My Dad

This is a little later than I wanted to do it. Extenuating circumstances made it impossible to post yesterday so I am doing it today. I wanted to talk a little about my father on Fathers Day. My father was a great, great man. I know, who doesn't think the same about their father right? For those who will read this and remember my father, they will surely agree. My father wasn't a rich man. He didn't own a lot of stock. As a matter of fact, when he retired, we moved to a trailer. Not that there is anything wrong with trailers, but you usually don't picture them as a model of retirement wealth. In his later years, he and my mother ended up living in an unassisted living community. Very modest to say the least. No, he didn't have a lot as far as the world is concerned. My father didn't care about worldly things. He wanted to make sure that his family was taken care of spiritually. That's all that really mattered to him. He stored up his treasure in Heaven. He worked his whole life to build a foundation that would stand up to the storms that life would bring. His Bible, his church, and his God were the most important things in his life. That being said, his wife and family were put at a very high place in his life too. He knew how to treat mom and us kids. My dad never hit us. He did spank us as often as he needed to, but it didn't warp us as so many in this generation think it does. We turned out okay. Dad was a veteran. He loved his country and was very proud of it. He saluted the flag every chance he got and many times he would talk about his service. How proud he was to have been able to serve his country. Dad loved his children very much. He was a wonderful father. His father was an alcoholic and his mother died when he was very young. This made him extremely determined to be a great father. He would not let his upbringing be an excuse for the way he would father his children. He loved my mother. He treated her well. He taught us that love and affection are very important in a family. Outward affection was okay. A man could show emotion and still be a man. Dad was fiscally responsible. He wasn't a cheap-skate. He only spent money on things that we needed and we still had vacations and toys. He just didn't get us everything we wanted. He said no a lot. It didn't hurt us. When we graduated high school he made us pay rent. That wasn't to be mean. He wanted to teach us responsibility. He gave me $200.00 for my first car. I paid him back $50.00 dollars a paycheck until it was paid off. I am glad he did. Because of his teaching, I am also fiscally responsible. I don't live my life in debt. He taught us how to pray. He taught us to live by the words of the Bible. He taught us how to live according to Gods word and to make wise decisions based on our biblical knowledge. He taught me how to be a man, a friend, a husband, and most importantly, a father. No, he didn't leave us a lot of money. He left us something far more valuable. He left us the legacy of a Godly father. For that I am thankful. I will never be able to repay what he taught me. I can only hope to live as he did. To be an example for my children that they can follow. I hope my children can say the same thing about me when I am gone. Thanks Dad. I miss you. I love you.



LW