"F" is for Father & More

With Father's Day once again upon us, my mind drifts to growing up years.  How thankful I am for a father who was there for our family.  He was hard working as a farmer, and yet took time for quick getaways to fun places like Yellowstone National Park, the Black Hills and Glacier National Park.  A nice day wasn't always for getting the job done, but also sometimes to take advantage of an opportunity to fly his family across the state to visit his brother's family, or even just to Bismarck for a piece of pie at the airport lunch counter.

The letter "F" seemed to dominate my memories.  Father, farmer, flying, fun.  As my thoughts continued, even more "F" words came to mind. . .faithful, friend, and fighter.  Although his farming profession kept him busy, there was never any doubt he would be there for us at the end of the day.  He had a friendly personality, one which sought to find the good in people and give them a helping hand if he could.  As for being a fighter, it took battling a quadruple bypass surgery, a stroke and prostate cancer before the cancer moving into his bones finally took him at the age of 72.

It seems as history unfolds, there are fewer and fewer families who are blessed to have a father such as mine.  They say a girl often marries someone like their father, and I'm grateful to have found an equally faithful man who became the father of our two children.  We are also blessed by the fact our daughter found a husband of strong character who is the father of our grandchildren.

There are many in this world, however, who do not have such a story to share.  For some, there was no father in the picture.  Others may have had an abusive father, or one who placed family on the bottom of his priority list.  I'm not sure why I was one of the fortunate ones, but you can be sure I count my blessings often!

Whatever your Father's Day memories might hold, be sure to remember you also have a Heavenly Father who longs to have a personal relationship with you.  He speaks lovingly to you through His Word and patiently waits for each of His children to "come home".