Thanksgiving
Day, Thursday, November 24, 2022
Be thankful in all
circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus. 1 Thessalonians 5:18
Seven years ago on a rainy August morning, I awoke to
find that our little dog Wellie’s hind legs had become paralyzed. A few
hours later I got the call from my brother Thom that our Dad had graduated to
the Church Triumphant.
When big things happen in your life, especially on the
same day, you remember that day clearly, and with an intensity of
emotion. I don’t know how more oddly-connected two
events could be – the death of my father joined in my memory to a dog’s health
issue. But there are some similarities.
There is pain
While our vet assured us our little fur-beast feels no
pain, the look of bewilderment on his little face that morning, and the growing
sense of loss was unmistakable. Perhaps the harsh reality of seeing a
little animal suffer helped prepare my heart for what was to come just moments
later, when I would hear the words that Dad had passed.
There is also patience
My father was not a patient man. He could get
excited about the prospect of getting something accomplished in an intense way that
was so focused, all else had to be put on-hold. You could see it in his
eyes, and it always meant you could get on board or you could stay
behind!
Sometimes it took great patience just to be around my
Dad; navigating his energetic ways caused patience to develop in those who knew
him well.
Our little Wellie’s paralyzed legs have forced him to
slow down. I had to re-learn patience as I help him up and down stairs,
and do the mundane tasks that were taken for granted before.
There is perseverance
Wellie is not a little dog to be denied! When it is supper time he lets you know with that stare and incessant barking, right in your face! He maintains his space, and will not be pushed aside.
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My Dad also paid attention to the important things.
He loved my Mother and his sons fiercely and faithfully. He loved
and served God with whatever lot God placed in his hands. Even in his
nineties Dad could be seen in the halls of the local nursing homes limping
along with his cane, visiting (as he called them), the old people, bringing the joke-of-the-day and
a smile to each room.
My father was a man of perseverance, overcoming his
depression-shortened education with a lifelong thirst for learning. He
would make the most of his annual vacation time by visiting historic sites in
the United States.
Perhaps what I will remember most is Dad’s integrity, a
character strength which balanced-out his impatience and perseverance.
Somehow this ordinary man had an extraordinary impact on those with whom he
shared this life.
One story my Mother told me was how Dad worked his way
up to be the foreman’s assistant at the aviation plant during World War
II. He supervised a dozen workers. After the war the need for
planes eased up, and with it came layoffs. One day the boss came to him
with the list of people Dad would have to give notice of termination. One
of those men had a large family, and had been a faithful employee for
years. My Father tried to reason with the boss that the man shouldn’t be
on the list. Another employee, a young girl had only recently been hired;
it was only right that she be let go, because she was living with her parents,
and the economic hardship would be less than someone with so many depending on
his paycheck. The boss refused; Mom said they later learned it was
because the boss was pursuing her romantically. When Dad found this out
he refused to fire the man with the family. The boss said: you either put his
name back on that list, or put your own on there in his place.
And that is exactly what he did!
At times I have been faced with ethical decisions, and
it is my Dad’s integrity, placing faithful commitment to doing what’s
right, above career, money or comfort, which helped build in me a
moral compass based upon kingdom principles. Whatever sense of character
I possess, my Father was a Godly teacher who led me to the well.
For You Today
It’s been more than seven years, and the thankfulness for a man’s impact
on a son is still growing. Thanks,Dad!
There are about 2,000 devotional
posts and 400 sermons in the Rocky Road Devotions
library. To dig deeper on
today’s topic, explore some of these:
A Gift in the Basket and The Passover Connection
This
devotional memoir first appeared on Rocky Road Devotions entitled Thanks Dad! August 11, 2016 (updated this date)
Images without citation are
either personal property of the author, or in public domain.
Unless noted, Scripture quoted from The New Living Translation©
