The best gift my father ever gave me
I was 14 years old standing in the bow of our bass boat dropping a heavy weighted jig down though a crack in the heavy carpet of lilly pads that covered a bend in the little river behind our house. Pop was on the back casting a chrome Rat-L-Trap along the outside edge of those same pads. If you needed either of us around daylight on a Saturday morning, this is where you would have to go. It was a magical place then. The bass would start chasing the shad and the shad would go to the lilies for protective cover. However a hungry bass is relentless and would go in after them. The shad would jump up out of the water landing on the pads flopping around trying to find a way back in. But this is when the birds would swarm in and pick up the stranded shad from the tops of the lilies. It was not a good place to be if you were a shad.
Poppa had lost most of his hearing on the flight deck while serving in Uncle Sam’s Navy during the Vietnam war. So conversation was usually short. Just fishin and grinnin with a few ”atta boys “ thrown in.
This day was different. Before we started home Pop said”let’s sit and talk a while. I want to make sure you understand something.” By this age Pop mostly led by example. I already knew how he and Mother expected me to live and act. Not to mention Sunday school, services, Wednesday nights and summer vacation bible schools and revivals and camp meetings.
He said, “Son, I love you and I’m proud of you. There are some things I want you to never forget. I would use all of my earthly powers to protect you and your sister from the evils of this world. Be it by gun or knife, club or stone. Even my bare hands. I would spend all of my money and there is no distance I won’t travel to come to your aid. But remember this, One day I will be gone but even before that I can fail you. I am just a man. I will disappoint you. But God will never fail you. He is and will be always with you. Put your faith and trust in Jesus, not me.”
I understood this lesson. I had remembered the verse from the Bible in Sunday school that he was paraphrasing. I wasn’t sure why he had chosen this moment to address it and was a bit uncomfortable and I couldn’t ever remember being uncomfortable when we were together. So I tried to say something to move the moment along a bit. “ Pop, you are a great father and could never disappoint me.”
“Son” he said. “I will disappoint you, and you will disappoint me. That’s what humans do. It might not be very bad. Or it may be terrible. What matters is how we Move forward and the only way through those times is Love and prayer.”
Now this was a new lesson! Forgiveness is not easy for us sometimes, but God loves us and forgives us, And he commands us to do the same. In these times prayer is necessary to change our hearts.
And he was right. Eventually each of us got around to finding the time to disappoint the other. But, God’s love healed us . I hope each of you have or had a great father in your life that taught you these lessons. And if you are a father I hope you teach your children about our Heavenly fathers love. Happy Father’s Day .
Love you Poppa