Just this week when my husband, Dick, and I were watching some humorous Brit television, I had a spontaneous thought: “I love your father!”
I do not know exactly know where my thought came from, except that I trust spontaneous “blurts” like this, because they are always meaningful and always engage my heart. That’s why I love biblical stories, because they tell me something about Divinity, something about Love, and something about myself—all in one blurt!
In this moment I suppose I was thinking about Father’s Day as I glanced at a framed photo of Dick’s parents on their wedding day. I thought how elegant they looked, how much I love their son, and how I wished that I had known them better.
Nevertheless! I followed my inspiration and recalled a couple of tiny Dad stories.
-When Dick was a young child of four he got a fever and the doctor said he had to be in bed, kept warm and immobile. The world was waiting for penicillin. His dad of course worried and felt the need to “do” something, so he braced the cold day and went out. He returned to his son’s bedside bringing with him a street Santa with a little bell and all the trimmings. It was all he could do as a dad who loved his small son. Santa Claus had no gifts except the magic of his message: Merry Christmas. Ho. Ho. Ho. Soon the little child did get better. Miracle? Who knows and who cares. The child lived. The small spontaneous gesture was enough.
-Another remembered story was about when Dad as a young boy working part-time as a boy with a broom in some factory. They paid a pittance to sweep up the dust and dirt on the floors. In the process the boy overheard some men talking secretively about ways to sabotage the business. He sensed it was wrong and told others. Courage.
-Another story I loved to hear was that, although Dad was wary of flying, he agreed to a flight for the sake of his business. Before he boarded the plane, he went round the airport and put coins in every insurance-selling machine and addressed the payment slips to Dick’s mom. Tragically, and NOT by divine design as some people think, the plane crashed killing everyone on that flight, including this dad. Dick was a junior in college. Faculty and friends helped him get a flight back home to where his mom was. Within a month all those insurance checks arrived, all of them valid and honored. These monies in time helped to pay for Dick’s children’s college tuitions. It was a tragic accident not organized by Divinity. It is humanity with the freedom given at Creation, that can turn such evil into good.
-Just today I saw a father and son. Dad was helping the child to learn golf. Finally, this wee toddler, after several futile swings with his small club, connected with the ball, and whacked it good. Dad gave him a big hug. The child toddled on down the hill to the waiting golf cart where he stayed while Dad hit his own ball with a whack. It was a win for both of them. How do I know? I simply felt its truth in my heart.
A miracle is something Divinity does for you that you cannot do for yourself, and yet, ironically, it often bears unexpected good fruit. Silly small things that matter big.
1 comment:
Aww! Thanks for those sweet stories about Dick's Dad, Lyn!
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