Well, it has been 38 years since we
spent a Father’s Day together on this earth. Since you were called home to heaven, so many things have happened. I cannot tell you how many times I would have loved to ask your
opinion, gotten your perspective, or secured your advice. Yet even though we have not been physically
together, often my decisions have been based on what you taught me and the
example you gave me. So, in that regard,
I guess I have followed your advice throughout the years.
I hate
that you never got to see your grandson, or your great-grandchildren. I am pretty sure you would have been the best
granddad ever and I try to live up to what I think you would have done. I am thankful that you did get to meet the
wonderful woman that God had for my life mate and got to stand beside me as my
best man! I just wish we had had more
time together in my adulthood when I no longer thought I knew it all and didn't
need to listen.
You
served faithfully throughout your life.
You served our country overseas during WW II. You served our God faithfully in our church
and took your boys to church (whether they always wanted to go or not!). You served our family, providing a home for
us and for your Mom, Dad, and brother.
You worked night shift at the mill, days on the farm, and still found
time to coach baseball and attend every sporting event I ever played through
high school. You took us on trips and adventures. You taught us to work and to play, to know
the difference, but to understand they could sometimes overlap! Never did I
doubt that you loved God, loved my brother and me, and loved our mother. You taught me quiet strength, determination,
and compassion.
I pray
that I have passed some of those traits down to my son, so that he can pass
them on to his. I pray that Shay will
think of me as highly as I think of you and your memory. As we look at pictures of you, me, Shay, and
now Micah, the physical similarities are evident, but I pray the character is
even more so. I am pretty sure that any beneficial
things that Shay has experienced from his father are the direct result of what you implanted in
my life. Thank you for the gifts you gave me in life and the memories that I cherish today!
Your grateful son,
Mike
