A Father’s Influence…
An excerpt from moving week:
After a long day of unpacking/settling in to a new place, my father and I found ourselves sitting on the couch, exhausted and sipping coffee. We were staring out of my new living room window at the maple trees in the backyard while a candle was burning with the scent of crème brulee on the coffee table. My father asked me, “What did I do to make my boys move so far away from me.” This question made me sad at first as I could sense the pain in my father’s voice that I was now going to be 1200 miles away from him. I could sense the heartache of a farmer that grew up farming with his father for his whole life. I could sense the real sense of loss that was in his voice.
I love my dad and his influence on me cannot be compared to any relationship I’ve ever had. I was instantly reminiscing of growing up on the family farm, playing baseball with my dad, playing football, and always knowing that he would do anything whether it was dropping his work for the moment or making sacrifices to be at all of my sporting events. His love has shown me how to be a better husband and someday…a better father.
My response to my dad’s question was this, “It has nothing to do with you, but maybe more correctly, it has everything to do with you. You raised us to chase our dreams, and that is what I’m doing.” I moved to Syracuse, New York, a long way from Iowa, because I was given the opportunity to be a youth pastor at Christ Community Church. This is a great opportunity and I have been hired in large part of my character. My character is a direct reflection of my father, or at least my attempt to be just like him. It feels good and not at all childish to say that I want to be just like my dad.
My dad: A father, a husband, a friend, a minister, and one who cares deeply and genuinely for not least his family, but his friends as well…
After a long day of unpacking/settling in to a new place, my father and I found ourselves sitting on the couch, exhausted and sipping coffee. We were staring out of my new living room window at the maple trees in the backyard while a candle was burning with the scent of crème brulee on the coffee table. My father asked me, “What did I do to make my boys move so far away from me.” This question made me sad at first as I could sense the pain in my father’s voice that I was now going to be 1200 miles away from him. I could sense the heartache of a farmer that grew up farming with his father for his whole life. I could sense the real sense of loss that was in his voice.
I love my dad and his influence on me cannot be compared to any relationship I’ve ever had. I was instantly reminiscing of growing up on the family farm, playing baseball with my dad, playing football, and always knowing that he would do anything whether it was dropping his work for the moment or making sacrifices to be at all of my sporting events. His love has shown me how to be a better husband and someday…a better father.
My response to my dad’s question was this, “It has nothing to do with you, but maybe more correctly, it has everything to do with you. You raised us to chase our dreams, and that is what I’m doing.” I moved to Syracuse, New York, a long way from Iowa, because I was given the opportunity to be a youth pastor at Christ Community Church. This is a great opportunity and I have been hired in large part of my character. My character is a direct reflection of my father, or at least my attempt to be just like him. It feels good and not at all childish to say that I want to be just like my dad.
My dad: A father, a husband, a friend, a minister, and one who cares deeply and genuinely for not least his family, but his friends as well…
posted by Levi at
9:08 AM
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