2020: Happy Birthday, Dad

Today would have been my dad’s 97th birthday, something I really can’t wrap my mind around—how can that much time have elapsed???? He’s been dead for almost 16 years and I still miss him. Oh, don’t misunderstand. I know where he is and I am not unhappy for him because he is enjoying his well-deserved rest with the Lord as he awaits his new resurrection body. So no regrets there.

No, I just miss him. I miss being around him and enjoying his company. I miss his gentle humor and his great wisdom. I miss his huge heart and him being the patriarch of our family.

God blessed me richly in giving me a father who loved me and served as a great role model for me and the community in which he lived. For that I am thankful and I try to conduct myself in ways that would make him proud. That’s easier said than done for me, however.

Happy birthday, dad. I love you. Thank you for giving me the greatest gift a son could ever want—you.