My wealthy atheist grandfather kept a safe full of diamonds on his main property and owned a ton of land across the US

He disowned and disinherited my mother for marrying a Christian man and exiled us to poverty in the ghetto because of our faith

I'm rebuilding because of him

I think about him when I get a big payday

Or when we're short on a medical bill

I try to pray for him and forgive what he did to us. It's an ongoing effort

Gets harder when my wife and kids want something and I can't make it happen yet

He left me a negative inheritance

Now instead of building a family on stable ground, I had to find that ground first

Scratch my hands bloody trying to level it

Break my back laying a foundation

Work my fingers to the bone putting up a roof

We're there now, above poverty and just taking off

And years behind

My children will be better off. They'll start on flat ground instead of in a hole

No fleas in their bedding, no food stamps, no subsidized housing with addicts trying to kick in the door to ransack the place

My job now is to undo what he did

My entire life must negate his