I’d like to share this short prayer I had Valentine's day. _________________________________________________
Lord, I know it’s been a long time since I wrote to You. I’m sorry. But I know you hear my prayers. Today though is special.
I’d like to thank You for this happy kinda sad feeling as I remember dad today, Valentine’s day. It’s his birthday too and had he been alive, this day would have been one great celebration. It still is something to celebrate and I do (celebrate it). Thank You for giving him to us albeit only a short time…but it was a wonderful, fun, funny, amazing time. He loved You and Mama Mary so much that he wouldn’t have allowed Miles and me to live life not knowing You and Your loving Mother. His love for You was the greatest gift he could have given us.
I miss him terribly! I miss mom and dad, it hurts! But knowing that they’re with You takes the heartache away and brings with it a certain kind of joy I simply have no words for. I know that they're with you - for how can they not be when they spent their lives on earth loving and living for You? They loved You…but You loved them first, and I smile at that, Lord.
Thank You for my very first Valentine – my dad. I will forever love and miss him! Embrace him for me, please?
It's February!When my sister and I were younger, we were excited for February to come.We looked forward to February 14 - it was a day of celebration! Gifts! Food! Our date?Dad!February 14 was never Valentine's Day for us - it was our dad's birthday.To top it off, February 15 was mom's and dad's wedding anniversary.So there was much to celebrate.
Dad may be gone now but February 14 would always be a special day for me and my sister - a day for celebration...a day for prayer.May I make a small request? As you celebrate Valentine's, please whisper a short prayer for my dad.He would love that. He was a man of God, a man of prayer.
In celebration and remembrance of my dad and his birthday, I'm sharing once again my post, "Dad".Thank you for your prayers!
My friend, Mercy, who's an amazing singer, is one heck of a writer. She has penned numerous poems and songs and shorts stories and essays. Whatever form or mood or theme her write-ups may be, they affect and stir up certain emotions in readers...well, I know they do in me.
Last year, as a Christmas present, she sent us 2 collections of her writings, one of which was a digest of songs, poems, essays while the other was a compilation of her short stories. I had previously read her writings but one of her shoutouts in FB led me to re-read her poems and essays.
One of her write-ups was about her dad who passed away some 10 years ago. She paid tribute and recalled the times she had spent with him...their walks and hang-outs and trips to wherever, her dad's favorite lullaby to her, their love for word puzzles and for writing, the little chores they did, the talks and silent moments shared.
I had to stop reading midway. The words were becoming a blur as my eyes filled with tears. And a quiet kind of fear seemed to have tugged at my heart. Fear? Yes, fear for the answers to the questions that have strayed ..."Do I remember my dad as Mercy lovingly remembers hers? Have I forgotten the little details of our times together? Do I miss him? Do I love him still?"
I talk on and on about mom…but it seems that stories of days with dad have become few and far between. So please, indulge me this.
Dad died when I was 19. I was already in my third year in college and, by other people’s standards, was supposed to be old and mature enough to handle life and its blows. But 19 was just a number to me and, really, I was just a kid. Losing a parent, at any age, is devastating, more so for one barely out of her teens. And with Dad gone, I was lost.
Dad was a good, generous and principled man who loved God and family above all else...that much I know. He went to church every single day and enjoyed serving especially kids from financially disadvantaged families...that much I recall.
He loved to make us laugh but was stern with his rules. Two of his non-negotiable rules were: no family fights; and always respect and love Mom...these I remember well. But with 2 strong-willed daughters who had an even more strong-willed mother, arguments were never far off the table. We were sneaky though and almost always got away with those girl fights - almost.
He was an architect and an artist who drew portraits so well and so fast. I so wish we kept some of his works.
I remember him giving his pay envelope with ALL of his salary to mom. Yet it was a wonder how he was always able to buy us stuff. And his gifts (and he loved surprising us with gifts), especially to mom, were quite pricey. It was only later that we found out that as a Chief Architect, he had allowances to his name... hmmm...sneaky too!
When we went malling, I’d find mom and dad H.H.W.W. (holding hands while walking). I thought it sweet but it embarrassed the life out me.
One Valentine’s day, his birthday, I remember him asking me to go out with him to look for a gift for mom. Instead of the usual pricey but practical gift my mom loooved getting, he got her a small white stuffed animal toy from a Sanrio Gift Shop. The gift was unusual of him. It was out of character. It was sweet but impractical and so unlike him. It was the last he would ever give.
My eyes are bright and smiling now - the tears are gone and I have the answers to my questions. I do remember the miniscule details of our fun times with dad. And yes, I do miss him. And yes, I do so love him still. Though I ache for him and wish that he could have seen his girls grow into (ehem, ehem) beautiful women, though I long for his warm and loving embrace, though I miss seeking him out for talks and whatnot, I am so grateful for the gift of a wonderful father and the precious little time with him…for the laughter…for the lessons…for the love…
