Sometimes the greatest blessings in life don’t come from bloodlines, but from love that chooses you.

When I was just two years old, my next-door neighbor in Victoria, Texas, became more than just a friendly face across the fence. His name was Milton West, but to me he was always “Mr. Chip.” He worked hard his whole life, retiring from DOW Chemical as an operator, but what made him unforgettable wasn’t his career — it was the way he stepped into a role I desperately needed.

I grew up without a father. That absence left gaps, but the good Lord filled those spaces with good men. Mr. Chip was one of the greatest.

He taught me things that couldn’t be found in books. He preached the value of education. He showed me how to care for a yard, how to look at people for who they are rather than what they look like, and how to treat my mother like a saint. He gave me lessons about respect, character, and integrity. He helped shape me into the son, man, and father I am today.

For that, I will always be grateful.

This past May, my wife and I welcomed our son, Bob Wayne Shugart, into the world. And wouldn’t you know it, when Mr. Chip and his wife Shirley met him, they fell in love instantly. They babysit him sometimes, and we visit whenever we can. On one of those visits, Mr. Chip looked at my little boy and said with a smile, “I want him to call me Pop.”

So that’s who he became — Pop. And for his wife, we came up with “Lolli.” Together, they’re Lolli and Pop.

Now, whenever we tell our son, “We’re going to see Lolli Pop,” his eyes light up. And I know deep down, if Bob Wayne learns even half the lessons from Pop that I learned growing up, he will be a great son, man, and father too.

Every day, I read negative headlines about how divided our world is. But when I look at my life — at a boy in Texas being loved and shaped by a man who wasn’t his father, and now watching that same man call himself “Pop” to my son — I see something else. I see hope. I see love. I see proof that kindness and family can look different than we imagine, and that race is no barrier when love is genuine.

This is just one story, from one small town. But I believe there are millions more just like it.

Because sometimes the family you’re given isn’t the family that raises you. Sometimes, God sends you a Lolli and a Pop.