How have the Mighty Fallen!



My parents on their 68th anniversary


 Originally written on August 24, 2014 upon the passing of my wonderful father into eternity
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To all my wonderful family---

Today we lost our father, our grandfather, our great-grandfather, our in-law, etc.  Though few can suspect it yet, who are not related to us, the world has also lost a great soul as well. I do not mean great in the typical way the world counts greatness—he left behind few possessions; he never managed to acquire much wealth that wasn’t already owed to someone else somewhere, and he never lead any army into military battle etc. However he was great in CHARACTER. Great in the way the world deeply longs for greatness-- but rarely sees. Great in that he reflected to the world, and especially to those of us who knew him best, more of the Image of God than most of us have found elsewhere in our travels. Things like FAITHFULNESS, HONOR, HUMILITY, TRUSTWORTHINESS, DEPENDABILITY, COMPASSION, PATIENCE, KINDNESS; all wrapped up in a servant’s heart.  Many men possess some or a few of these qualities in good measure. But we were blessed to find them all residing in him at once. That is why so many of us struggled with the pain of not being able to have as much time or develop as much of a relationship with him as we wanted—we felt cheated to have to share him with so many others when we needed him more for ourselves. But he was only one man. How one man was able to divide himself among so many needy little people without losing his mind is astounding to contemplate. He did it though--by never taking time for himself. Rare were the fishing trips that, even there, he didn’t have to take someone with him for company. But he didn’t complain. He merely used it as time to give us even more of himself than we were normally able to get. He stayed with his wife FAR, FAR beyond the limits that most of us—even the ones who love their spouses the most—could have or would have endured. Why?-- I asked him that once. He told me that when he made his wedding vows he knew he was not making them merely to my mother, but to God as well; and that even if he could walk away from my Mom, he could never walk away from God, and still have his honor. He intended to keep his vows until death as he had promised. And so he did.

I could stop writing right there and it is enough to meditate on for the rest of our lives. But he was so much more. He had such a big heart---such a reflection of God’s welcoming love. He didn’t care or hardly noticed that some of his grandkids were bi-racial, or mentally challenged etc. They were just his grandkids; “the kids” he called them. They were all his, and he loved them all dearly. If you were related to him you can be completely assured that he prayed for you on a regular basis. That he worried over you when you were having difficulty. That if he was able, he would sell what he needed to keep himself, in order to get money to keep you out of jail, or from being evicted. He never complained that it meant he was paying the consequences for your actions---because he loved you. It was just something he regarded as his role as your relative. In this also he reflected to us the heart of God, who paid the ultimate consequence for our mess, in sending his Son Jesus to die to set us free.

I believe in eternal security today. I believe God will always forgive me and stand by me. Why—merely because the Bible says so? No. That should be enough. But I have the added benefit as my father’s daughter of having had his living example: If my dad, a husband who was mistreated and hurt many times over by his bride could always love her forgive her, and restore her despite herself, being only a mere man—HOW MUCH MORE can the heart of God be faithful to me who has walked such a crooked path to his kingdom? No, God will receive me there with open arms, just as he has happily welcomed my dad today; with the loving, “Well done, thou good and faithful servant”. May we his family all follow him there, by shining forth that same Image of the Glory of God to the world we have been left behind in. He would be praying for nothing less now from those of us left on earth, who have been blessed to bear his name.         You’ll always have my heart, daddy…..




He could always take my heart of stone and melt it with his love