As I've grown older I've realized how amazingly blessed I am to have such a good, loving father. Father's Day is not always easy for me because I never feel like I can give him back enough. He has done so much for me in so many ways.
He is loyal, reliable, trustworthy, generous, loving, kind, gentle and yet has an inner toughness and strength that has upheld him through all of life's challenges.
That's not to say that he has no fault or no weakness, but he has always been the measure of what I feel a good man, a good father, and a decent person is.
For many years, my Dad wasn't sure about Christ as his savior, but he always believed in God as Father and Creator. That faith, which he found to be logical and reasonable based on the glory and complexity of creation, kept him rooted throughout storms in life, and helped him treat others with love and kindness.
As the years have passed, my prayers throughout childhood and young adulthood have been answered. My dad has faith in Christ as his Savior. He wants to worship on Sundays. He wants to help others with Habitat for Humanity, and in Christian service. He's always been helpful, but now his helpfulness has expanded to all of God's people and not just our immediate relatives and friends.
He's still not that keen on Biblical study or going to Bible study classes, but he likes a good small group gathering with a little study and a lot of fellowship. I've even heard him pray once out loud. Considering that my dad is often shy, and soft-spoken outside of our immediate family circle, that is pretty amazing . . . miraculous even in an every day miracle kind of way.
Once upon a time my Dad reminded me of all things heroic and good.
And today, he still does.
He's not perfect, but he is close enough for me.
In my early childhood, I had a friend who thought he was the bionic man due to his prosthetic leg, his energy for outdoorsmanship, his enthusiam for mechanics, and the popularity of that tv show The Six Million Dollar Man. However, I think my dad has more strength than the bionic man ever did. He has a strength of heart, and purpose.
The bionic man may have been The Six Million Dollar Man,
but my Dad is priceless . . .
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