Today my dad would have been 85. He’s been gone almost 5 years now but I still think of him. I guess the older I get, the more I realize how much influence he’s had in my life. A lot of who I am is directly attributable to him.
I am a hard worker. Of course, being a firstborn naturally leads to this. But if I wasn’t prone to this already, my father certainly steered me in this direction! He was always talking to me about working hard. About doing my best. About being responsible. And he lived it. In my younger years, he worked 2 jobs. After that he worked a lot of overtime. He worked in the church. He helped friends. Neighbors. Fellow-church members. Busy. Busy. Busy. Now I look at my life. I am also a hard worker. I will work as long as the jobs calls for. Until it is done right. Everything gets my best. I work at church. I work at home. I work when I'm on vacation. Busy. Busy. Busy.
I don’t relax well. For 50 years my dad worked at an automobile plant. Since my mom never learned to drive, when he came home, he would take us shopping. For food. For clothes. To doctor’s visits. To church. On top of this there was all the activities mentioned above. My dad was a real go-getter. Once in a while he would sit out on the porch and relax, usually late at night. That was about it. He had a lot of energy. Now I find that I am pretty much the same. I have a hard time relaxing. Being a pastor doesn’t really help. There’s always so much to do. And it’s all important. I actually feel guilty if I sit around and relax. I feel that I’m wasting time.
I like humor. I don’t think that my dad was a punster the way that I am. And I really don’t remember him telling a lot of jokes. But I know that he loved to laugh. Sometimes he would tell one of his funny stories and he laughed so much that he could barely tell it. He loved humor. Somewhere along the line I was influenced by this. My mind is always filled with some sort of pun. Or a joke. Or something humorous. So don’t blame me! It really is my dad’s fault!
I like people. My dad liked people. He was probably a bit more of a people-person that I am. He loved being around people. Talking to them. Doing things for them. Simply being with them. His really lit up a room when he was around people. I follow in that same mold. I enjoy people. I love interacting with them. Talking to them. Praying with them. Serving with them. Simply having a good time with them. Since I also have a loner-part to my personality I don’t want to be around them 24/7 but I do enjoy them just the same.
I love my family. My father would do anything for his family. This is interesting because he didn’t learn that from his father. My grandfather was actually rather indifferent to my father. I remember my father telling me that he played a lot of hockey as a teenager and young man. My grandfather couldn’t be bothered to watch him play. Not once. My dad, however, took his family seriously. He cared for us. We always had a roof over our heads. And food to eat. And clothes to wear. He always managed to get us where we needed to go. He always managed to find the money to get that one gift for Christmas or our birthday that he knew we really wanted. In the same way, my family is very important to me. I remember taking my young sons with me on Saturdays when I did errands. Put them in their car seats. Make the first stop. Take them out. Get the errand done. Strap them back into their seats. Repeat the process 4, 5, 6 times in a matter of a couple hours. I didn’t mind. They’re family. I love being around my wife. My children. And now my grandchildren. Along with Beth we traveled across much of Western Montana watching our children play sports. It was a joy and a privilege.
I’m sure that I could go on and on about how much I am like my father. (In a future post I will talk about my dad's spiritual legacy that he passed down to me.) I didn’t realize it when I was younger but now that I’m older I've discovered that I’m a lot like him. And that’s a good thing. For my dad was a good man. He took care of us. He loved us. He prayed for us. He walked the talk. I am proud to be his son. To be like him in so many ways. I am also proud that I have passed much of what he taught me on to my children. Now I’m working on passing it on to my grandchildren.
Thanks dad. Thanks for all that you did. For who you were. Happy Birthday. I'll be seeing you again someday. Then we can talk.
Lord, I thank you for having such a wonderful dad. A dad who was a great role model. In so many ways. A dad who helped mold and shape me into the man I am today. Help me to do my best to be a good role model to my children. And grandchildren. And others who are in my life. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
I am a hard worker. Of course, being a firstborn naturally leads to this. But if I wasn’t prone to this already, my father certainly steered me in this direction! He was always talking to me about working hard. About doing my best. About being responsible. And he lived it. In my younger years, he worked 2 jobs. After that he worked a lot of overtime. He worked in the church. He helped friends. Neighbors. Fellow-church members. Busy. Busy. Busy. Now I look at my life. I am also a hard worker. I will work as long as the jobs calls for. Until it is done right. Everything gets my best. I work at church. I work at home. I work when I'm on vacation. Busy. Busy. Busy.
I don’t relax well. For 50 years my dad worked at an automobile plant. Since my mom never learned to drive, when he came home, he would take us shopping. For food. For clothes. To doctor’s visits. To church. On top of this there was all the activities mentioned above. My dad was a real go-getter. Once in a while he would sit out on the porch and relax, usually late at night. That was about it. He had a lot of energy. Now I find that I am pretty much the same. I have a hard time relaxing. Being a pastor doesn’t really help. There’s always so much to do. And it’s all important. I actually feel guilty if I sit around and relax. I feel that I’m wasting time.
I like humor. I don’t think that my dad was a punster the way that I am. And I really don’t remember him telling a lot of jokes. But I know that he loved to laugh. Sometimes he would tell one of his funny stories and he laughed so much that he could barely tell it. He loved humor. Somewhere along the line I was influenced by this. My mind is always filled with some sort of pun. Or a joke. Or something humorous. So don’t blame me! It really is my dad’s fault!
I like people. My dad liked people. He was probably a bit more of a people-person that I am. He loved being around people. Talking to them. Doing things for them. Simply being with them. His really lit up a room when he was around people. I follow in that same mold. I enjoy people. I love interacting with them. Talking to them. Praying with them. Serving with them. Simply having a good time with them. Since I also have a loner-part to my personality I don’t want to be around them 24/7 but I do enjoy them just the same.
I love my family. My father would do anything for his family. This is interesting because he didn’t learn that from his father. My grandfather was actually rather indifferent to my father. I remember my father telling me that he played a lot of hockey as a teenager and young man. My grandfather couldn’t be bothered to watch him play. Not once. My dad, however, took his family seriously. He cared for us. We always had a roof over our heads. And food to eat. And clothes to wear. He always managed to get us where we needed to go. He always managed to find the money to get that one gift for Christmas or our birthday that he knew we really wanted. In the same way, my family is very important to me. I remember taking my young sons with me on Saturdays when I did errands. Put them in their car seats. Make the first stop. Take them out. Get the errand done. Strap them back into their seats. Repeat the process 4, 5, 6 times in a matter of a couple hours. I didn’t mind. They’re family. I love being around my wife. My children. And now my grandchildren. Along with Beth we traveled across much of Western Montana watching our children play sports. It was a joy and a privilege.
I’m sure that I could go on and on about how much I am like my father. (In a future post I will talk about my dad's spiritual legacy that he passed down to me.) I didn’t realize it when I was younger but now that I’m older I've discovered that I’m a lot like him. And that’s a good thing. For my dad was a good man. He took care of us. He loved us. He prayed for us. He walked the talk. I am proud to be his son. To be like him in so many ways. I am also proud that I have passed much of what he taught me on to my children. Now I’m working on passing it on to my grandchildren.
Thanks dad. Thanks for all that you did. For who you were. Happy Birthday. I'll be seeing you again someday. Then we can talk.
Lord, I thank you for having such a wonderful dad. A dad who was a great role model. In so many ways. A dad who helped mold and shape me into the man I am today. Help me to do my best to be a good role model to my children. And grandchildren. And others who are in my life. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
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