Joy and Mourning

Well, not surprisingly, it has been a very long time. I can hardly believe it's been almost a year. In truth, not a lot had changed in my life until 1:30am on February 9 (just over a month ago), when my Dad died unexpectedly of an infection in his lungs (at 58). Just as a fair warning- this one is going to be emotional.

I discover more every day just how profound his impact in my life has been. I wish I could put it into words. In fact, I've done a lot of talking and writing about him in the last month. My siblings (Josh, Rach and sis-in-law Christine) stood up at his funeral and shared some words for him. I spoke for us all when I read this (which I also wrote):

I’m speaking for my brother, sister and sister-in-law here- so, though I may ball like a baby through this, apparently I’m the most eloquent. It has been tough to find words to describe our dad. Not because I don’t know what to say, but because I don’t know what to leave out, I know you guys probably have things to do and I could go on for days. He was in ministry for all of my life- between his years in christian editing, publishing and writing with Group Publishing and Zondervan and his time as a pastor at Sturgis Missionary Church, he devoted his life to the service of God. With his work and his life, he reflected the light of Jesus. I cannot express how proud I am of my dad. It was his work in ministry that inspired me to do work with the church. I’ve said a lot to people recently about how great a man of God he was, but it should also be said that my dad was a great father, grandfather, brother and husband. We remember him as the man who took us fishing, helped us with our homework, worked on our cars, took us on boat rides, made home videos of our family, got up early on Saturdays to make pancakes, cut down our Christmas tree, and loved spending time with his grandkids. He also loved fishing, nascar, and star trek. My dad taught us what it means to be a man- to be strong and hard-working, but also to be patient, compassionate and humble. His relationship with our mother taught us how marriage and love works. He also taught us how to say “sorry”. He taught us that it is okay to cry. On several occasions in the last couple of years, I have said or done something, then realized “Oh no, I’m becoming my father”. But, though it was usually said in jest, I’ve realized something now. At the end of my life I would love to have lived much like my father. If we were only allowed to have this many years with my dad, I'm just so glad that they've been so very good. It is with great sorrow in our hearts that we all say goodbye to my dad, though he would want us to celebrate for him. We know his joy is complete in the Lord. How very blessed we have been to know and be loved by him.

I feel like I can't say enough about my dad. I'm reminded of Hebrews 12:1-3: [12 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, 2 fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. 3 Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.] I've gone back and forth on whether or not to post this, but the following is a "journal entry" that I typed up just after my dad's death:

