A Father's Influence!

On a number of occasions my wife has said to me, “You are your father’s son.” I’ll take that as a compliment. Today is the first “Father’s Day”
since my father’s death last December. I thank God for the influence my father had in my life and especially the special focuses we shared during his last months, weeks, and days.

Fulfilling his desire, I had the privilege of speaking and sharing when we gathered for the service to celebrate his life. As I shared a glimpse of my father’s life story I categorized the events of his life and his accomplishments under the headings of five things I had learned from my father. Please allow me to briefly share those main points.

1. A STRONG WORK ETHIC. If you have a job to do you stick with it and get it done and do it well. Putting in an honest day’s work (and a little extra) was what his example declared. He taught me it is important to be someone who can be depended upon. A statement Dad frequently made as he tried to encourage others to be involved was: “We all can’t do everything, but we can all do something.”

2. FAMILY IS IMPORTANT. They are to be provided for, encouraged and supported through the good and the bad. Dad showed genuine interest in the things we were involved in.

I know that while we were growing up there were times when finances were tight. However, Dad and Mom handled things in a way which never made that our concern as kids. As far as we knew we always had all we needed and more.

3. THE OUTDOORS IS A WONDERFUL PLACE TO SPEND TIME. I still have a love for tent camping because of our family vacations growing up. We walked through forests, played in the cold Pacific surf and walked the beaches, we explored some caves and caverns together, played in the snow, and hiked in the mountains and along rivers.

4. A LOVE FOR PEOPLE. Dad was a “people person”. People mattered and he was the kind of man who would help just about anyone in distress. He also seemed to be able to get along with some that others had difficulty with. His ability to connect with others bridged all age groups.

5. SPIRITUAL LIFE IS IMPORTANT. God, His Word, and the church were important to Dad. Prayer was associated with every meal.

My Dad had faith. I remember when he received the diagnosis of cancer, it was a blow out of nowhere. However, his focus quickly turned to a determination to try what could be tried, but to trust God for whatever the future held. As I sat with him during his consultation before his first chemo treatment [June 2004] and during the treatment as well, he would mention (having Psalm 90:10 in mind) that a man’s life is threescore and ten and his focus was that he had that with a bonus of 5 years.

Yes, my father was a gift from my Heavenly Father Who knows how to adequately supply what we need.

Jesus referred to earthly fathers who, regardless of character, knew how to give good gifts to their children, but went on to encourage…
“…HOW MUCH MORE WILL YOUR FATHER WHO IS IN HEAVEN GIVE GOOD THINGS to those who ask him!” ( Matthew 7:11b ESV)

Have a great day REMEMBERING THE FATHER OF THE GREATEST GIFTS!
Carl

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