About my Dad

This will be my June monthly newsletter column for the church newsletter.


I’m writing this the day after returning from my Dad’s funeral. Since this is for the June newsletter and June is the month we celebrate Father’s Day, I thought it may be appropriate for me to share with you the basic message I shared about my Dad at his service. It may inspire some of you to think about the ways your own fathers have blessed your lives, and hopefully will inspire some of the fathers who read this to think about the legacy you leave in your children.

In the movie It’s a Wonderful Life, Jimmy Stewart’s character is given a view of what the world would be like if he had never been born. I think of that as I consider my Dad’s life because he wasn’t supposed to live past his first day. He was a “blue baby” and was baptized as soon as the pastor could get there because they thought he wouldn’t make it 24 hours. Imagine what this world would be like if they had all been right and Daddy had died on that first day. And that was only the first of his many lives – he had plenty of serious accidents throughout his life that he was lucky to survive including a kick in the head from a cow that left him blind in one eye, a couple of encounters with power take offs (PTO – for those of you familiar with farm equipment) that almost killed him, and a barn that collapsed on him leaving him with a broken back. But somehow that man managed to live 95 years – longer than any of his eight siblings (although Aunt Wolga is only 90, so she could still outlive him.)

There were five full pews of his children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren who would not be here if that “blue baby” had not lived. There were five full pews of us who would never have been blessed with his wisdom and all he had to teach us if any of those “nine lives” had been his last. My Dad was the best teacher I’ve had in my life – and I’ve had some pretty darn good teachers. But Dad didn’t teach with lectures or sermons or books. He taught me by letting me watch him live. He taught me by modeling for me how to live a life of faith and hope and love.

All that Dad taught me can best be summarized in one verse: And now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; and the greatest of these is love. (1 Corinthians 13:13) Dad taught me more about faith than all of my seminary professors and pastors combined. No offense to any of them, but Dad showed me what it looks like to live by faith and to live out my faith with all that I am. He taught me that faith is more than words. Faith is action. Faith is life lived to its fullest and best, and in service to the world.

Dad taught me about hope too. He taught me that hope is not about things we hope for, or success or fame or wealth. What Dad hoped for was that his children and grandchildren would just be happy – happy with life, happy with what they have, happy with who they are. Perhaps a better word would be content. Hope is about being content and not anxious or oblivious to the joy that is right in front of you. Hope is seeing through eyes of faith. (Again, back to faith.) Hope is what gives us courage to take risks and to stand up for what we believe. Hope helps us to speak with passion and conviction. Hope opens our hearts to love.

Which brings me to the greatest thing Dad taught me - love. Like with faith, Dad showed me that love is more than words. He loved Mom more than life itself. He loved his children – each one of us the same, and he would have loved more if God had given him more, as he told me. He clearly adored his grandchildren. And you should have seen his face light up with joy and love when one of his great-grandchildren came running into the room. But Dad’s love was not just for his family. Dad loved everyone. Dad was respectful and caring toward every person he met. I can’t recall ever hearing him say a bad thing about anyone (except maybe a president or politician, but if he met them personally he would probably have found something good to say about them too.) He helped anyone who needed help. He hurt for those who suffered. He stood up for those who suffered injustice. He loved with the same conviction of faith and hope that guided him in all his life. Yes, the greatest of these is love.

My Dad may be gone now, but faith, hope and love abide still. They abide in all of us who learned from him and who carry on in this world yet. We honor Dad by living with the faith and hope and love that he instilled in us. We honor God, who blessed Dad in this life and blessed us with Dad. We honor God by passing on that same faith, hope and love to the generations who follow us. That’s what makes life wonderful.