Dear Dad,
I have
thought of you often over the years. This past weekend I went to a Women of
Faith Conference. As I listened to the stories of faith I thought of you, but
when one of the ladies sang “How great thou art”, I remembered that it was a
favorite song of your because your mom played it in so beautifully on the
piano. I don’t know if I ever heard her play it but I can imagine it was
beautiful and it brings tears to my eyes when I think of watching you enjoy the
song and I can see and feel the love you have for your mom and can only imagine
the great memories you have of her.
I wish I
could show you and tell you everything that I feel for you and how thankful I
am to have you as my dad – I would choose no other.
So here are
some of the things I love that you passed on to me:
Thank you
for teaching me to laugh, to play jokes, to have fun and to smile.
Thank you
for allowing me to have horses and learn how to ride – they helped me a lot in
my younger years.
Thanks for
teaching how to give of myself.
Thank you
for being selfless.
Thanks for
loving mom through the really tough times.
Thanks for
loving me through running away, getting married, lies and deceit, and marriage
woes with Ken.
Thanks for
accepting me with all my faults and warts and loving me no matter what.
Thanks for
accepting Joel and giving me away at our wedding. Whoda thought we’d be where we are today in
our marriage, faith, family and life – it’s so awesome!! God has blessed me so
many times in my life with miracles and blessings.
Thanks for
teaching me to fish!
Thanks for
teaching the bible study for two years, what a journey.
Thanks for
giving your life to Christ, heaven will be so awesome and someday we will see
each other again and we will be free of these earthly burdens and we will hold
hands with our Lord and maybe catch a fish or two. I shall never forget our fishing trip to Fish
lake and our being WAY over the limit with pan fish……I think I left you in the back
yard cleaning most of them (sorry).
Remember
when I caught a fish and watched you clean it for the first time, I was so sick
to my stomach I couldn’t eat it ugh…
So many
memories in life, I seem to have so many of them lately. I think you will be
going home soon, when you do I sure hope there is an answer as to why you have
been so sick, I hope I can come to some small understanding of it. It saddens
my heart so much to think of the missed times of fishing with the boys. They
have your love for fishing and it makes me so happy – wish I could do more of
it and I will try to go more. I see my
boys (who would have thought I would have four boys, three being adopted, hunh)
growing so fast lately and I know all too soon they will be off doing their own
life. I hope that they learn from Joel
and me as much as I have learned from you and mom.
