I would like to share a letter I wrote to Dad in June 2007.
Dear Dad,
This morning, on one of the morning news programs, someone was talking about a recent book they wrote, using letters received from people across America, letters about what their fathers taught them, the core values and all that. In thinking about all you taught me, I came up with the 4 which have meant the most to me. They are the most remembered because you lived them as well as taught them.
- First, as far as I am concerned, you were one of the original recyclers. I don’t think they had that word back then. I remember the excitement of going to the dump, of looking for possibilities in well used items. I remember Mom telling you not to bring back more than you were taking. I remember the almost Christmas like wonder of looking for possibilities in well used items. That lesson went beyond simple recycling. It taught me to value the most unlikely looking items, to look beyond appearances, to look for what something can be, rather than only what it is, more than that, you taught me to use this same philosophy in every area of my life.
- You always valued the environment. I learned to feel closer to God while sitting and waiting for a fish to bite, to admire His creations and value my use of them. The particular lesson that I remember was to always leave your camp site in better condition than you found it. Pick up your own trash and some, if not all, of someone else’s. The additional lessons that this taught me were an awareness of the importance of respect of God and other people in developing self respect and that simple actions have large consequences,
- Related to number two was the wonder of God’s creations that you showed me. From the salamander hiding under the fern beside a mountain spring (which was the inspiration of Salamander Stew), to the baby quail hiding under the leaves, to the skunk under the rice stalks (I never knew you could bounce so high or so fast as you did that day), to the nightcrawlers caught with a flashlight on the front lawn, the hidden secrets of His creations. From the wonder of a sunrise over a beautiful lake, the sound of song birds at dawn, the sight of beavers building their dam, I learned the value of patience, of quiet awareness, of the many faces of God.
- You taught me the importance of allowing others their successes when you told the little boy, who had just hooked the granddaddy rainbow trout that everyone at the camp had been trying to catch, that he didn’t need someone else to take his fishing pole, he could land that fish. I watched him try, watched you encourage him and tell him how to do it. I watched him begin to glow with the possibility that he was going to catch that fish. I watched his father ruin it by grabbing the pole, and losing the fish. And I saw that boy look at you with eyes that expressed his disappointment, but also a glimmer of pride that he had tried his best and might just have made it.
That incident taught me two things. One, my dad knew when to encourage and teach rather than take over. Two, the way of the world is not always perfect, but if you do your best you have done all God has asked of you.
So Dad, I thought I would share these memories with you this Father’s Day and share the fact that as my parent/father you taught me so much about our Father. God Bless you. I thank you and love you.
