My wedding
Reading to his "Little Doll".
A quick hug from "Thano"
Being silly with Lanie at her third birthday.
Holding Mikayla about three days old at our home in Maryland.I remember how he would always try to say a word of encouragement to Terry and I about our efforts in our ministry. He seemed to be endlessly optimistic about the ministry even when we were ready to throw up our hands in defeat. A quick compliment. A promise to pray about it. A story. A smidgen of advice.
An arm around a grandchild along with a small compliment, or encouragement. A special nickname for each of them.
I remember a quivering chin when talking about a mentally disabled person pointing out John 3:16 in his worn out Bible.
I remember that his suit jacket always smelled like cigarette or cigar smoke because he sat in the local coffee shop with a bunch of fellas. I remember the waitress calling him "Reverend Deyah" as she refreshed his coffee again. If I got to tag along, I got to have a hot cocoa and a chocolate, sugared doughnut.
I remember that I couldn't get away from his influence. Even out of state trips brought us to someone who knew him and had a story to tell about him. It seemed that Dad knew everyone and could carry on a conversation with anyone. When I was a young person, it was exasperating. Not now. Now I hope it never ends.
He wasn't perfect, but we loved him. He didn't always do everything right, but God used him.
Today, it has been a year since I laid my head on Dad's chest as I cried and said goodbye. So, rather than going on and on about my memories, I would love to hear some of yours. No matter how small.
An arm around a grandchild along with a small compliment, or encouragement. A special nickname for each of them.
I remember a quivering chin when talking about a mentally disabled person pointing out John 3:16 in his worn out Bible.
I remember that his suit jacket always smelled like cigarette or cigar smoke because he sat in the local coffee shop with a bunch of fellas. I remember the waitress calling him "Reverend Deyah" as she refreshed his coffee again. If I got to tag along, I got to have a hot cocoa and a chocolate, sugared doughnut.
I remember that I couldn't get away from his influence. Even out of state trips brought us to someone who knew him and had a story to tell about him. It seemed that Dad knew everyone and could carry on a conversation with anyone. When I was a young person, it was exasperating. Not now. Now I hope it never ends.
He wasn't perfect, but we loved him. He didn't always do everything right, but God used him.
Today, it has been a year since I laid my head on Dad's chest as I cried and said goodbye. So, rather than going on and on about my memories, I would love to hear some of yours. No matter how small.
The pictures are amazing. Thanks for sharing, Jen.
ReplyDeleteA tidbit: I remember lots of little things from my early childhood at BB, but in my teen years after attending Maranatha for a while, he let me come back and present an "M" trip even though I was going with a non-baptist org. At the time that was a non trivial thing--on my side AND on his!
Kim
thanks for sharing Meg and Kim!
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