I Miss the Man I Called Dad....

I spent last weekend in Charlotte, reliving the "good old days" with my classmates of the Garinger High School class of 1967...and if the math is too hard for you...that is 50 years since I graduated from high school to make my mark in this world. There were many of my classmates that also attended and grew up with me in our small church on Mecklenburg Ave, MIDWOOD BAPTIST CHURCH...and many of my friends had my dad as their Sunday School teacher. As we reminisced and I listened to my friends share their memories of my dad, it brought back to me so many wonderful memories of the man and the life he lived before me.

 It has been 33 years since my father passed away. It was a bright and beautiful day in February when my dad went out to play a round of golf with one of my uncles. On a long par 5 on the course I grew up on, my father was having some pains in his arms and decided to sit down on the wheel of his pull cart; but before he could reach a safe place to rest, he was gone from this world and resting in the arms of Jesus. In fact, I was only 35 when my dad passed and now he has been gone longer than I knew him...but his memory and the character traits that my Dad instilled in me from watching a man of faith , love and shower blessings of compassion on his family ...it is those moments of being with my Dad that have made me the man I am today...a man that I believe my Dad would be proud of.

Yes, not a day goes by that I don't remember my Dad or lean into the things that he taught me as we shared hours and years together delivering papers every morning for more than three years. I was 16 when I got a BIG morning paper route and my dad and I spent that time together getting to really know each other and to forge that bond of love and admiration that we had for each other.

In a world where we all are searching for heroes or someone to model our life after, there is no one better to model than Jesus Christ. It is fact that Jesus became like us so that He could come to earth, live a perfect life, void of sin, so that through our belief in Him...WE COULD BECOME MORE LIKE HIM. Jesus told his disciples that He had come to give them life ...a life more abundant and free, but that life could only become a reality as they learned to surrender their will to the will of their Heavenly Father.

Do you have someone that you have loved and admired; someone who like my dad may have been taken away far too soon? My biggest regret for my dad was that he was not here to meet the wonderful woman who has been my wife for 28 years and the adorable daughter of ours that he never got to hold...but he lived before me the life that lead me to Jesus and for that I am eternally grateful...and I know that in my future, I will see him again.

Who do you miss that is gone on before you; but more importantly, who do you need to tell how much they mean to you NOW and how they have impacted your life; maybe even been your hero but have no clue that you feel that way.

The one thing I learned in the passing of my father at such a young age(he was only 63) was time and LIFE are short and there are no "do overs"...so don't waste a moment of each new day to reach out to someone you love and let them know how important they are to you...and how much you admire, love and respect them...you will feel better for doing that and so will they!!!!

Missing My Dad....Waiting for the Call to go Home,

WPQ

Poem for the day:

Losing one you love so much

Now memories must do...

To remind you of the love they gave

As they showered it on you.

So take every opportunity

To share with those you love;

The grace you've found that gives you life

Comes from the Throne above.

So let them know by love and deed

How much they mean to you;

And by following in their footsteps

You've lived a life that is good and true!

WPQ©2017