On Wednesday, February 26, 2020, my father, who had turned 98 just two days before, passed into eternity. In many respects my father was a remarkable man. Prior to having a mild heart attack in October 2019, my father still lived alone, still cut his own grass with a push mower, and still cooked his own meals. But as remarkable as that was, there was something else that qualified him as such.
A man of deep faith in God, the most remarkable thing about him was how he handled life’s difficulties. As I prepared to deliver a eulogy at his funeral service, I reminisced his journey of faith through some significant setbacks.
His mother died when he was seven, just weeks after the stock market crashed in 1929. Thus Daddy was raised in the Great Depression by a widowed father with five brothers and one sister to care for by himself. Serving in Europe during WWII in the US Army, he fought in one of the toughest battles of WWII, the Battle of the Bulge. Not long into retirement he developed a severe tremor in his right hand – his dominant hand – causing him difficulty doing the simplest of manual tasks like eating and writing. My mother died in her sleep at age 71, just seven weeks shy of them celebrating their 50th anniversary. A year later he was diagnosed with cancer, and not long after that, he was diagnosed with macular degeneration in both eyes, leaving him for all practical purposes blind. He was diagnosed with stage 5 kidney failure in August of 2018, and then had his heart attack last October.
In spite of all of that I never, ever heard him complain. Not once did I hear him question God.
With all that in mind, one day I decided to ask Daddy what there was about him that allowed him to endure all of that without complaining or without questioning God. His answers reveal much about him as a man. He said:
- I believe that God will take care of me every day through any life difficulty.
- I pray every day that God will keep my heart, my mind, and my spirit calm that day no matter what happens.
- I try to act each day and relate to others as Christ would have me.
- I believe the Bible says we’re to be humbled by and grow from our experiences, not become angered by them.
- I’ve seen older people whom others find difficult to be around. I’ve never wanted to be that kind of person.
I think it’s safe to say, my Daddy died fulfilling that desire. He died a young man at age 98.
When I was a little boy, I wanted to grow up to be like my Daddy. Even though I am now 69, nothing has changed. I still want to grow up to be like him. When I get “old”, I want to be just like he was.
Thank you, Daddy, for a life well lived and for showing me in real life what a godly man of faith really looks like. I am confident that the moment you entered heaven last Wednesday morning, the Lord smiled at you and said, “Welcome home, my child. Well done my good and faithful servant. Enter into your eternal rest.”
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