Father’s Day is tomorrow…and this will be the 18th Father’s Day without my dad. My Dad was a pretty unique
guy. He was a circus performer as a kid, played basketball at Texas A&M University, was a combat
infantryman in World War II and a high school teacher, administrator and coach. But the one thing that I had
over my dad was that his father wasn’t there while he was growing up. His parents separated before he became
a teenager and he did have periodic contact with his dad, but it was his mom, my grandmother, that raised him.
My dad and I had a unique relationship in that I was the oldest of three kids and so I was the one that he told the
stories of his life and adventures and his triumphs and his heartbreaks. We would stay up late at night, and we
would get talking about something and eventually I would end up listening and getting to know my dad as a real
person. Dad was by no means a perfect person, but we knew that he would stand up for us kids and would do
his best to be there for us. We three kids never doubted his love for us. And we never doubted his love for our
mom. Looking back, I realized that dad always worked under a handicap in that his dad had not been with him
for his teenage years and so he had no model from which to work. But he did good. Later in his life he had
recommitted his life to this Jesus of the Bible…and I was there. His last days were spent in a hospital, and I
remember the last time that I spoke to him. I knew that his time was short, and so as I left, I told him that I
loved him and the last words I spoke to him were “Dad, I will see you again”. I was headed back in the next
morning, but dad died before I got there. When I think of God as my heavenly father, I remember my dad in the
way that he always was ready to talk and to listen and to be a part of my world and let me share in his. This
Father’s Day I will be with my family…my wife and our kids and my son-in-law and our granddaughters. But
for at least for a moment, I will remember my dad…and remember the promise that I made him on that last
day…that I will see him again. And it will be in a place where there is no more sorrow, or pain or tears or
death. And that will help to make this a truly happy Father’s Day.
Here’s our Bible verse for today…
Psalms 103:13 BSB As a father has compassion on his children, so the LORD has compassion on those who fear Him.
Remember I’m praying for you!
PJ
Here’s our Bible verse for today…
Psalms 103:13 BSB As a father has compassion on his children, so the LORD has compassion on those who fear Him.
Remember I’m praying for you!
PJ