Saturday, February 18, 2012

The Daddy I Love!

Today is a special day, and has been for my entire life! It is the day I share with my Daddy, celebrating our birthdays together! When Mom was expecting me, I was due on his birthday, and Daddy told her they weren't going to the hospital until that day! And good thing it worked out, or Mom would have been miserable!
I want to share a few special things I have learned from my Dad. He is a man of few words, and little emotion. But he is a big man, and in my book, a man after God's own heart. What I have learned from the wonderful man I call "MY DAD":
  • Don't worry about what others think. He has always been a man who did what he thought was right, despite what anyone else thought of him, or how they judged him. He has been the man who was faithful to church when hardly anyone else in his family was. (That has since changed since several others are now :) He kept us in Christian school and home school, despite people telling him we should go to school so we could play ball. There were many times in my high school and college days when I would get worried about what others were thinking or saying. And Daddy would reassure me that I was doing fine and needed to stop worrying about what others think. It was a rock in my life.
  • After Pawpaw Snow died in 1997, we were driving back that night after the funeral. I knew Dad was very sad and I had seen some tears in his eyes throughout the evening. On the way home, he said, "You know, God's grace really is sufficient." And that stuck in my mind. I have never forgotten it. He was sad, absolutely! He would miss his dad. But he was trusting the Lord in His grace, and that spoke volumes!
  • My Daddy taught me that we go to church! It so saddens me in the day we live, that so few children are taken to church. They don't even know how to sit quietly. Many have never even heard the name of "Jesus." But my Daddy took us. We knew when we woke up on Sunday morning... we're going to church! And because of that faithfulness, I'm so glad I have known the Lord practically my whole life. And many struggles have been taken from me because of this. Not that I could never do wrong!! But I'm thankful that the "choice" of church attendance was taken from me. I'm glad they didn't let me make my "own decisions" when I was a child!
  • This one is far less touching... he taught me to drive! Mom and I were joking the other day about how she was horrible to learn to drive with. She has always been a high-strung panicker! So, Daddy was always our choice for the passenger seat when we were learning. He was so calm and quiet. He would gently tell us, "Okay, you need to start slowing down now." :)
  • He also taught me to keep up with things. He took very good care of his personal things. He never threw things around or left something laying out in the yard. If one, just one of his thirty ink pens was missing off his desk, he immediately knew. I will never understand how he knew, but he did!
  • Men should work! My Dad has worked in the same job for about 35 years now. The same job! He doesn't always love it, it is a job after all. But he has always worked! No wonder marriages fall apart. I could not respect a man that didn't work. Daddy taught me that!
  • The importance of your marriage... my parents will be married 39 years this spring. They have a wonderful marriage. He has always taken great care of Mom. He adores her, and laughs at her and calls her cute. He's not too "macho" to hold her hand in a store. Therefore, his wife adores him! Many questions were removed from our early marriage because of the amazing examples I had seen patterned every day of my life. My Daddy taught me how important yoru marriage is, and I'm grateful.

There are SO many things I could post of my Dad. I love him. I recently read a book called Strong Fathers Strong Daughters. It is a tremendous book and I highly recommend it. As I read it, I realized what a rock my dad has always been for me. I knew he was always there. I could count on him. I wasn't afraid of him. I didn't wonder if he would come home drunk at night. And I firmly believe that because of these things, I have trusted God. I believe that parents ARE God to a young child. All my little boys and girl know about God is what I tell them, and what I am. That's what my Daddy did for me... taught me about God. And he taught me with his life, not just his words.

I love you, Daddy! Happy Birthday!

Mom and Dad this summer meeting Eva