Happy Father's Day!

My dear daddy is now with his heavenly Father. I miss him so much, but I know he is rejoicing with my dear mama who has probably shown him around. Actually, she was probably put in charge of showing everyone around. 


My daddy was a simple, humble and loving man. First of all he loved his Lord. He was faithful to the end. He was an awesome daddy. While I didn't always agree with his decisions I always knew he had my best interest at heart.


I have often described him as a man with a "Peace of God That Passeth All Understanding" taken from Philippians 4:7.. He was born in 1915 to a less than wealthy family. His mother died when he was eleven years old. His sweet daddy raised him and this two younger siblings alone. He lived during some extremely hard times and worked, in the south, with CCC's. One of the New Deal's most famous jobs programs was the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC). By mid-1933, some 300,000 jobless young men between the ages of 18 and 25 were hired to work in the nation's parks and forests. You can read about it here. My dad worked in south Georgia, building roads.

He learned a trade as a carpenter, married my mama and settled down for a simple life. As a young father he lost his first child, a daughter, who was less that six years old. He and my mamma recovered, I thought, and raised their remaining child, me. It was many years before I learned that they never really recovered, indeed no one can.


He later followed a call to enter the ministry. Without a lot of education, he attended formal theology schooling through night classes offered through the Southern Baptist Association. He was an avid reader and left a large library. 
After being licensed and ordained as a Baptist minister he became known for teaching the love of God toward all. He believed in John 3:16. He always said "I don't believe in 
scared salvation, when you lose your fear you lose your salvation". He believed in a salvation of love, grace and mercy. 


When life should have been getting easy, my mamma became very ill with heart problems. They struggled together to meet her needs and the needs of the church. He was a loving and compassionate caretaker and prolonged her life many years. Still she died at the young age of 59. 


A few years before my daddy died, at the age of 79, he told me he loved his Lord and that he had had a "Wonderful Life".  This elderly and sickly man who lost his mom when just a child, too young, lost his first child, too young, lost his wife, too young, worked hard labor, never had or desired great riches, lived very simply, praised God and said "I have had a wonderful life". Truly this man had the "Peace of God That Passeth All Understanding". Do You?


This day my prayer is simple. May each daddy who reads this short account of my dad desire to leave similar thoughts, love and legacy in the hearts of their own children.


To all Daddys out there, Happy Father's Day!
To my daddy and mamma, I love you.


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