One of those days
Yesterday was just one of those days, first my wife gets stuck, then there is so much busy work, that I get almost nothing accomplished. It was a tweener, somewhere between a good and a bad day.
I have this inner desire to actually earn the money my company pays me, a work ethic my Father instilled in me.
My Dad is an amazing man. When we moved to Colorado in 1975, he was in the Air Force. Two years later he retired. My sister and I were both in high school at the time, my sister was a senior and getting ready to go off to college. I remember nobody wanting to hire my Dad for anywhere near enough money (he was a retiree, and back then most employers discriminated against military retirees, as they had their retirement money and so felt they could pay them less).
Knowing he had commitments, he went out and worked two jobs. Here was a man who was at the top of his profession (electronics expert, having worked on the best the USAF had to offer), working at a Total gas station at night and installing car radios and CB's during the day so he could pay his bills and help send his kids to college.
About a year later he went to work for American Family Insurance as an agent, a couple of years later, he had moved up and was doing well, but decided to go back to school and get his degree. I am proud to say he maintained a 4.0 average, something I never came close to.
Fast forward 25 years, my Dad is now battling cancer, he was diagnosed in June of 2003 having a tumor growing on his appendix(Adeno Carcinoid for those wondering). Surgery and six months of chemo could not defeat his spirit, and though I prayed daily, I could not help worrying about losing him at 68 years of age. He survived, but the chemo took its toll on his body, he looked like one of those pictures you see of a concentration camp survivor.
Going to church, he had to take a blanket to sit on as he had lost almost 40 pounds. When the six months of chemical poisoning was up, he seemed to be in remission (we never say cured). During that time period, my Dad and I grew very close and spoke of God everyday. He became a new man in Christ, and I grew immensely in my walk with the Lord. I believe my Dad found a new calling from God, to work with developmentally disabled kids in our school system. He began substituting in the special needs classes, and loving every minute of it. He connected with so many kids, they new him by name, and if he was not there, the asked about him.
The good Lord had worked a wondrous deed in my Fathers life. Then this past September brought more heartache, the cancer had returned. He had to go in for surgery again. He was hurt, but not because the cancer was back, but because he had just signed on for a long term session in one of the schools working with an especially needy group of children.
He was devastated, the kids would not understand, how could this happen to them. WOW that was an eye opener for me. He never once thought of himself. Just the work he felt the Lord wanted him to do. That is why I feel so compelled to do as much as I can everyday, that is why I feel guilty at the end of a day like yesterday, because I feel like I let someone down, that I did not give everything I had. And that is why I am especially proud to be MY Fathers son.
My Dad is an amazing man. When we moved to Colorado in 1975, he was in the Air Force. Two years later he retired. My sister and I were both in high school at the time, my sister was a senior and getting ready to go off to college. I remember nobody wanting to hire my Dad for anywhere near enough money (he was a retiree, and back then most employers discriminated against military retirees, as they had their retirement money and so felt they could pay them less).
Knowing he had commitments, he went out and worked two jobs. Here was a man who was at the top of his profession (electronics expert, having worked on the best the USAF had to offer), working at a Total gas station at night and installing car radios and CB's during the day so he could pay his bills and help send his kids to college.
About a year later he went to work for American Family Insurance as an agent, a couple of years later, he had moved up and was doing well, but decided to go back to school and get his degree. I am proud to say he maintained a 4.0 average, something I never came close to.
Fast forward 25 years, my Dad is now battling cancer, he was diagnosed in June of 2003 having a tumor growing on his appendix(Adeno Carcinoid for those wondering). Surgery and six months of chemo could not defeat his spirit, and though I prayed daily, I could not help worrying about losing him at 68 years of age. He survived, but the chemo took its toll on his body, he looked like one of those pictures you see of a concentration camp survivor.
Going to church, he had to take a blanket to sit on as he had lost almost 40 pounds. When the six months of chemical poisoning was up, he seemed to be in remission (we never say cured). During that time period, my Dad and I grew very close and spoke of God everyday. He became a new man in Christ, and I grew immensely in my walk with the Lord. I believe my Dad found a new calling from God, to work with developmentally disabled kids in our school system. He began substituting in the special needs classes, and loving every minute of it. He connected with so many kids, they new him by name, and if he was not there, the asked about him.
The good Lord had worked a wondrous deed in my Fathers life. Then this past September brought more heartache, the cancer had returned. He had to go in for surgery again. He was hurt, but not because the cancer was back, but because he had just signed on for a long term session in one of the schools working with an especially needy group of children.
He was devastated, the kids would not understand, how could this happen to them. WOW that was an eye opener for me. He never once thought of himself. Just the work he felt the Lord wanted him to do. That is why I feel so compelled to do as much as I can everyday, that is why I feel guilty at the end of a day like yesterday, because I feel like I let someone down, that I did not give everything I had. And that is why I am especially proud to be MY Fathers son.
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