“Happy Birthday, Dad!”

Each year, as July 3 rolls around, I find myself thinking of my Dad.  He was a hard working farmer, who also liked to fly, so aerial spraying was added to his summer duties.  Growing up on a farm was a great childhood, but unlike my siblings, I was not able to ride in the tractors and combines.  Multiple allergies and a battle with asthma kept me away.  I do remember riding along in the small space behind the pilot seat of the spray plane as we went back and forth over the fields.  Perhaps it was Dad’s way of compensating for the fact I couldn’t be a part of the farming action.

Today my devotions were from 2 Peter 1:16-21.  Peter is reminiscing about the time Jesus took him, as well as James and John, up on a mountain where they were eye witnesses of the majesty of their Messiah. Matthew also recorded this event (Matthew 17:1-13), and called it the “Transfiguration” of Jesus, as His face shone like the sun, and His clothes became as white as light.  It was then they were joined by Moses and Elijah, prophets from many years past, and a bright cloud enveloped them.  A voice spoke from the cloud:

“This is My Son, whom I love, with Him I am well pleased.

Listen to Him.”

It was the voice of the Heavenly Father giving affirmation to His Son, Jesus, who had left heaven on an earthly assignment to save the people of the world.  Yes, Jesus was doing a good job, and even today things go best when we listen to Him.

Somehow, to me, it seemed fitting on my dad’s birthday to have a lesson about the relationship between a father and his child.  Dad wasn’t one to verbalize his love for me.  It simply wasn’t a part of his stoic German culture to do so.  And yet, his faithfulness to work hard and provide for our family assured me of his love.  

God called him home when He was 71, and I was only 30.  I was still very caught up in my own world of being a wife and mother of two young kids, as well as having a job outside the home at our local bank.  Now, looking back, there are so many things I would have liked to ask him.  I am thankful for pictures that give me a glimpse into his growing up years, his time in the army, and our life on the farm.  I realized too late the importance of communication between a parent and child, but look forward to eternity with him to fill in the blanks.

As I contemplate where life has brought me since my father’s death, I wonder, what would he say about me now, if he had the opportunity to do so?  Would he say, “This is my daughter, whom I love, with her I am well pleased.”?  Somehow, I would like to think so, and every time I hear an airplane flying overhead, it is as if he is stopping by to say, “Hello!”

The Heavenly Father told Peter to listen to Jesus.  Having spent time with Jesus, Peter tells us in 2 Peter 1:19 to pay attention to the voices of the prophets, which were made more certain as Jesus fulfilled their words.  Through the years, these words made their way through history and impacted the life of my dad, so he, in turn, could impact mine.  For this I am thankful.  “Happy Birthday, Dad!”