Every time I sit down to write to you someone interrupts or my head starts to bob around as I fall asleep. They are still keeping me busy even though Dillon is officially an adult and Lia can now drive. How did that happen? I guess the same way it has been 9 years since you winked at me one last time. On the 18th I went to the cemetery and was able to dodge the heavy rain. As I visited I even built you a little snowman.⛄️ I wasn’t able to get the snowman’s stick arms to stay in, but Mom said you wouldn’t care. 😉As I built that little snowman I thought back to the times we built one together. Or the time you and your grandkids were playing on the ditch bank and your rear end got wet through your snowmobile suit. Dillon laughed and thought you were so funny. I was just telling a friend the other day that I miss the conversations, your laugh, and making memories but I don’t miss the defeat in your eyes in the last week. You not understanding why you were so weak. We were blessed though, Dad. From 1994 to 2016 so many good things happened and you were there to be a part of them. You were there to be by my side. You were there when I laughed, when I cried, and when I was scared. You were there still being the best dad.
Dad, I write these letters to not only help myself but mainly to hopefully write something to help others. So today, if a caregiver for a cancer patient is reading this please, please look for something good in your loved one’s cancer journey. It may be hard at first to find it, but please search and pray about it. Maybe you will bond with someone as you sit and wait during a chemo treatment. Maybe the two of you will strengthen, support, encourage, and become prayer warriors. Maybe your loved one will allow the doctors to gain knowledge. Maybe as strange as it seems, you will spend more time with your loved one because you are forced to slow down. If you are a cancer survivor and reading, keep the faith. I do not believe the journey is possible without faith. If you need someone to pray with you, please let me know. Also, live life to fullest every chance you get. As my son’s favorite You Tube guys say, live life wide open. Please enjoy the simple things and leave voicemails so your loved ones can save them.
If you are a grandparent make sure to tell your grandkids ‘bout the good old days (one of my dad’s favorite songs). As the lyrics say, it does seem like the world’s gone crazy and the line between right and wrong is even more hazy. Share and allow yourself to wander back to the past. I love that chorus….
Did lovers really fall in love to stay,
And stand beside each other, come what may?
Was a promise really something people kept,
Not just something they would say and then forget.
Did families really bow their heads to pray?
Did daddies really never go away?
Whoa, whoa grandpa tell me ‘bout the good old days.
Sit and talk with your grandkids about your childhood, adulthood, challenges, and life lessons. Make them put their phones down, engage, and create memories. They may grumble now, but I promise they will be forever grateful when they get older.
If you are faith filled and reading this, I ask you to become very intentional with your pray life. This world is getting more crazy and confusing. Our young adults and children definitely need us praying for them. I read 7 prayers to pray over your children recently on Focus on the Family, so please pray these….
1. May they never walk away from you, Lord. Draw their hearts closer so that you, Lord, will always be near. (James 4:8)
2. Help them listen to the Word, and to do as it says. (Luke 11:28)
3. Make them a blessing to everyone they meet. (1 Peter 3:9)
4. Fill them with joy and peace. (Romans 15:13)
5. Help them speak truth to others and to themselves. (Ephesians 4:25)
6. Cultivate a grateful heart. (Psalm 118:28)
7. Remind them that the Lord’s love for them is everlasting. (Psalm 103:17)
Dad, thank you for putting one foot in front of the other even when it was hard. Even when the easier approach would have been to give up. Thank you so much for fighting hard for all of us. Thank you for teaching us how to trust the Lord’s plan. I love you, Dad.