A man of prayer is capable of everything. (St. Vincent De Paul)

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Bill Godfrey is a good man. It’s that simple really.

A couple years back, my husband Tom and I found ourselves killing time again in Vincennes, Indiana. Once you have seen the George Rogers Clark National Monument, visited the Basilica of St. Francis Xavier, and eaten at Bobe’s Pizza…well…I’d argue that you’ve done all you can do to kill time between basketball tournament games in this neck of the woods. Therefore, we decided to just call it an afternoon and we headed to grab a beer at the restaurant nearest to our hotel. If memory serves, I think it was a pub called Gilberts?

When we wandered in, we could hear the laughter of Jen Osborn, who was seated in the bar with Caroline and Bill Godfrey. They were waiting on the same high school basketball tournament games to resume as we were. We all had kids playing for the Guerin Catholic Golden Eagles who were in a holiday tournament down in Knox County that weekend. They immediately waived us over and we began regaling each other with the misdeeds of our (nearly) grown children. I find myself smiling even as I type the memory here on today’s post, because those three joy-filled people really had me giggling. Raising teenagers can be entertaining, to say the least! Though I had met him several times before, that was the day that the picture of Bill Godfrey became much clearer in my mind. I already knew that he was an incredibly bright and successful man, but the quality of his character and his deep faithfulness were impossible to miss that day. Not only that, but his self-deprecating sense of humor and quick wit drew me in.

Authentic, funny, faith-filled men like Bill Godfrey are rare gems. When you add to that his likeability and integrity, well…it’s just the most estimable combination I can imagine to be candid.

I’ve been reluctant to write about Bill here because the truth is, I don’t know him that well. However, we have many friends in common and this week I spoke to a couple of those folks about him to make sure my little shout out today is a proper reflection of the man they know him to be. To a person, each of them said essentially the same thing as the first person I quizzed who said, “He’s one of the finest, most generous men I have ever known.” Wow. High praise, indeed.

Bill is an incredibly successful businessman. You can google him and find out much more than this stay-at-home mom ever wanted to know about the tech industry. I’ll be honest, I don’t really care so much about that. The fact that Bill is a very involved and supportive father of four and the husband of an incredibly holy woman I have great affection for is much more meaningful for my purposes here. I’ve been watching from nearby as he journeys alongside his wife through her health struggles. I notice his attentiveness, tenderness and faithfulness to the Lord, and I find it, and him quite inspiring. In my own life this year I have taken a cue from his example and tried to remember these words from 1 Corinthians, which I think speak to what Bill is about. “Watch, stand fast in the faith, be brave, be strong.”

Thanks, Bill, for being a great and inspiring reminder to me that positivity, a broad smile, and trust in the Lord is always the right road to travel– no matter the circumstances! My prayers continue for all the Godfreys!!