For My Dad

An ‘open letter’ to my Dad.

Dear Dad:

Hope you and Mum are well in your crib there in Jamaica.  On this yet another birthday that God has spared your life to see, I just want to thank God for all His blessings in allowing you to stay in the land of the living so long.

Celebrating your birthday always puts me in memory of your care for us as you children.  I thank God that you diligently sought to serve us in the best way you could and sacrificed any sense of personal ambition for the continued welfare of your wife and children.

Thanks Dad for setting an example to my brother and I about what real manhood is all about.  Growing older with so many other models presented, I know that any sense of responsibility, honour, perseverance, respect, dignity and integrity came from seeing you in action.   The unassuming way in which you would just carry out what you needed to do and do it with joy not looking for any thanks or the like, has been a constant reference for me when I struggle in those areas.

A word I will forever link with you, Dad, is equanimity.  Not that you ever used it, but the consistency and unwavering approach to good times and bad let me know that your trust remained in God.  In all things I can still hear you sin ‘why worry about tomorrow’, and you certainly didn’t let it bother you.  It was so inspiring to see you live the words you spoke of and be on the same track growing in Christ all the time.

Dad, thank you for not thinking that I was failure.  Thank you for not condemning me where others did, and thank you that in most things you were not concerned about the welfare of your son, but you really did leave everything in the hands of the Lord, knowing He would work everything out.

Thanks for your patience with me.  It is only now with children of my own that I begin to appreciate just how much you and Mum had to cope with in raising children like us in the way of the Lord.  That you did so and never gave the impression it was something you didn’t want to do, is a hallmark of what makes you one of the men I most admire.

Your faithfulness to God and love for His Word have indelibly informed my own love for God, and though I have grown in different ways to you, there are some fundamentals that you upheld, which I’ve grown to see as fundamentals well worth adhering to.  The quest to learn and grow and develop was so impressive from you Dad, that I never want to reach the stage where I am complacent in my walk with Christ.

Dad, I am certain that any success I have has aspects of your signature in it, and I am tremendously blessed to have you as my Dad.  Thank you so much for everything.  I love you, Dad.

Oh and thanks for the sense of humour – people keep asking me where I get it from, and although I didn’t get it from you, there has to be someone to blame, and I’m glad you were on hand to assist!

Happy birthday, Dad.  I pray that God blesses you richly to continue to enjoy every moment you have in His presence.

For His Name’s Sake

Shalom

dmcd