Dad’s Tribute

A few years ago I walked through my daddy’s barn for the last time. It had been years since any animals were sheltered there. Beyond the cobwebs and old hay there was a beautiful structure. The hand hewn beams still held straight and true. Sweet memories flooded my mind. He had passed nine years previous. But oh, how I still missed him. I wished so desperately to go back for just a moment and be that little girl who climbed up in the recliner next to him to watch an episode of “Gun Smoke” on the black and white television.

Then, something caught my eye. Hanging on a rusty nail was an old calendar. Written there were feeding instructions for his cattle. Evidently, it was for someone who was doing his chores while he and mom went fishing for a week. In my mind I could still see his hands rough and callused. They were working man’s hands. His finger nails were short and a little gnarled. They were the hands that taught me how to work hard. They were the hands that corrected me when I needed it, because he loved me. He passed on to me his love for the land and the importance of taking care of it. They were the hands of a man that cherished his wife and loved his children. They were the hands of a man that worked a full time job at a factory in town and then came home and farmed his land. They were the hands that drove us to church every Sunday morning. They were the hands that played with us at the lake on summer vacation. They were the hands that clung to life in a hospice room until all six of his children could be there together with him one last time.

The things that really matter in life are not found in material things or social status. They are found in a legacy of love, hard work, and honesty. This is what my earthly father knew. It is what our heavenly Father wants us to pass on to our children.

“A good man leaves an inheritance [of moral stability and goodness] to his children’s children….”
Proverbs 13:22

Thank you, Dad, I love you, and I will never forget all that you taught me.
See you soon.