Today is my 28th birthday. My dad died 6 days ago. In the mess of memorial services and shared tears, I all but forgot my birthday was coming up. Aside from breakfast with a few friends, we didn’t really make a big deal of it. My family all shared that they thought we should maybe do something but it didn’t really feel right to me. It felt wrong to think of myself. But a few hours ago, my brother and his wife handed me a birthday card from last year. We’ve had a sort of running joke about how I leave cards behind from birthday celebrations. In fact, as a joke, they once gave me the same birthday card 3 years in a row- because I’d left it behind when I left to go back home. This card my brother and sister in law brought me was from my parents- but the handwriting was my dad’s, not my mom’s. It was my birthday card from one year ago. My dad had picked it out and written in it himself. My brother and sister in law had saved it for a year to use as a joke for this birthday, but of course now, it was different. It is one of those emotional cards. The first line was “No one can count on the future”. I was crying immediately. The poetry on the front of the card is touching and tear jerking, but my dad’s own handwriting on the inside is what really hit me. “We are so proud of the man you’ve grown to be!” It was an amazing reminder for me. It really felt like my dad had just written this card. I really miss him. I wish I had appreciated him more when he was here. And I’ve realized something- my dad gave me one last birthday gift: perspective. Over the last few days, I’ve heard testimony from dozens of people who had been impacted by my dad. I’ve been overwhelmed with the love that so many have for my dad, and the way that he influenced them. There are 3 examples in particular that I’d like to point out that have shaped this more focused perspective for me. The first example is that of the hotel staff. My parents had been living in a hotel for 3 months because of a minor fire at their house that left many repairs to be made. In those 3 months, my mom and dad had made a serious impact on the staff there. My mom held an open house in my parents’ suite, as a sort of Christmas party for the hotel staff. Many of the staff came by and enjoyed cookies and snacks as well as Christmas music and conversation. My mom is a real entertainer. My parents were well known to all of the staff and knew many of them on a first-name basis. The staff made cookies at certain times each day, and if there was a big crowd around, they would withhold the cookies secretly, then deliver some to my dad- they even knew his favorite kinds. I’m not sure what all my parents did to deserve the love and admiration of this staff, but many of them came to my dad’s funeral- sharing in our love for my parents and sorrow in the loss of my dad. I was so touched and intrigued that in 3 months my parents had made such an impact on their lives. The second example is of a Dry Cleaner. My parents were scheduled to move back into their house the days after my dad passed. So there were a lot of details to be worked out, including getting the furniture back into the house, as well as clothing and drapery that needed to be dry-cleaned to remove the smoke smell. My sister called, asking for the dry cleaning to be returned. She explained the situation and the man on the phone was in tears after hearing of my dad’s death. He went out of his way to tell us what a great man he had seemed like. I was shocked to hear that they’d only met once. How could this man be so very impacted by the death of someone he met just once? The final example I want to share is of a Restaurant Owner. My parents had always appreciated a certain Mexican restaurant in their hometown, so as a family we had been there many times. And in the last 3 months of hotel living, they’d visited the restaurant often. The owner of the restaurant is a nice man who wanders the restaurant, checking in on his patrons, and greets you with a firm handshake and a warm smile. A few days after the funeral, our family went to the restaurant (our first time out together since my dad’s death). The restaurant owner, his wife and his daughter all greeted us at the door with tears in their eyes and tight hugs. The man offered very kind words of admiration for my dad, and really grieved with us. This was one of the most intensely powerful moments for me, I cried and cried. Again and again, he told us that he was such a great man, and that he would miss my dad a lot. Even now I struggle to type without shedding tears. So I mentioned the gift of perspective that I’ve found through my father’s death. Here it is: Every moment and every interaction is important. Our time on earth is limited and I don’t want to waste another moment or ignore another opportunity. I’ve never really paid much attention to hotel staff, dry cleaners or restaurant owners, but my dad did. Somehow, in these seemingly meaningless encounters, my dad made an impact in people’s lives. And I imagine they seemed small at the time, but I think we all play a certain part in the Story of God’s creation. Sometimes it is the small interactions that really impact people. I don’t know if the staff from that hotel know Jesus, but the death of a good man that they admired got them into a church for his funeral. My dad’s funeral was unlike any I have ever been to. He wanted a celebration, and left us specific songs that he wanted to be played. Dad didn’t want any sad and reflective songs; he wanted uplifting worship songs- he even wanted “Jesus Freak” (by DC Talk) to be “snuck in somewhere”. He also wanted to make sure that there was a salvation message- not a sort of fluffy “He was a good person, so we know he’s in a better place” message, but a message of truth. He was a Jesus Freak. One line of that song stands out “I don’t really care if they label me a Jesus freak, there ain’t no disguising the truth… what else can I say, Jesus is the way”. In my 29th year, I hope I can take advantage of this newfound perspective. I am so proud of my dad.

As I go through this bittersweet season of change, I am comforted by close friends, family, and memories of my dad. I'm also comforted because his death was not the end for him, but only the end this short terrestrial chapter. It is with a heavy heart that I say goodbye, and look forward to seeing my dad again one day, thanking the Lord for all he has done.

1 Cor. 9:19-22 19 Though I am free and belong to no one, I have made myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible. 20 To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the Jews. To those under the law I became like one under the law (though I myself am not under the law), so as to win those under the law. 21 To those not having the law I became like one not having the law (though I am not free from God’s law but am under Christ’s law), so as to win those not having the law. 22 To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all people so that by all possible means I might save some.