I am returning to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God. (John 20:17)
This morning, my Dad passed away after a long fight with cancer. Although the battle was hard, it helped bring me even closer to him and to my family…and for that I’ll forever be grateful.
Today, I choose not to remember the hard times at the end of his life, but only the good. I remember my Dad being at every baseball game I ever played (and there were many), I remember him driving his old car around town (even holding the door shut as he drove) while my sister and I drove around in the new cars he bought us, I remember him driving me to and from my graduate school classes after I broke my ankle and stating "You're my son, where else would I rather be?", and I remember more; yes so much more.
Forever, I will cling to the memory of what a wonderful father he was; how selfless, how loving. He may not have been a perfect human being, but in my mind he will always be cherished as an incredible Dad. My only hope now is that he is in the loving arms of our heavenly Father, and that he stands before Him not based on his own merits, but solely on the merits of the only perfect being that ever lived, Jesus Christ; humbly acknowledging the price that Jesus paid for his sins and for all of our sins on the cross.
One day, I too will leave this earth; I choose not to dread that day or fear it, for I rest in the hope of being reunited with my earthly father and being awed by my heavenly one. However, until that day, I say goodbye to you Dad and bid you a sweet farewell.