Day 38...My dad rocks!

My dad rocks; he really does!

He is strong, physically, spiritually, and mentally.  He is also sensitive.  Seriously, he has been know to cry over a commercial.  That's what makes him so unique and wonderful.

When I was a little girl, people would frequently say to me, "You look just like your dad!"  I would cry.  I would stop, right then and there, and let the tears flow.  How could I look like my dad?  He was a man! 

Our personalities are very similar.  I know that is why we butted heads when I was growing up, especially in my teen years.  We are both loud, hard-headed, and sentimental.  We love hard, play hard, and fight hard.

It was the summer going into my sixth grade school year.  I had my first boyfriend.  His name was Chris, and I really liked him a lot.  Looking back now, I can't think of one reason why I actually liked him, or what I would have possibly saw in him, but, nonetheless, I did really like him.  One summer day, after a neighborhood game of kickball, he walked up to me and simply said, "I don't want to go out with you anymore."  Funny, we had never "gone out" anywhere; however, I knew what he meant.  He didn't like me anymore.  Rejection!  Needless to say, I was very upset and I walked home and cried.

That evening, I saw my dad's car pulling into the parking garage.  I ran out there, and by the time he had opened his car door, I was crying on his lap.  If I remember correctly, I was sobbing!  I don't even think he knew that I had a boyfriend.  It had only lasted a couple of weeks!  Still, he "got it."  He was even a bit choked up himself...seeing me feel my first pain of rejection.  He said, and these are words I will never, ever forget, "Heather, I'll always be your boyfriend." 
That was all it took.  I knew exactly what he meant.  It didn't matter how many boys I liked, or how many liked me, or how many times I would get my heart broken.  He was my "first" love.  I knew everything would be just fine.
And it was.

He was quite the disciplinarian.  You did not cross my dad with nasty attitude.  I have always had to have the last word.  Wow!  That did not fly with him!  Still, I tested that for years and years.  Looking back on some of the things I put him through as I was growing up makes me sad.  He loved me so much.  It was such an unconditional love.  It didn't matter what I did.  He would be heartbroken.  I broke his heart many times, but just as God forgives us when we ask, so did my dad.  He is not a grudge-holder.  He forgives...every single time.
My dad rocks.

My senior year of high school, I became pregnant.  I was in love with my boyfriend, and we had been together for quite some time.  My parents loved him.  We had mentioned to my parents that we were planning to get married after college.  Obviously, the pregnancy wasn't planned, but that's the way life works.  I was raised in a Christian home.  I was taught that premarital sex was to be avoided.  I agree with that, and pray for that for my own children.  I just didn't listen. 
I told my boyfriend (now husband of almost 17 years...praise the name of Jesus) about the pregnancy.  It was right before the holidays of Thanksgiving and Christmas.  We decided we would keep it a secret until Thanksgiving was over.  Then, the day after Thanksgiving, at noon, we would both tell our parents.  I don't know why we chose to handle it that way.  We were teenagers.  Who knows.

I told my mom first.  I couldn't fathom telling my dad.  I was the oldest of three daughters.  What kind of example was I setting for my younger sisters?  I was a senior in high school!  What would everyone think?
I knew everyone was having sex.  I didn't know one single girl who wasn't; however, they were on the birth cotrol pill, or even having abortions. 
My mom said, "Heather, let me tell your dad.  I just don't know how he'll react."

I was in my bedroom upstairs.  My parents were in the basement.  I could hear noises.  I knew she was telling him, but I couldn't exactly hear what was going on. 
What would he say?  What would he do?  Would he even love me?  Was this "forgiveable?"

All of the sudden, as I was sitting on my bed in a panic mode, my bedroom door opened and it was my dad.  He closed the door.  I was so scared.  I can still remember my emotions as if it were yesterday.  He walked over to me, put his arms around me, and hugged me so tightly.  I could literally feel the love.  We both cried. 
Was he disappointed?  Of course.  BUT, he didn't even go into all of that.  He knew I knew that.  No words needed to be spoken regarding that.  I had a baby growing inside of me, and he already loved her, just like he loved me. 
My dad rocks.

I got married to my boyfriend, and we have raised the most amazing daughter.  we couldn't ask for anything more.  She is a gift to our entire family. 

As I aged, dad and I developed a friendship.  We were no longer only dad/daughter.  He was a friend.  He became one of my best friends.  To know you have someone who loves you more than life, someone who would die for you at a moment's notice, is what I have in my dad.  I can call him at anytime, for anything, and he is there for me and my family.
My dad rocks.

