever.
So, I went to restorative justice and
said, "Listen, I want to meet the man
that took my children." They said to me,
"Just wait,
wait till after the sentencing." He got sentenced.
sentenced.
I remember that day we were at court. I
didn't want to go to court. We didn't go
to court the whole time. Only at the
sentencing cuz I said later, I don't
want to be part of a circus. We've
forgiven him. We move forward because
justice is never for the victim. Justice
is for the community. Ultimate justice
for me is to get my kids back and that's
not going to happen.
So, we got there. We said whether he got
a day or a death sentence, we the death
sentence we've forgiven him. Our justice
is to have our kids back and it's not
going to happen. I went back to
restorative justice and said to them, I
want to see the man.
They said to me, wait, he's got three
months to lodge an appeal.
Okay? If he doesn't lodge an appeal, we
can we can make it happen. On the eve of
the third month, he lodged an appeal.
I let it go. At the time
I spoke to I said Laya we need to have
more kids. She goes what do you mean? I
said Ila we need more kids. I was a
father and a husband thinking how can I
get my family from the valley of grief
and pain to the high ground. Big decisions
decisions
really. She said okay let's do it. She
fought pregnant. We grabbed all the
family and I thought yes.
Story of Job.
The Lord giveth. The Lord taketh.
Blessed be his name. We grabbed all the
family. We popped champagne. We all got
emotional. We started crying and we were
so happy. And two weeks later, she had a miscarriage.
miscarriage.
It was like a baseball bat across my
head. Whack. We were taken back to the funeral.
Next time, I said, "Lena, we're still
not going to give up. We need to have
more kids.
So she fell pregnant again. And this time
time
for four months, not three months. We
didn't say a word to no one. And then
God blessed us with a baby girl. Her
name is Selena.
Selena's name is in honor of her two
sisters, Sienna and Angelina. If you put
those two names together, it's Selena.
We were blessed. The new normal came back.
back.
I started working again.
What happened?
I've got a my parish priest, Father,
Robert. He feeds the homeless. His
mission is to feed the homeless around
the Paramea district.
Anyway, he's one of the homeless men.
End up in jail.
He rings him. He goes, "Father, I have a
Lebanese man that wants to speak to a
Lebanese priest." He goes, "Yeah, give
him my number."
He goes, "All right." The man rings my
priest, parish priest. This is a few
years after the tragedy.
He goes, "Father, I'm the soulmate of
the driver that killed the Abdullah
children and Veronik."
He goes, "Oh, well,
I'm the parish priest." Of all the
priests, this guy speaks to him. You
know what coincidence is? It's God
He asks, "Tell me, how's the driver?"
His name's Samuel. He goes, "He's good.
He's given his heart to the Lord. He's
become a Christian. He reads his Bible
every day. And he prays and he prays and
>> Father Robert rigs me. He says, "Danny,"
he tells me the whole thing.
I said,
Yala, as they say in Arabic, I want to
meet him.
I go to restorative justice.
They said, "You know what? You're ready
to meet him." They poked at me. They
they they started sticking tough
questions. Why would you forgive him? He
doesn't deserve your forgiveness. You
You've lightened his sentence because
you forgave him. They wanted to see if I
would trigger and I didn't by God's grace.
grace.
So anyway, I'm driving to Cesto jail. I
took my parish priest with me. We're
getting there. Now
Now
the devil starts doubting me. What are
you doing? Why are you going? What's
happening? Really? I'm getting there
now. I get to resto I get to Cesto jail.
Restoring of justice are there to meet
me. They said, "Danny, we found a place
where you can sit together. It's at the
chapel in prison."
I get there. They said to me, "Wait in
the room." His chaplain walks in and I
start poking at the chaplain. I said,
"Come on, man. Really, has he really
become a Christian? Is it genuine or is
he faking it?" He goes, "Listen, just
meet him
and you make your own decision."
Restorative Justice is there. My priest,
they said, "Mate, he's there. He's in
the chapel." They all get up. I said,
"Listen, guys. I'm sorry. I need to go
in my home. It's taken me 3 years and I
don't want to go in with anyone.
I go to walk in and as I walk in, he
gets on his knees and starts crying. I'm
sorry. I'm sorry I killed your kids. And
he starts crying and crying.
I pick him up.
I look at him
and I remember what I said to him.
I said, "God gives everyone the perfect cross.
cross.
