Remembering dads past and present.

You can't hear me but I am trying to catch my breath as I consider how I made it to Friday in one piece. I know, I can only speak for myself and figuring out whether I made it anywhere can be a pretty good chore these days, but I am glad to be here on this Friday, June 18, 2010 where I am thinking about the Father's Day recognition coming up this next Sunday. It's always a bitter sweet time for our family as we think about the dad who left us when we were all just little ones. At age 31, he was hit with a sudden illness that ended up turning into pneumonia which led to congestive heart failure which led to him being pronounced dead which led to us not having him around since January 2, 1954. All of us kids have struggled with this loss so early on in our sojourn here but we are thankful to God for giving us our mom, the strongest woman I have ever known, and someway and somehow, He made a way for us. I know my older sisters remember much more about dad than I do because I, at only seven years old, developed one of those trauma induced problems that causes me not to recall many memories about him. That in and of itself has been somewhat troubling to me over the years as I have stressed and strained to unlock those tucked away files and images. But, God knows best and I have never really known as much as I would like to about this man who gave me life. I do thank God for him, because, as they say, without him I wouldn't be here writing this blog today. May God bless his memory and happy Father's Day dad, I'll see you up there one day and we'll get all of this straightened out, that is, if it really even matters once we all find ourselves in the presence of our Lord and Savior.

After dad left early for his heavenly home going, Mom moved her young family of three girls and three boys to a small rural Louisiana town and took up residence with my mom's parents, Granny and Paw Paw Mac. The photo is of them at their 50th Wedding Anniversary ceremony. He was about as comfortable wearing that suit and tie as a big juicy ice cold watermelon showing up at a butcher knife convention. (That's the best I could come up with on such short notice.) When he died, I never thought he looked much like himself laying in that casket with his glasses on and wearing probably that same suit and tie. My Paw Paw Mac was a man's man. He was a man of the earth. He grew up dirt poor and worked hard his entire life. He was a family man. He was a man of faith. And, he was the man that God put into my life at a time when I needed him to help mold and make me. Maybe I look up to him too much but as far as I am concerned they don't make them like him anymore. He was cut out of a different cloth and while the world saw a simple fellow with very little to offer, we grew to love and appreciate him for the giant he was in our lives. I could not have been more blessed than having this 'dad' in my life and I am forever grateful that I was able to try and demonstrate that to him before he made his journey home. Everyone who knows me can testify to how often I mention this great man who meant so much to me.

Finally, I am thinking about my step dad who has been such an inspiration to us all throughout these many years. What a great husband he has been to our mother as demonstrated in his devotion to her. They are a remarkable couple and we as a family could not have chosen a better man to be our dad. In his card that I sent earlier this week I simply told him that he had been a great example to us all by his determined spirit. I said...You show up every day. You never give up. And, you can always be counted on to be there. Folks, I know we got off to a rough start in losing my dad so early but I hope you can see the grace and goodness of God in His provision to us. He is, after all, our heavenly Father, and He did choose to reveal Himself as our Father in heaven. We count ourselves as blessed to have had these remarkable men in our lives. We pause at this time to remember them along with other dads who have been influential in helping us along the way. I thank God for allowing me to be a dad. While I am still a work in progress, I would love to have been a better one especially when our boys were younger. I also thank God for my boys who are privileged to be dads and I am thankful that we can call on our Father today and with His help we can leave a legacy like these I have mentioned. Happy Father's Day to all the dads and may God bless us all as we seek to be more of what He would have us to be. Amen. .............More later.