Advice is what I most seek from him.  In life, when I am going through hardships, when I feel like I just can't go on, and when I am just full of questions, I call my dad.  His wisdom cannot even be described. 
Before our move, a family member had received a report from a doctor that did not sit well with me.  I called my dad.  I can still hear his voice, as if it were yesterday, saying, "Heather, when you've done all you can do, then you lay it down.  Just lay it down."  He's right.  I needed to lay it down at the feet of my Heavenly Father.  It's unfathomable that my Heavenly Father loves me even more than my dad, but He does!  Every time I am stressed, brokenhearted, or  grieved, I hear my dad saying, "Just lay it down."  Then, I lay it down.
My dad rocks!

Right before our move, I began to get cold feet.  I really didn't think I could make a move of this magnitude.  How could I be so far away from my family and friends?  How could I move to a place where I did not know one single person?  How would this move effect my children?  I called my dad.  I cried on the phone.  I talked and cried and sobbed and talked some more.  He listened.  He is a great listener.  That is part of his wisdom.
He said, "Heather, you're a soldier.  God made you to be a soldier.  Get up each morning and put on the full armor of God.  You can do all things through Christ who gives you strength.  You are a child of the King.  You are tough.  You can do this!" 
He was right...as always. 
I put on the armor of God each day.  I trust that God will get me through anything that I feel that I can't handle myself.  I can hear my dad giving me this advice, and I smile every time I think about it.
My dad rocks.

Today, I was outside pulling weeds.  I sent a text message to my dad asking him to call me after work.  He called me soon after.  I was checking on him because he works outside in the heat and it has been HOT!  I sit inside in my air conditioned home, or enjoy my pool, all while my daddy is outside working in this heat.  It makes me sick to think about sometimes.   He said he was fine.  He uses his common sense.  He knows when he needs to take a break, or even leave.  He's just awesome.  I was sweating, pulling weeds, and having a fabulous conversation with my sweet and precious dad. 
Did I mention that he rocks?

My son idolizes him.  He things his papaw is just the ultimate in super coolness.  Papaw bought him a real four-wheeler for his 5th birthday.  My dad also has a four-wheeler.  My dad hunts and fishes and is a "wilderness man."  My six-year-old son says he can't wait to go deer hunting for the first time with his papaw. It'll happen.  My daughter went to two days of "gun safety training" with my dad. She passed!   They enjoy hunting together.  As they walk throught the woods, he talkes to her about Jesus and how much He loves her.  She soaks it all in.  She loves her "papaw time" 
My son rides his yellow four-wheeler and says, "Papaw wouldn't believe it if he could see me doing this!"  He idolizes him.  He really doesn't know anyone else like his papaw.  Papaw is an original.  I'm thankful for that.
Dang....my dad rocks!

Tonight, I heard my 17-year-old daughter in her room on the phone.  She was talking a mile a minute.  Every so often, I'd hear hear cracking up laughing.  This went on for quite some time.  Later, when she came downstairs, I said, "Who in the world have you been talking to?" 
"I've been talking to papaw," she replied.
I said, "What were you guys talking about?"
She said, "Mom, papaw is so wise.  I can't get over it.  I talked to him about my college decisions and asked him his opinions and told him all about my day at work."  She went on to say, "He told me to set my goal, and then go for it.   Don't let anything get in your way.  Stay focused and go for it!" 
Then she said, "Mom, when I talk to him, I feel like I know exactly what I'm supposed to do.  He is one of the wisest men on the planet."
I smiled.  That's MY dad!  That's my hero. 
That's the man who raised me, loved me, protected me, provided for me, and thinks I'm the most wonderful girl on the planet.
That's the man who came in, when I was a pregant teenager, defying his rules, and embraced me.  It's the man who stayed with me during my labor with my daughter and then aided her through her colic episodes by letting her sleep on his chest.  This is the man who has loved my precious mom for more than 40 years.  He makes her feel like the most beautiful woman on earth...like she is the only woman on earth. 
In my children's eyes, my dad rocks!

My dad....he puts the Lord first, he adores my mom and always has.  I've never heard them yell at each other.  He supports his daughters.  He loves his girls.  He laughts at his grandsons as they behave as "boys do."  He thinks his grandaughters are true princesses. 

I don't take this relationship for granted.  Trust me, I know that I am blessed beyond measure to have my dad as "my dad."  When I pray, I pray, "Lord, thank you for placing me in the family that you chose to place me in."  I mean that.  My dad was supposed to be my dad.  I am his "mini me."  I don't cry about that anymore!  I take great pride in it!  The love he has for the Lord and for others is like something I've never witnessed before. 
When I called him today, I said, "Dad, I worry about you working out in this heat."
He said, "Heather, I use my common sense, and the Lord takes care of me.  You're not supposed to worry."
He's right.  He always is.
My dad rocks.
What did I do to deserve this wonderful man as my dad?

I love my dad.