3. He served others in front of me.
My dad was and still is the guy a lot of people call when they need help. A teacher by trade, he is also a natural handyman and as a child I saw him respond to others’ needs for help with their car, their dishwasher, their toilet, their roof, their furnace, etc. more times than I could ever keep track of. My dad was also that guy who would stop for anyone having car trouble in a parking lot or on the streets of our town. I saw him help strangers many times. I can remember being an impatient child not wanting to stop AGAIN to help someone we didn’t even know, and just wanting to get home…but what I couldn’t see as a child, I figured out as a young woman. And that was that all people are worthy of our service, whether we know them or not. If we can help, we should. Friends, strangers, family…they are all the least of these, and if we are followers of Christ, we are called to serve them. Watching my dad serve others affected my confidence because it showed me that I, like the stranger in the parking lot, am also worthy of love because God made me in His image, and I, like my father before me, am also called to give it.
My dad isn’t perfect, but he’s really, really, good. And I’m really, really, glad he’s mine!
Dads, if you are reading this, I hope you’ll take a page from Charlie’s book. He had one shot, and he nailed it. Thanks, Daddy, for helping me become the perfectly imperfect but oh-so-functional woman I am today. I love you!
