In Honor of Father's Day

Well that day on the calendar has come and gone that is reserved for dear ole dad. Each year I dutifully look for some appropriate expression of my thoughts, but I always feel a little misrepresented by the store bought cards. Some are too sentimental, some try too hard to be manly while others attempt humor that just never seems to be truly funny. And so I sign my name to the best compromise I can find and hope that my dad knows that I'm thinking of him even if the words are a little goofy or sappy.

I think my problem with finding the perfect card is that none of them accurately represent my dad. He's never been a very sentimental guy although I know his feelings run very deep. I wouldn't describe him as macho although he has never shied away from hard work. When it comes to getting a job done he is the first one in and the last one out. He is not a humorist but he does enjoy a funny store or a clever joke and when he finds one worth telling he will do so with aplomb.


Those things in which Dad found significance are probably the things that have shaped my adult life the most. He loved God. He worked hard. He served others. He was faithful to his commitments. Each one of those simple statements could be developed more fully but I'll refrain for now.

A year ago I had the privilege of taking Dad with me to Poland. It was a trip of a life time for him and he participated fully. Whether it was the long flight, unfamiliar food, the interaction with students at Graceland Ministries, the visit to Wawel castle, the 700 steps at the salt mines in Wieliczka and the sobering day at Auschwitz, he took it all in stride.

Probably the memory of that trip that will live longest with me was when one morning at our group devotional time Dad lead out in prayer. It was a prayer like I had often heard him pray when I was a kid, but not for quite some time as an adult. It wasn't that it was profoundly worded or well organized - it was my earthly father speaking to our heaven father about the things that concerned him. His family, scattered all over the continent, ministries and missionaries that he has followed for years, friends who were sick or facing difficulty and so on. Somehow his words were like anchors or a foundation that connected me strongly to the past and the heritage of faith that has become mine.

As my dad reaches his mid seventies he shows very few signs of slowing down. His life is still filled with ministry and purpose just as it always has been. On the phone a few weeks ago dad asked, "So when ya goin' back to Poland?" I know the unasked question was "Do ya think I could go along?" Absolutely - anytime.

Thanks Dad, for your life, your love and your faith.