Just one more year and I'll be the big 40. I'm not ashamed of it nor scared of it. I'm proud of it.
This year was great because for the first time I had friends who just wanted to let me know that they care. I had a great party, beautiful gifts, and sneaky friends who booked a hotel room for my husband and I to escape to. It has been great. But there is something slightly missing. My dad's off-key rendition of "Happy Birthday".
I was born at 8:30 at night. From the time I left for college and was usually away from home on my birthday, my father and mother would call me at exactly 8:30pm. He would begin singing and I would laugh. He couldn't carry a tune in a bucket.
My 32nd birthday rolled around and the call did not come and the singing was now for God. Each birthday has been hard since then as I see the clock strike me another year older and I miss his voice. This has made each March 7th hard for me.
Most people would think that holidays and Father's Day would be hard for me. But they do not effect me that much. It is my birthday and his (my daughter was born on his birthday) that brings out the selfish tears of missing him.
I cannot stand when people trumpet their birthday weeks before it actually occurs. So many demand attention on that day. Me? I would rather it be forgotten. I take this day to remember my Dad and remember the lessons he taught me and to honor him.
He was a great man. Oh, he had faults. Many of them frustrated us like nobody's business. But he had a heart. If there was somebody in need, he tried to meet it. He would feed more people who were holding the sign "Will work for food" on the side of the road than you could imagine. He made sure the minister at his church was taken care of. He was a deacon who took the job seriously.
Dad valued education. He wanted to make sure that each of his children received a good education and made something of their lives. We've done pretty good. All of us have received our degrees and are able to stand on our own two feet.
Dad raised us in the church. He made sure that we learned basic Bible truths and was able to watch us all become a part of a church home and raise our children in the Word.
What more could a father ask for? I hope that each time I stand on the Word, teach my children, and look for those in need that I honor my father as well as our Father.
Dad, I would love to be where you are - at the feet of Jesus. But until then I will strive to continue down the path you directed me. I want to take the good you gave and continue giving. Dad, thank you for the horrible birthday songs and the love you gave. Thank you for the generosity and teachings that you gave. May our actions and our love honor you throughout our lives and even generations later.
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