Thanks Dad
As a parent, there are thousand of sacrifices you make for your children that they'll never thank you for. Just the other day I was thinking, "You know what you little rascal, you'll never thank me for this because you won't remember it, but I just got up 5 times with you last night because you weren't feeling good, which trashed my productivity the next day, which put me behind the rest of the week..."
And then I stopped and thought, "Oh, huh, I had a dad too. I'll bet he did that for me a hundred times. Hmm. Did I ever thank him for that?"
It's a humbling thought to realize you've been the recipient of sacrifice that you were unaware of and never gave proper thanks for. So, Dad, it's not much, but on this Father's Day, from a son's overwhelmed and grateful heart, I wanted to say thanks for...
...sitting at the kitchen counter every morning and reading your Bible.
...serving Jesus passionately.
...loving mom tenderly.
...working hard and intentionally building that work-ethic into your two boys.
...answering your cell phone every time I call, even if you're in a meeting. In 31 years, you have never ONCE made me feel like I was an interruption to your day.
...wrestling with my children, just like you did with me and Carey.
...strategically discipling your children, not just hoping the youth pastor would do it.
...laughing uncontrollably over inside family jokes (those that only make sense to people who's last name is McPherson...)
...always being game for a western and ice-cream, no matter how late it is.
...taking our family vacation to build a tree house.
...praying with Carey and I every night growing up.
...reading the picture Bible with such animation that I still get goose-bumps when thinking about David and Goliath.
...being the only dad who took video of his kid at the ball-games (so 20 years later my kids could watch for hours and exclaim "there's daddy!").
...never caring about making a lot of money, but always using well what little you had.
...putting your hand on my shoulder and saying "Great shot son! Couldn't have done it better my self" when I shot my first bear. Which meant a lot, cause that's all I wanted...to do everything just like you did it.
...driving down to Portland the night I called from school, crying, to tell you it was over between me and the girl I was courting, Sharon Barnett.
...standing with me at the front of the church, watching Sharon Barnett walk down the isle, and being the one to introduce, for the first time, Mr. and Mrs. Joshua McPherson.
...praying for me all night when I was in New York City (you know the story...)
...never being consumed with a hobby, but always with Jesus and His Church.
...being the first person I wanted to call when Sharon and I found out about Ella's diagnosis.
...making a 20 year ministry-plan on your 55th birthday.
...being such a good listener.
...being the most patient and compassionate man I know.
...making my wife feel like your own daughter.
...calling me before I preach, every time, to tell me you're praying for a fresh word from the Lord to be born in my soul to feed God's people with.
...being the most patient man I know.
...giving me a love for books.
...still pursuing Jesus at a pace that often makes my own pursuit appear a little lackluster.
...teaching me the value of seeking mentors out and learning from them.
...for taking personal interest in my development as a young man.
...being the greatest man I know, and to this day my most important mentor, my best man-friend, and my hero.
I love you dad, more than you know. It's easy to honor you. You've given your son a life-time of fun, rich, memories. Thanks for being the greatest man I know. And thanks for loving your grandson in how you raised me. May God give me the strength to be all of this to my son, and may Levi grow up to honor you and serve Christ for the sake of the gospel in his generation, long after you and I are dead and gone. Now that's a legacy. Happy Father's Day.
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