Father Friday #23

With Father’s day coming on Sunday, I cannot help but think about dads. My dad. Jim’s dad. Jim. I think I will share a memory of each,

Jim’s dad was a #7 out of 9 children. He was smart and resourceful. Raised in southern California, Lionel was an eagle scout, served in the Navy during WW2 and I never knew him to have hair! When I met him, he owned and ran Sugar Loaf Lodge. We drove there after my summer working at Mt. Hermon. Jim came to pick me up (he came in a new Mercury Capri which he bought because he knew I liked them!) and wanted his father and I to meet. Lionel told me before the end of that visit that I was the first girl Jim had ever brought “home” so he knew I must be really special. He had a dog named Joe and we went up into the woods to cut some firewood. Jim inadvertently stepped on a wasp nest and was stung so many times that he got sick, but only after he and Joe ran through the woods with a “ball” or cloud of stinging insects chasing them. My memory specifically was how similar their humor was. Jim was so proud of his father and Lionel was just as proud of his son. It was really important to me because I grew up in a very different family,

My dad scared my friends because he was tall, serious and and quiet and this combination carried the intimidation factor well. It always startled me because I never saw ferocity toward outsiders. The memory that pops into my mind is the father daughter retreat that he took me on. There was a dance and we were not a dancing family. We had only ever danced like clowns, laughing to silly records in the living room, but we went to the dance and somehow got through it without too much embarrassment. We went on a really fun hike and my dad seemed to know a lot about plants, birds and nature, reminiscent of his own father.  But the place we shone was at the horseshoe pitch. We won the tournament!

Jim wanted to be a dad and was very patient waiting, perhaps even giving up hope of the reality of fatherhood, when God had another idea. He was a great dad and I will share a memory about each of my kids. Jim took Emily to breakfast every week before school. It was a genius way to get my little night owl up and to nurture her heart. He also took Clayton on a hike regularly in Lyons woods and helped Clayton and his best friend Sherrod record their super kid stories.

Both my father and my kids’ father practiced blessing their children before bed. They laid their hands on their kids and spoke truth over their progeny most nights. A legacy that continues to bless and speak God’s truth for more than one generation.

“All the more remarkable is the Fatherhood of God.  God traveled through eternity into incarnation to make his enemies his children.” ….Wil Triggs