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Honor Your Parents

Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the Lord your God is giving you.”  (Exodus 20:12)

Last Saturday, my family threw a surprise birthday party to celebrate my Dad’s 75th.  It was an extremely emotional day for me as I spent most of it thinking back on all of the wonderful memories I’ve shared with my parents over the years.  I counted my blessings as I thought back on all of the sacrifices they’ve made for me, and prayed that they knew how much each one was appreciated.

I could go on listing each one individually, but it would take up too many pages.  The example of love, sacrifice, and devotion they have shown to my sister and me from day one has made the fulfillment of this commandment an easy one; for any child not to honor and respect these two parents would be a travesty.  Although I honor them from afar now, the 1,008 miles of separation only makes me love and appreciate them all the more. 

The one memory I’ll always cherish from the party was the surprise on my Dad’s face when he noticed me there and said, “You flew all the way from Minnesota for this.”  Hopefully, he knows that I would have done everything in my power to be there.  I would have driven, biked, walked - whatever it took – but I wouldn’t have missed his party for anything in the world.  How blessed am I to have two parents who would have done twice as much for me.
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