My Dad

I have written this post about 100 times in my head, and I have typed it a few more after that. This may end up being jumbled thoughts; but my hope is that you understand the depths to which I love my Dad.

If you had asked me when I was younger if I was spoiled and if I took my dad for granted I would have been affronted that you even asked such a question, an emphatic "of course not!" Would have been my reply. The truth is I was very spoiled and had no idea how much I took for granted. I don't really know how my dad raised 4 girls by himself; just raising me would have been hard enough! He is hands down the most self-sacrificing person I know.

I decided to narrow this down to the 4 biggest lessons that I have learned from my dad, otherwise I would type forever. (4 is a strange number too choose, but 3 wasn't enough and I don't like odd numbers very much... Unless they are multiples of 5. But I digress..)

 1. A reverence and deep love for scripture.
     The first thing that comes to mind are the times that we would be listening to a hymn in the car and as we pulled into the driveway my sisters and I would try to get out of the car, but my dad wouldn't have it. We would sit in the driveway until he learned every word by heart. He would ask us if we understood what we were singing and then tell us how thankful he is that the Lord would save someone like Him.

2. Thankfulness.
    My dad will look around and see what The Lord has blessed Him with and become overwhelmed with thankfulness. Growing up he would often talk to us about how we should be thankful, and would sing count your blessings. Paul once described himself as the utmost of sinners in 1Timothy 1:15 "it is a trustworthy statement and deserving of full acceptance that Christ Jesus came into the World to save sinners, of whom I am foremost of all." I believe it is this mentality that makes my dad  thankful, and also which leads me to number 3.

3. Humility.
     My Father is humble. He is ready to seek council, he is ready to hear where he is wrong and have his sin pointed out. He would rather go through the painful process of having his weaknesses pointed out than to live in sin. I have never known him to be without many counselors.

4. Forgiveness.
    I know the depths of my Fathers forgiveness because I have been forgiven by him the deepest. I am fully ashamed to say i have hurt him in my sin and disobedience, however, I have learned much about my Heavenly Father through the unconditional love of my earthly father. He is quick to forgive and bring me back into the fold.

 Kyle may not know it, but the times he compliments me the most are when he tells me I am like my father. I'll do something or get passionate about something, and he'll say " you get that from your dad". I just smile, but he doesn't know the joy it brings me to be compared to my daddy.