This week is Father's Day....a special day set aside to remember, reflect and in many cases, reverence the man in our life we called, DAD. For me this is a bitter sweet day since my father passed away at the young age of 63(shortly before I turned 35). He has been gone longer than I knew him. He did not get to meet my wife, Terri, or hold in his arms, his granddaughter, Alyson. I know he would have been EXTREMELY PROUD OF THEM...just as I am.
My dad was the sweetest, kindest, most humble man I have ever known; and many of you who may read this, know exactly what I am saying because you had the good fortune to know him too...as an uncle, Sunday School teacher, choir member...the list goes on. I took the time, in June 1977, to write the poem that is part of this post. It was originally entitled, EULOGY TO A FATER, because I wanted my father to know how much he meant to me before his call to heaven. In fact, at his funeral, I placed a copy of the poem in his inner, jacket pocket and sent him home to be with his Heavenly Father who he loved with all his heart. My wife and I changed the title to the poem when we began our business, Thankful Praise Prints, so that we might share it with those who felt compelled to tell their fathers how much they loved and honored them...it was always one of our best selling poems.
I am sharing it once again because I believe we can NEVER tell our dads, too many times, how much they mean to us and the great influence a godly father has on his children. My hope and prayer is that I have been as good and a faithful dad as my father, WINFORD W. QUEEN was to me. I think about him every day and miss the times we would have shared as we both aged. I try to emulate the man he was and I hope that this poem always let him know how important he was in my life.
If
you have a dad like mine, YOU HAVE BEEN TRULY BLESSED!!! Let him know, in no
uncertain terms, the difference he has made in your life. If you father was not
a great dad, but he is still living, it is never too late to start to improve
that relationship. God bless ...and if you have the wonderfully blessed responsibility of being a father....it's never
too late to be a good, no, make that GREAT ONE!!!!
ESSENCE OF MY DAD
Often,
I have stopped to
think
of
times both good and bad;
And in each fleeting memory,
I reverence my Dad.
He
stood both tall and straight,
Colossal
in my mind.
He spoke in tones both harsh and firm,
Yet so gentle and so kind.
An
unquenchable desire for life;
A
zest for Life and living;
He fought and scraped to provide for me
Through his unselfish giving.
A
guiding hand who led my steps
Down
paths I dared not tread,
A
steady mind, a sturdy back were the
Essence
of my Dad.
He
taught me to be good;
Yet,
when times got rough
Or I
failed my Dad....He always understood
So
surely on the day he passes,
I
truly will be sad,
But never will I forget the man,
I loved and called...My Dad!
W. Patrick Queen
© June 1977
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