A Euglogy of Love Written to My Father.

    

     My daddy will be celebrating his birthday in two days. I have been thinking about writing this blog post for him for months. When I lived in Cleveland I attended a Baptist church there. Some of the ladies would use a term, "I'm giving them flowers." The purpose behind this was to speak love into someone's life while they are here and not wait until they are gone. I am writing a eulogy to my daddy today in honor of his birthday to celebrate another moment with him on this earth.

     Dear Daddy,

     I am writing this to you so that you can know how very much I love you. Memories from my childhood resurface as I type these black words on a blank page. You were my rock and my strength through those days. I remember so vividly your strong hands. They were so big and strong yet so gentle. I was never whipped by those hands, only held. I still love your hands. They are weary, feeble, bent, and painful, but I still feel safe when I'm holding your hand. Your hands to me are a reflection of your heart. Strong, gentle, loving, and giving even though you are broken.

      I love you because of the love and kindness that you show others. Never judging, condemning, always accepting. Even when I start to say something I shouldn't I hear, "now Kimber, you shouldn't judge." I'm laughing now thinking about how you say that I'm not to old to spank. My friends are your children, you make everyone feel that way; welcomed, cherished, and loved.


     I have watched as you and Becky have experienced the greatest loss a family can face. You have walked through that with dignity and grace. Your body wracked by the stress of it all, and still your soul is at peace. I watch as you trust our Father God in this. Teaching me how to believe and follow.

     Are you perfect? NO! You are stubborn, competitive, and have to bid 139 when we play Rook (I will forgive you), but you are good. You are a good daddy that has loved me well.

     I look back over the past two years with anguish and praise. I think back to the hospital stays, the heart attacks, being ask if we want you resuscitated. I look at how God has used you and your near death experiences to touch the doctors and nurses revealing to them who the GREAT PHYSICIAN is. I have truly believed on more than one occasion that it would be our last word spoken, our last time to hold hands, the last of, "I love you." I praise God that He has granted us just one more day.

     Thank you daddy for being an example, a light, and a strong tower for me. I pray that as I give you these flowers today that you will feel loved and cherished. God bless you and keep you, may His face shine upon you, and may your days be long on the earth.

Happy Birthday!!!!