MY HERO
This week has been very out of the ordinary for me personally. I have had to come face to face with the reality that my dad can no longer take care of himself. It's quite the pill to swallow and some of you know exactly what I mean. But, at the same time, it has been an incredible week spiritually speaking.
My dad was an alcoholic most of my growing up life. He gave all of that up in the mid 80's and became a very different man. But in August of 1998, he surrendered his life to Christ and began to grow into one of the godliest men I know. He suddenly had a hunger for the Word like no one I have ever known personally. He read the entire bible through 5 or 6 times the first year he was saved and studied it for hours each day. He devoured every Warren Wiersbe book or CD that I gave him. He became really involved in his church and served it well. I was constantly challenged in my walk with the Lord just by observing him.
He can no longer carry on a lengthy conversation and our days of talking about the Word or all the stories behind the many, many old family pictures that he cherished are gone. But, he is a beautiful picture of what it looks like to finish well. The first half of his life was wasted, spiritually speaking, but boy has he made up for it in the last half. He has pressed on and laid hold of that which matters...Jesus Christ! That was so very evident even yesterday as my step-mom and I went through some of his pictures, notes he had taken while listening to sermons, and observations he had made about specific scriptures in the margins of his bible.
My dad is a living, breathing example of how radically Jesus can change a life! My dad is a picture of what it looks like to finish your race well and my dad is my hero for so many reasons! I thank the Lord for giving him to me as a dad and I look forward to every day that I have left to serve him and love him just as he is!
