Faith AND Family at Work: DSLD Land Management

June 26, 2018

Faith at Work

<em>David, Zachary, Helen, Danielle, Miles, Amy, Milo and Cole Sharp (L to R). The Sharp’s four children range in age from 9 to 27. David gained his engineering background while a student at The Ohio State University, where he was a coop student working and studying the physical properties of soil and water and their role in the hierarchy of the building industry. He also holds a degree in Business Management from Samford University.</em> — David, Zachary, Helen, Danielle, Miles, Amy, Milo and Cole Sharp (L to R). The Sharp’s four children range in age from 9 to 27. David gained his engineering background while a student at The Ohio State University, where he was a coop student working and studying the physical properties of soil and water and their role in the hierarchy of the building industry. He also holds a degree in Business Management from Samford University.

When David H. Sharp started DSLD Land Management 35 years ago, he was a single man with a passion to use his background in geotechnical engineering and business to bring quality and value to homes in central Alabama where soil erosion and drainage problems are prevalent. Today his landscape construction company, specializing in residential design and installation, has grown to include the talents of three sons and a daughter in law as well as the home front support of his wife Helen.

“Having the kids in the business is marvelous because I get to be with them!” says Sharp adding, “I was never looking forward to them growing up and moving away. I have always wanted my kids to be close. I get to interact with them daily because of the business. Instead of me coming home from work to see the kids I go to work to see the kids.” Sharp believes an important key to being able to work well together as a family serving satisfied clients stems from a foundation of faith in Christ. “Being a Christian impacts every aspect of your life, especially your family life,” says Sharp. “Because my children have a relationship with God, that spells out to them and me how a family should look. Christ gives us the ultimate example of how to interact with others.”

The work of DSLD Land Management has been featured in publications such as Southern Living and Builder’s Architect. Great examples of the kind of work the company does can be seen at the Sharp’s home and “barn” that serves as DSLD headquarters. David Sharp believes the longevity and growth of his business stems from the way his team approaches each client’s project. “During our initial consultation all on site factors are considered from function to form, with special emphasis given to economy and value-added work.”

One more Sharp child is waiting in the wings to possibly become an active part of the DSLD team. While raising their three sons, David and Helen also fostered 33 children- with number 34 becoming their adopted daughter, 9-year-old Danielle. David shares how he and Helen felt called to be foster parents after learning of the great number of children in Shelby County needing foster homes. “We were sad to think of children not having a safe and loving home, so we went through the licensing process and jumped right in!” remembers Sharp. “We thoroughly enjoyed taking in and caring for every one of our beautiful dependent children and still think of them often, but it wasn’t always easy. The kids were awesome but the system they must navigate is tough.” After saying good bye to foster child 33, the Sharps decided it had become too emotionally draining to continue. God had other plans. Nine months after not having a foster child in their home, youngest son Miles, then 11, shared with his mom that he believed the family needed to foster one more child. The two of them prayed about it and Helen agreed to call Shelby County DHR. Before she could, the phone rang. “It was our DHR social worker we had not talked to us in nine months, asking Helen if we could please take just one more child, a 4-month-old little girl,” remembers David. And the story gets even better. “Danielle was a child that needed an adoptive family and God blessed us by making us that lucky family!”

-Laurie Stroud

For ideas on how DLSD can help you improve your outdoor space, follow them on social media!Facebook: DSLD Land ManagementTwitter: @DsldLandMgmtInstagram: dsld_land_mgmt
205-437-1012, www.dsldland.com