My dad has a lot in common with someone famous.
I watched the last couple minutes of a 60 Minutes interview with Ted Kennedy’s son, Ted Kennedy Jr. I was impressed with one statement he made. He said, ”My dad was not a perfect man. He made lots of mistakes, but he spent the last days of his life trying to right the wrongs he had made.” (Paraphrased)
When I saw the interview, I couldn’t help but think about my dad’s story. Without giving all the details, my dad would readily admit that he has made a lot of mistakes in his life. We could pretend those days never happened, but the fact is that his alcoholism and the times of separation from my mom and his children caused scars in the life of his family.
Today my dad is a new man. He has been sober for many years and he and my mother are now very happily married. He loves his children and wants nothing more than to be with them and his grandchildren just think of him as Pa Pa, with no personal knowledge of years gone by. He is active in church, loves to share Scripture with others, and would help anyone who needed a hand.
Perhaps that is what the writer of Ecclesiastes meant in Chapter 7, verse 1, which says, “A good name is better than fine perfume, and the day of death better than the day of birth.” I learn from watching my dad’s life that finishing is better than starting and that finishing well by loving God and others is the end goal of life.
When I meet with people who have made mistakes in life in my role as a pastor, I am always less concerned with where they have been or what they have done wrong. I am always more concerned with where they want to go in life and how dedicated they are to get there. My dad is an example of someone that wants to end well. I believe his legacy will prove he achieved his goal.
Love you dad! Thanks for paving a good path for others to follow.
My dad was the best man I ever knew. He was always there for us growing up, he was a teacher so he had school hours, my mom was a nurse and worked crazy hours. Dad was the chef, the chauffer, the discipliner, but most importantly my best friend. There was never anything I couldn't talk to him about, some things I WOULDN'T talk to him about but he would have listened if I had the courage…..Some of my best and worst days were spent taking care of him his last year of life (he died of Cancer when I was 20). Never doubted he loved me, never doubted God had a plan……………
What a great story and tribute Beth! Thanks for sharing.
I spent most of my childhood full of anger towards my father. He was rarely around when i was young and when he was he didn't seem that into us kids. I grew older and couldn't get away from him. All for the same reason, work. I didnt spend my childhood as a child. I was enslaved. i helped my father working at every job he could find for little or no wages. We fought mostly and never seemed to connect. I eventually ran away from home. It always bothered me but i never cared enough to do anything about it. I joined the army, became a husband, an ex husband, found God, remarried and then became a father of two. I found GOD!!! This changed everything. i realized my father was just doing everything he could to support us. I realized i became the man i was bc of who he was. Now i look to him for wisdom bc he always had the common sense i lacked. I learned the man i thought i hated was the greatest man i ever knew. I strive to improve in the areas he was weak, but always remember his strength.
Wow, that's a great testimony. Thanks for sharing your story Josh. I believe you share it with many other men.
To say I had any kind of relationship with my father would be a stretch. My parents divorced when I was 3 and, despite the fact that he always provided financially for me, he was emotionally absent. He soon remarried and had 2 more children with whom he seemed to have a more fulfilling relationship; this made me feel as if I was "the defective child". I was very fortunate to have a wonderful grandfather (still do-he's 86 now) growing up who filled much of the void that my father left, yet I have still spent most of my life "chasing"my father in an attempt to prove to him that he should love me. This has MOST DEFINITELY affected my journey to faith; I tend to assume things about God that are a direct result of not having unconditional love from my own earthly father. I tend to think that God places conditions on his love for me and that he loves everyone else more than he loves me. This is something I will most likely battle for the entirety of my life. While I firmly believe that God placed my grandfather in my life in order to show me an example of His love, I will always have to battle my feelings of inadequacy.
An excellent word!
I respect your dad a lot myself! He says it like it is and he is the defender of what is good and right in this world. He backed me up when many wouldn’t, and honestly is a local hero of mine.
Thanks Brenda. I know he will be very honored by your comment.