In 1984, my dad turned 49, which is where I'm nearly at. Just a couple more months. It's weird to think about the fact that when my dad was my age, he already had four kids in college. My oldest son is (hopefully!) going to enter college next year. That's what happens when you get into the whole marriage / family thing at a later age. Good thing, though, because I wasn't nearly ready for marriage any earlier (and, in some ways, still wasn't ready at 29!).
So I was pondering where my dad was when he was where I am, when his first child was about to enter college, and trying to do the math in my head (which hurts!), and came up with 1978. Spring/summer of 1978. Do you remember 1978? Dad was only 43. Just a kid. Yet he had already accomplished a great deal by that time. Been a school teacher for years. Worked with numerous churches out in California. Doubled the size of his house. Left his extended family and friends to go to preaching school and fufill a dream. Finished Personal Evangelism school. Moved his family from Atwater to Harrison to Arlington to Richmond. Preached, walked door-to-door to talk to people about Jesus, visited people in hospitals and nursing homes to bring them comfort. Led singing, taught classes, spent innumerable hours in people's houses to bring them closer to God.
What amazes me most is how much more he went on to do. He had barely gotten started in Virginia, and even though he had already done a great deal of work by then, his greatest work was yet to come. He would continue to start churches, preach the Word, evangelize, fellowship, and make friends everywhere he went.
That thought gives me hope. Because even though we can't stop getting older, we don't have to stop learning and growing and changing and accomplishing.
I remember my days in Virginia with great fondness, and it never occurred to me that Dad was going to continue to make changes in his life as he went along. It had always been my assumption that Mom and Dad would live the rest of their lives in Richmond, with Mom as a nurse and Dad as an evangelist, while the rest of us would go out and do whatever it is that people do when they leave home; that we would come back and visit every once in a while and they would always be there in that lovely old house with the big barn in the back, maybe a little grayer, maybe a few more wrinkles, but always there.
But Dad is not the type to sit on laurels or get comfortable when there is still work to be done. He's a great doer; when he sees something that needs to be done, he gets up and does it. So when he got the call to go to Texas, he went. And got involved in churches. And built church buildings. And preached and teached and sang and fellowshipped and comforted and helped people. And built a new shop. And built all kinds of furniture. And repaired people's houses.
It's amazing the things he's done in the past twenty-four years. If I'm half as productive as he is over the next twenty-four years, I'll be a happy man.
Meanwhile, Dad, I wish you a Happy Birthday, with many more to come. You're an inspiration!
So I was pondering where my dad was when he was where I am, when his first child was about to enter college, and trying to do the math in my head (which hurts!), and came up with 1978. Spring/summer of 1978. Do you remember 1978? Dad was only 43. Just a kid. Yet he had already accomplished a great deal by that time. Been a school teacher for years. Worked with numerous churches out in California. Doubled the size of his house. Left his extended family and friends to go to preaching school and fufill a dream. Finished Personal Evangelism school. Moved his family from Atwater to Harrison to Arlington to Richmond. Preached, walked door-to-door to talk to people about Jesus, visited people in hospitals and nursing homes to bring them comfort. Led singing, taught classes, spent innumerable hours in people's houses to bring them closer to God.
What amazes me most is how much more he went on to do. He had barely gotten started in Virginia, and even though he had already done a great deal of work by then, his greatest work was yet to come. He would continue to start churches, preach the Word, evangelize, fellowship, and make friends everywhere he went.
That thought gives me hope. Because even though we can't stop getting older, we don't have to stop learning and growing and changing and accomplishing.
I remember my days in Virginia with great fondness, and it never occurred to me that Dad was going to continue to make changes in his life as he went along. It had always been my assumption that Mom and Dad would live the rest of their lives in Richmond, with Mom as a nurse and Dad as an evangelist, while the rest of us would go out and do whatever it is that people do when they leave home; that we would come back and visit every once in a while and they would always be there in that lovely old house with the big barn in the back, maybe a little grayer, maybe a few more wrinkles, but always there.
But Dad is not the type to sit on laurels or get comfortable when there is still work to be done. He's a great doer; when he sees something that needs to be done, he gets up and does it. So when he got the call to go to Texas, he went. And got involved in churches. And built church buildings. And preached and teached and sang and fellowshipped and comforted and helped people. And built a new shop. And built all kinds of furniture. And repaired people's houses.
It's amazing the things he's done in the past twenty-four years. If I'm half as productive as he is over the next twenty-four years, I'll be a happy man.
Meanwhile, Dad, I wish you a Happy Birthday, with many more to come. You're an inspiration!
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