Monday, June 13, 2011

It's not about the starting line...

       My dad came from humble beginnings.  His family never had much, and he tells stories of being thankful at Christmas to get an orange in his stocking!  One of his favorite meals was chipped beef and gravy, which I'm sure Grandma made with 90% flour and water and only 10% (or less) chipped beef from a glass jar, but Dad loved it anyway.  He left for college with a quarter in his pocket and a can of beans in with his few clothes. He hopped the train to get there. The financial support of a doctor whose family he saved from a fire when he was a teen and the small stipend he got for joining ROTC kept him going.  He didn't even have much moral encouragement - in fact, the extended relatives accused him of being presumptuous for trying to go to college and "move above his station".  Not a great support group!
       However, God didn't care about any of that!  He looked down and saw a man of great loyalty, integrity, and love. He knew that the effect my dad would have on many people would be awesome, so He kept him safe through his grueling years with the Army in WW2, orchestrated the divine appointment of meeting my mom, allowed them to have and raise a family, and put them in a church where they'd meet life-long friends and grow in their relationships with God.
       Dad was a man of complete integrity. He dealt with others as if they were family, always generous and always honest.  Other men sought his advice and he was an influencial member of church boards for 40 years.  He was also intensely loyal.  He loved his family and friends with a love that wasn't performance-based and I knew that no matter what I ever did, he'd never love me less. He just loved....        
       Dad also trusted in God & His ability to provide. He once told me that if God could take a country boy and "finagle" a way for him to go through college and dental school, then He could take care of him the rest of the way! He financially supported his parents, when they could not take care of themselves, contributed to his brother-in-law & sister's church as well as his own, loaned money frequently to relatives that were in need, and consistently gave offerings over and above their church commitments. Mom said he was generous to a fault, but he just felt so blessed that he couldn't help it!
One of Dad's favorite songs was "To God Be The Glory" which begins with
"How can I say thanks for the things You have done for me? Things so undeserved, yet You gave to prove Your love for me. The voices of a million angels could not express my gratitude. All that I am and ever hope to be, I owe it all to Thee. To God be the glory..."
       Dad was a man full of gratitude; he knew that he was blessed but didn't know why God chose him for such "undeserved" blessings! I do.  He became the patriarch of a family that loves and serves God...we watched his example, lived under his mentoring, and followed in his steps, each of us in our own ways. They say the measure of a man is not in the possessions he leaves behind or the money he accumulates, but his true legacy is the influence he leaves in the lives of those who knew him. In Dad's case, though he's been gone for almost 16 years, the values that he lived and instilled in me continue to direct, influence and shape my life and decisions. Not a day goes by that I don't think of him with love and gratitude, and I am so thankful & blessed that God chose him to be my dad!!

No comments:

Post a Comment