A Tribute to My Dad: Twenty Years

It's September 17, 2013.  Today marks 20 years since my Daddy passed away.   Today, I am doing okay, but just a couple of days ago, I felt a sudden rush of emotions while driving to the grocery store, of all places!  The afternoon sun was bright and warm, but a cool breeze rushed through my open windows and I noticed a small leaf stuck to one of my windshield wipers.  All of a sudden, I knew how close we were to this anniversary of my dad's death and I felt like I would cry. Since I was on a short trip to the store, I focused on my list of items and did not take to time to feel my emotions.

Before he passed away, I just thought that September kind of blended in with August or October, depending on the temperature.  Now, there is a distinct kind of September day that makes me feel like I am packing up clothes from my dorm room in the middle of the night to drive home after saying goodbye to my Daddy or standing out in my front yard, visiting with my college friends after the funeral.

I can't believe it's been 20 years, but in some ways it feels like it wasn't that long ago.  However, I was only 20 years old that September and somehow I am twice that age now!  Instead of dating a college senior, we have been married for 18 years and have children who are 12 and 10 years old.  How did the time go by so quickly?  My younger sisters have also grown up, married and had families of their own.  My mother now has gray hair and her injuries just don't heal as quickly.  Yes, things have changed.

However, I think something that has not changed is our love for Dad.  We don't sulk around and cry about him every day, but he would be disappointed in us if we did!  I hope that in my work I am still shining some of his light into this world.  I know that my husband carries on his legacy of working to serve in the healthcare field of our community.  My husband carries similarly heavy burdens on his shoulders every day to the ones that my dad carried.  I know that Dad would LOVE his grandchildren and if he were here he would make them laugh with funny stories of their mothers when we were little and silly songs and games.  He would be here to encourage me when I doubt myself, like he always did.  He would still be showing love and kindness to the poor and destitute of our community.  He left a legacy and it's still here, in each one of us who knew him.

I hope that one day, my own children and friends and family will really know that I loved them.  I hope that they will remember my love and not the times I lost my temper or made mistakes.  I hope that they will know how much I love Jesus and how important it is to me that we all love the Lord so that one day we can be together forever.  I hope that they might someday understand that although I was not the perfect mother or teacher or neighbor, but that I was the best wife, mother, daughter, sister, and friend that I could be and that they would forgive me when I didn't measure up.  I think that's what we all hope.

Hundreds of people stood in line for hours to visit with us at the funeral home when my Dad died.  He touched so many lives.  We are blessed to live here where people still remember him and have stories to share with us.  I hope that I have made an impact that is eternal and lasts beyond myself.  Who knows what difference we will make each day in the lives of those around us?  I thank God for my Dad and his example of service and ministry right here in his "own backyard."  I also thank God for the wonderful earthly father that He gave to me and the example he was to all of us.

Whether I have another 20 or 40 or 50 years left on this earth, I plan to keep following the Lord and loving those around me, so that I, too, can make a difference!