The best gift my dad ever gave me was teaching me that people and experiences matter more than stuff. I've never heard him actually say this, but he has always modeled it by the way he lives his life and leads our family. The absolute best memories I have of growing up are road trips. We had so much fun bonding as a family. Some of the most memorable conversations I have ever had with dad were in the middle of the night while we were on the road, trying to stay awake and solve all the world's problems. He did such an amazing job creating opportunities for us to experience nature in the mountains, learn about culture and history (as he incessantly shared knowledge about everything we drove by and each historical marker we passed), and most importantly helping us understand that life is not made full by what you have but because of who you have. Because of this most important lesson, today I know where to place value and can easily let things go that don't really matter in the long run. My greatest hope is that I can teach my children how to adopt the same perspective.
Money was always something there seemed to be enough of when I was growing up. Of course, how much do children really understand about those things? Today in the car Calvin asked us why he couldn't ride all of the rides at the carnival we went to see (we quickly opted to walk to a nearby playground that was FREE). We told him that rides cost money and sometimes we have to make choices about what to spend our money on. He replied by telling us to just go get some money. When I asked him where I could go get money, he told me it was at the house in my purse. (What a wonderful surprise!) In a way, I was thankful today that we couldn't just spend frivolously on whatever we wanted. It was such a teachable moment for our almost 4-year-old to see us exercise self-control and responsible decisions about finances. Although he doesn't fully grasp it now, my prayer is that it will plant a seed, take root and eventually grow into full knowledge that contentment, satisfaction and abundant life will never be found in what we can buy. In fact, I believe these things can be found in any situation, and the more difficult the journey to seek it out, the more character will be built in the process. I love that my dad worked hard and faithfully to provide for our family. He could have done something to make a lot of money, but because of his strong character and obedience to the Lord's calling on his life, he chose instead to build a career on something that mattered, something that changed lives. I don't know how many students went through dad's classrooms and how many of those were significantly influenced. I do know there are many lives that have been impacted by him, and I know that I'm one of them. He has been my teacher, my coach, my encourager, my comfort, my protector. I have counseled too many women to not realize that it's rare to have a father who so deeply desires to imitate the kind of love our Heavenly Father has for us. My dad is not perfect, but he is the perfect dad for me. I could not be more proud and humbled at the same time to be his little girl.
No comments:
Post a Comment