Christmas Music Marathon-Day 15

 Dad

April 10, 1920 - December 16, 2009

Today is the first anniversary of the passing of my Father.  I loved him and I miss him deeply.  He was my hero in more ways than he could have ever known or I was ever able to express.  I have good days, when I don't think about him at all.  I have good days when I remember him with love.  Then, I have those days when I just hurt, because he's not here.  Every child who loses their last parent knows what I'm talking about.  You have made the transition from child to patriarch.  You have become the oldest generation in the family.
No one truly knows how long dad had that lump in his abdomen that would be diagnosed as cancer in September of 2009.  By the time treatment started the outcome was already known.  On December 16, 2009, dad lost his battle with cancer, but won the victory over death's sting.  Even though dad stepped into the eternity and the arms of Christ, deep down inside I would have loved One Last Christmas.



   I rejoice in the fact that dad's chains are gone, and I look forward to that day when my chains will be broken as well.  The chains of disease, sorrow, and death.  As a Christian, when our days are finished here, our chains will be gone and we will rest in arms of our Savior.  This next video is not a Christmas song.  It is one of the songs from dad's memorial service.  It is one of my favorite arrangements of a classic Hymn.  Here is Chris Tomlin singing "Amazing Grace, My Chains Are Gone".

People Get Ready

It's funny how life has a way of changing your perspective. Six months ago I was cruising the web, watching American Idol, Dancing With The Stars, So You Think You Can Dance, and making light hearted comments about the contestants. Today, none of that seems terribly important.
Each day that I get to see my father, I am reminded of just how precious life is, and how important family is and how trivial are most of the things that we tend to fill our lives with these days. I have moments when I fear that my father will not be with us for Christmas. I have other days when I think he may be here for some time yet. The doctors haven't told us what to expect just yet. There are still few more tests to run before we know the whole story, and maybe not even then. In the mean time, I have found peace in these facts.
My father is ready to step into eternity. I was three years old when Dad accepted Christ as his savior. My father has out lived all seven of his siblings. He is the last of his generation. He has outlived all of his friends. He is the last of the golden age of railroading. He has out lived his bride, the love of his life. Mom stepped into eternity six years ago. He is ready to meet her again.
What ever happens from this day forward it is my prayer that God is honored and glorified. I pray that the decisions that we make as a family honor the Lord. I pray that the way that we handle the days ahead glorify the presence of God in our lives. I pray that the love we show toward one another and to everyone that we come into contact with, in these coming days, will be a reflection of the love of Christ that is within us. When it is all said and done, I pray that we can say, "It Is Well With My Soul".