The Power of Love (12/28/2023)

Today is my father’s birthday. Yesterday I bought a bouquet of peach roses for my table in his memory. He loved a big bowl of homemade peach ice cream. As I look at them, other memories flood my mind: his crooked grin, his care for his family, his insistence that we always love and care for our mom, his deep wisdom gained from a life full of challenges, his rules about truth and being real, his faith. I know that his legacy to us all was his powerful love. That love lives on in us; this day and all days, I pray we make him proud.

I mention my dad frequently in the blog. Truth is, I realize that without him, I wouldn’t be who I am. And the greatest tribute I can pay to him is to become the one I was created to be, the one he always knew I could be. Even though he passed away on November 23, 2008, that desire still propels me. My father taught me many lessons, but the greatest was the power of real love that gives tirelessly to help another become all they can be.

My dad’s faith was quiet but deep. He is the one who helped me get through tough times. He’s the one who helped me reach for Christ when I was really hurting. He reminded me through the image of the crucifix that “God takes care of good people” didn’t look like what I expected. He was so wise; he was so right.

 I’d watch him in church. I don’t think he realized I did. But he’d sit with his hands folded in his lap, staring ahead, staring at that crucifix, always, every time we went to church. The power of that image fueled something in my dad. I think that image is what got him through some difficult times, too. And something tells me, the wisdom he shared with me came from those moments of deep reflection. Christ was his model of what it meant to love no matter the cost.

Today is my dad’s day. Today I celebrate the gift of my dad to me and to the world. Today I ponder his greatest lesson – love is powerful – love well.

Until tomorrow, let us all love well.