My dad

Six months have gone by since my dad went to be with the Lord. How I miss
him...there is such risk in love, but oh it is worth it. I have never loved
a man as I loved my dad...the power of God's redemption is unfathomable. My
dad didn't have an easy life. His mother died when he was twelve and his
father ended up in prison for making liquor during the prohibition, thus
loosing all of their property. Leaving home when he was fourteen, he lived
with uncles who gave him work for food and lodging. He became an iron
worker at age sixteen and entered the army at seventeen...i think he forged
his birth certificate to get in. He served during the testing of the
Hydrogen bomb on the Canary Islands and saved a man from drowning by diving
to the bottom from a ship. Throughout my dad's life he received awards and
honors for his leadership, safety, and dedication to his work and men. He
was a great provider for his family and loved my mom dearly, particularly
the last twenty-six years during his forced retirement--he was injured when
one of the bridges he was working on collapsed. That same morning he gave
his resignation because the management was forcing the foreman's to take
short cuts. I can remember my dad telling me that someone was going to get
killed on this job because of the shortcuts and he was going to have to
quit. Seven men were killed that day...if the management had only listened
to his warnings weeks prior.
I didn't see my dad much growing up because he worked away most of
the time and when he was home, he was always catching up on work or sleep or
preparing for work on Monday. He was the superintendant on most of the iron
working jobs he worked on. Life was not always easy at home...dad at one
time had a drinking problem..the stress of the job was just too much for him
and he didn't know the Lord at the time. This was a very tense time in our
family...i lived in constant fear. But thanks to my mom's commitment to
their marriage, they worked this out and my dad stopped drinking for the
next forty years.
When I was in college I worked for my dad one summer as an iron
worker. I thought I was the coolest twenty year old alive...walking the
steel a couple hundred feet in the air; wearing the construction clothes,
and the belt with the bucket of bolts, and the hell dog gun that sheared off
the rivets. I thought it was really cool when they would send me notes in a
newly welded mailbox that the men made from the upper deck...until later I
learned that they were making fun of me for working in the same spot for too
long---thus the mail box!
But I was amazed at the respect the men gave my dad...from the oiler
to the owners, everyone loved my dad...i have never known of anyone who
didn't love my dad...i have never known a man like him in my life...i was so
privileged. And I will always be thankful that I had the privilege of
introducing my dad to the Lord...actually I didn't even do that...he just
started reading the Lamplighter books on his own and found the Lord himself.
It was so beautiful to experience and so wonderfully genuine. I will never
forget his call to me: "Mark, I am learning about God for the first time in
my life!" and "Mark, I never knew how far away from the Lord I was."
Well, I found this picture on my phone, and I don't know how it got
there. This was taken I believe when my dad was first brought to the
hospital. The next day he became septic and all his vital organs shut down.
He fought for his life and recovered twice. The second time even the doctors
were considering it to be miraculous but on Feb 12, three months of staying with my dad in the ICU and then finally about to be released, one of the nurses
punctured his lung accidentally and my dad slowly slipped from my hands into
the hands of the Lord. So I thought I would write about my dad tonight as my
body is adjusting to the jet lag. I can't wait to
see him again...it is going to be a reunion that will be remembered for
all eternity! As you can see in the photo, he was always smiling...even in the hospital...i will never forget his smile...i hope i can smile as much.
We are not like those who have no hope!