A Day of Reflection

This morning we went and had some fun at a water park with some great friends.  Now that we’re home with some lunch in our stomachs we’re having a little down time before we go over to the pool.  

This week is busier than usual.  VBS, Scout camping trip, sleepovers, IRS audit meeting (yes, you read that right), homeschool planning.

But I wanted to find a pocket of quietness in the day to just reflect on the past year.  You see, my dad passed away on this day last summer.  He has been gone for a whole year.  It seems a long time ago, and yet it doesn’t.  I knew my life would be different without his presence in it, and it has.  

I would have called him about getting a letter from the IRS.  He would have told me there’s nothing to worry about as long as we’ve been honest.  He would be the first person to call me to follow up and see what happened.

He would have called every other day when we were on our road trip.  He would have wanted to talk to the kids and hear about everything they did and saw.  In fact, he would have really wanted to go with us.

He would have taken me out to dinner on my birthday, like he did every year.

We would have spent Father’s Day, Mother’s Day, and Easter together.  And it would have involved food.  In a restaurant.

He would have come over for Christmas, with a huge pile of gifts.  He loved watching the kids open up gifts he got for them.  It made him so happy.

He would have asked if we wanted to go to a buffet for Thanksgiving so nobody had to do dishes, and I would have insisted on a homemade turkey dinner at our house.

He would have come to every birthday party for the kids, even if it meant sitting in Peter Piper Pizza for 2 hours listening to a bunch of screaming kids run around.

He really wanted to go on one last family trip before it was too late.  We talked about going on a cruise, going to Hawaii, and even taking an RV trip road trip.  He loved to travel, especially with his family.

We would have done that this last year.  But too late came too quickly and we never went on that last trip.

A lot of changes have happened in my life since I turned 40 last summer.  I have chosen some new paths along the journey, and God has shown grace and mercy and blessing to me and my family.  I’m thankful, thankful that even in the midst of great loss, God reveals a new birth, something new and wonderful and lovely.  

I miss my earthly father deeply, but I take great comfort in knowing my Heavenly Father is forever, eternal, never changing, always present.  I can always come to Him with my problems, I can always tell Him about my dreams, I know He loves my children more than I ever could, and He cares about every minute aspect of my life.

Besides, I know my dad is having the time of his life now.