On this Father’s Day, I honor my father, a man of great strength and wisdom, who has left us a godly legacy of firm conviction and principle, hard work ethic and generosity. I am so blessed to be his daughter.
Mom & Dad arriving to the tornando scene after being released from the hospital. Left is the neighbor's house, one of the few left standing, becoming "central command center". Right is their house.
Daddy, a strong, healthy, hard-working man in his early sixties had a massive heart attack the morning before we lost everything in a tornado that evening. The trauma of it all was overshadowed by the life-hurling events of the evening, but his near-death experience, with Mom and me beside him, was probably more traumatic, a moment cruelly burned in my memory.
Driving him to the hospital, watching him squirm with pain, then leaning forward, almost limp by the time we arrived, screaming at mom to drive faster…this couldn’t be happening.
He said goodbye, and I thought I would never see him again. So sudden, so unexpected, and the whole world seemed to spin out of control for a time as my brain tried to wrap around Mom’s crushing grief, how we would do things on the farm without him, how much we would miss his patriarchal wisdom that even my husband was accustomed to beseeching.
I simply crumbled onto the floor, my body refusing to hold up such astonishing grief.
And then finally, the reality that he was going to live. The sudden surge of relief, gratitude and overwhelming emotion.
More than likely, the day will come again and I will say goodbye. And my heart will break. But knowing this life isn’t the end and that I’ve been privileged to have him this long is a gift.
Taking our family for granted is so, so easy. As I reflect, writing this post, I will purpose to live and love more intentionally.
7 comments
I feel so blessed to have Godly children to continue a hertiage for the Lord. I even have one daughter that writes so well, she can even make a calloused old man shed tears on fathers day. I love you Kelly.
Dad
It is so SWEET to see a father & his daughter have such a wonderful relationship! Kelly has been such a blessing in my life. Thank you for being her father & raising such a fabulously wonderful daughter!
Erica,
What a kind comment…thank you!
Kelly-
You are MORE than welcome. You have been such a blessing to me (and ultimately my whole family). I thank God daily for leading me to your blog. I have grown so much as a Christian because you challenge me to do better in everything I do. Your thought provoking posts really make me think & delve deeper into reading my Bible to discover more. It has led me to become more of a helpmeet to my DH instead of trying to control everything since I have been a Christian longer I figured that made me mroe mature in my walk with Christ (more of an expert), but after reading your blog & interacting with the wonderful women who comment I have started to see God using my DH in ways I never imagined…and I found out he was right about so much stuff that I had to ask his fogiveness for not trusting him enough. You are having a major trickle effect on my whole family and ultimately those we interact with. Your father sounds like one amazing man…you are blessed to have him, as he is to have you!
Hope you are enjoying your “break” & give that little guy hugs & kisses from me. I look at his pictures and just want to smell his hair (I love baby smell!) and pinch thsoe little chubby cheeks!!!
Okay, and now I’m crying at your dad’s response. Thank you, Kelly, for this precious reminder! What a privilege we have as moms to teach our children to honor their fathers. Your due date is this week, I see. I’m praying for you, and waiting for you to share your wonderful news.
Wasn’t that sweet? Dad commenting on the blog 😉 Thank you for your prayers. I am so ready to have a baby.
My Dad, who is 71 now, had a MASSIVE heart attack last August. The day AFTER he hosted my 40th birthday party at his house! Thankfully due to modern medicine, he is fine,. Had two stents placed in his heart and spent a week in the hospital but by the grace of God he is fine! We lost my 53 yr old Maternal grandfather due to a massive heart attack in 1980. He passed away the next day after his heart attack. If he’d have had his heart attack in this era, he’d be alive and well I’m sure. It’s amazing the advanced modern medicine has made in the last 32 years!