My journey
to where I am today has been a long, hard exhausting one. If it were not for the influence of my Daddy,
and his Godly teaching, I don't believe I would be a functioning individual.
My Daddy had
such a heart for God and people.
Everyone loved him, for he was a kind and gentle soul. I am so thankful that I never knew the harsh
hand of a father. He taught me more by
example than anything else. I walked the
straight and narrow, not out of fear, but because I did not want to disappoint
my Daddy.
From a very
early age, he taught me to persevere, and never give up on my dreams. He taught me to rely fully on God, trusting
Him to walk with me through every trial I would face, knowing that He would
carry me through it, and I would be stronger and wiser for it.
I learned
how to put aside my shy, meek, and mild nature, and instead put on confidence
and strength, and to believe in
myself. I learned that I could do
anything I wanted, but that it might sometimes require hard work on my
part.
My Daddy
passed on to me a heart for God, a heart
for helping others, and a heart for changing lives. This I learned by his fine example. I don't strive for greatness. I don't care to stand out. I just want to know that I made a difference,
if even a very small one.
One of my
most precious memories of my Daddy is when his Alzheimer's Disease had become
very advanced. He was not able to
communicate with us. The words simply
would not come to him. Most days he
didn't even know who we were. I took him
to church one Sunday. He sat there lost,
not knowing where he belonged. And then
the congregation began singing one of his favorite hymns, "It Is Well With
My Soul." As he listened to them
sing, my Daddy suddenly stood to his feet,
raised his eyes toward heaven, and
sang along. He sang every single
word of that song, never missing a beat.
He knew where his help came from and he knew where his strength came
from. Though his mind was deteriorating,
his spirit was not.
This was the
most important lesson he taught me -
that no matter what hardships came my way, no matter what I desired to
accomplish in my life - I would be able to do so as long as I listened to that
still, quiet voice whispering in my ear, saying that whatever my lot, Thou hast
taught me to say, It is well, it is well with my soul...
