Tim and Christine Burke

By: Dr James Dobson

What would you be willing to give up for your family?

Your hopes, your dreams, your career, your bank account?

Well, I know a man who gave up all of that and more.

In 1985, Tim Burke saw his boyhood baseball dream come true the day he signed on to pitch for the Montreal Expos. After four years in the minors, he was finally going to get a chance to play in the big leagues. And he quickly proved to be worth his salt, setting an all-time record for most relief appearances by a rookie player. But along the way, Tim and his wife, Christine, had adopted four children with very special needs - two daughters from South Korea, a handicapped son from Guatemala, and another son from Vietnam. All the children were born with very serious illnesses or defects. Neither Tim nor Christine were prepared for the tremendous demands such a family would bring. And with gruelling schedule of major-league baseball, Tim was seldom around to help. So in 1993, only three months after signing a $600,000 contract with the Cincinnati Reds, he decided to retire. When pressed by reporters to explain this unbelievable decision, he simply said, "Baseball is going to to do just fine without me. But I'm the only father my children have."

Heroes are in short supply these days, but I'm happy to say that I've met one of them.