Yet and Still ...

This is it.  This is the culprit that moved me to tears.  This is the card that I would have given to my Dad if he was still here.  I miss my Dad.  GOD welcomed him home 17 years ago.  And yes, I’m grateful to know that he’s having the best time of his life hanging out with JESUS; chatting with the apostles; laughing with King David, Martin Luther King, Jr., Billy Graham, family members, friends; and with folks you know and love.

Yet and still … I miss my Dad. 

The day before he died, my son, Dad and I celebrated our joint birthdays at a cookout with nearly 100 family members and friends.  My Mom had purchased a massive cake and instead of the usual cone-shaped birthday hats she usually bought, this time was different.  She gave us crowns.  My son and I wore green crowns.  She gave my Dad a gold crown.  He looked happy and healthy.

I was at work when he died less than 24 hours after our birthday celebration.  He had taken my then 4-year-old daughter and 6-year-old son to McDonalds and had a heart attack.  He died a short time later with my mother seated next to his hospital bed. 

When I received the call to go immediately to the hospital, I could hear my heart thumping against my chest as I shouted at every red light that delayed my progress.  And then, I felt the sun on my cheek.  I felt The SON in the deep depths of my sadness.  And then, I felt His peace.

My Dad passed unexpectedly 17 days after Father’s Day – A Father’s Day I will never forget.

On that final Father’s Day, The LORD prompted me to leave my home in North Carolina to travel to Virginia to videotape my Dad -- to record his life story.  And, I did.  I listened and recorded as my Dad shared his earliest memories of growing up in church with his siblings, his days in school, as a commissioned Army officer and as a scientist in his post Army career.  His face lit up as he spoke about courting my Mom in college, their marriage, the birth of my brother and me, the joy of grandchildren and most importantly, his faith in Jesus Christ.

His last recorded words were a reminder to live out the family scripture that has been passed down throughout our family’s generations -- Proverbs 3: 5-6.

“Trust in The LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.  In all thy ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct thy paths.”   

Friends, if your path is directed to visit your Dad or a father-figure in your life on Father’s Day, make the visit.  I’m so thankful that I did.  And, even though this simple card reduced me to tears in the middle of a Dollar Tree store, the tears were out of love for my Dad, gratitude for time well spent and joy in knowing that my Dad is with Our Father.  Because of this, I will see him again.

Yet and still …