In God's eyes, your cross is perfect and
in his eyes, my cross is perfect and we
What happened that night, he doesn't remember.
who spoke the my parish priest came in
and I asked him
what made you become a Christian why I
didn't expect that
he said to me because I want what you have
he goes your one act of forgiveness
saved my life
everyone in jail wanted to kill him
because of what he did to my kids but
whenever I knew that you forgave me.
We spoke at length about other things.
I was a mess. I was croy. I was just
Father Robert, my friend. I go, "Father,
I need to say something, but I don't
know how to say it."
He goes, "Say it.
I said, "Men, I saw God's face shine on
this man. I saw a glow in his face."
He goes, "Yeah, me too." I go, "But how
can I say that about the person that did
that to my children?"
He goes, "God makes every man perfectly
in his image. It's just our sin that
I got back.
We've become friends now. My kids pray
for him. They speak to him on the phone.
>> He speaks to me.
Probably just you probably see in two
weeks. It's the first time in Australian
history that they let mainstream media
go into maximum security. They they
invited him and me with Michael Usher
and interviewed both of us about the
power of forgiveness. It's on in two
this Sunday, next Sunday. So, keep an
You guys might think, why would you
forgive? How would you forgive?
Let me tell you, forgiveness is a gift
you give yourself and your kids and your
family. Because kids do what you do, not
what you say. >> Yeah.
>> Yeah.
>> I had a friend that came to me and said,
"Danny, my kids don't talk to each
other." I said, "Tell me about your
relationship with your brother." He
goes, "I haven't spoken to him in 10
years." I go, "Monkey see, monkey do."
Our kids are at home with their popcorn
watching, "How do I conduct myself in
this situation?" And they watch us do
it. and how do I conduct myself in that
situation and they watch us talk. So
friends, please be weary especially us men.
I want to share with you guys
about the choices we made daily 5 years
ago, my wife and I. And I call this the
I was at I got a hobby a farm out in
bigger. I was with my kids watching a
movie. I've got a 8-year-old and a
We were sitting down watching a Santa movie.
movie.
And what happened? I said to him, "If
you could wish for something, what would
it be?" One of my boys wanted a quad.
The other wanted an Xbox. I want this
toy. I want that toy. I want this. And
they were wishing for toys.
And I looked at my wife later
and she looked at me. She goes, "What do
you think?"
And I knew what she meant. I wish I
could get my kids back.
I made her a cup of tea. I go, "Come
I go, "Lila, it's working."
She goes, "What's working?" I said, "You
and I have to carry this cross, this
pain till we breathe our last breath."
I go because we were able to forgive 5
years ago, our kids can dare to dream again.
They could wish. And if you meet them,
they're normal kids.
They dream. They have their goals. We choose
choose
to celebrate life, not complain.
My best mate from school at one day said
to me, "Danny, you've become the new
measuring stick of problems. People
measure up and they say, "What am I
complaining about? This guy can smile.
Who am I to complain?" >> Yes.
>> Yes.
>> And I didn't look at it that way.
But you know what? You learn about life.
Life is about perspective. It's the way
you see things. It's the way you look at things.
things.
You know, at at the time, I was visiting
my doctor. He's an older man than me,
and he was from my mom's village in Lebanon.
Lebanon.
He said to me, "Danny, my grandmother
had 16 children and only eight survived."
survived."
Friends, you know what that I thought,
wow, that was a few generations ago.
Who am I to complain?
Those people, moms would lose their
children, common, more common. But they
still got up. They still found purpose.
And they still found life. And they
still had their faith.
That's perspective. I could wing about
my kids and wing and wing and wing. I
could look at that way. And then it came
to me about those migrants in the 30s,
40s, and 50s
where there was a man in Lebanon in a
village living a poor life thinking if
only I could get my son to Australia.
He would take his life savings. He would
drive to the port. He would take his
son. He put him on a boat. He'd send him
here knowing that he'll never ever see
him again.
That's sacrificial love.
I'd like to think my kids are overseas
and I'm going to see them again. Cuz I
don't say 5 years ago this happened. I
say 5 years sooner I'll see them again.
And they're in the mystical body of Christ.
Christ.
My son Anthony, my oldest boy, he came
and appeared to my my brother's
father-in-law in his dream.
He said,
Beniki at the time said, "Anthony,
what's wrong?"
He goes, "I'm upset." He goes, "Why you
upset?" He goes, "Tell my dad to stop crying.
crying.
We don't want to come back.
>> We're happy here."
After that day,
I've had to put on a brave face, and
I've had to show my kids that life is
worth living.
We're all men here. We go through a lot.
I'm grieving and I'm grateful.
I'm broken and I'm blessed.
Thank you all for listening to me today.
Thank you. [Applause]
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