“Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. In my Father's house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also.
—
John 14:1-3As many of you probably now know, my Dad passed away on October 19th. He was 75 years old. He and my mother were married for 57 years. I miss him very much. In tribute to my Dad, I thought I'd give you a brief synopsis of his life......
My Dad came from a poor family. His Father was a "lineman" and his job was to string power lines. Due to the nature of his job, he moved his family constantly. Dad was in 13 schools in 12 years. Needless to say, he did not get the best education.
When Dad was 17, his Father moved them to "Snow Shoe", way up in the Allegheny Mountains of Pennsylvania, near State College. He met my Mother and fell in love. When his Father's job was finished there, he told his Father he was not moving again, and a store owner allowed my Dad to sleep on a cot in the back of his store, all the while, my Dad attended high school. Dad was a Junior in high school at this point, and despite his small stature, was a dynamite football and basketball player. My Mother was a cheerleader and must have been smitten. My Mother graduated that year and Dad still had another year to go. But after Mom graduated, she and Dad got in the car and drove to Butler, PA, where my Dad's family was currently residing.
At this point in his life, he and my Mother decided to get married, so Mom sent home to Snow Shoe for the necessary paper work to get their marriage license. My Mother was raised Catholic and my Dad was Protestant. They were married by a Justice of the Peace, but it wasn't long until my Mother was crying every day until they were married by her priest. Needless to say, they took the long ride back to Snow Shoe to be married. Dad said he only had $5 in his pocket to pay the Priest, but the Priest accepted that and married them. My Mother's tears stopped flowing.
There was much moving around for them for the next 10 years; and three children later, they ended up living in New Brighton, PA. It was about the age of 30 that my Dad gave his life to the Lord. He was a changed man. He was 32 when he felt called to the ministry.
He and my Mother spent the next 20 years serving the Lord. You could call my Dad more of a "country minister", as he ministered to alot of country people. There were no big, stained-glass churches for him. Just simple little churches with families that needed him. He was happy to do the Lord's work.
At the age of 52, Dad decided to retire from the ministry and went back to working as an electrician, which is the type of work he did before he entered the ministry. It wasn't long before Dad began working for a young contractor who had a family. Dad's ministry never ended when he left the church. He ministered to this young man and many others on the job. Bringing many to the Lord. The construction work-place was his new church.
Dad did not waste an opportunity ministering for his Lord. He quietly spoke of his love for the Lord and was always ready to speak to those in need.
I know this story isn't dramatic. This is just a story of one humble man who used his time here on earth to make a difference in people's lives. This is the story of my Dad.
As many of you probably read on Heather's post, his favorite song was
"On the Wings of A Snow White Dove".
Here's the entire lyrics:
On the wings of a snow-white dove
He sends His pure sweet love
A sign from above
On the wings of a dove
When troubles surround us,
when evils come
The body grows weak
The spirit grows numb
When these things beset us,
He doesn't forget us
He sends down His love
On the wings of a dove
When Noah had drifted on the flood many days
He searched for land In various ways
Troubles, he had some but wasn't forgotten
He sent him His love
On the wings of a dove
Ferlin Husky (peak Billboard position # 1 for 10 weeks in 1960)
I was up before dawn (my normal) to go to work. It was 8 degrees. Luckily, we had no wind. I stepped off my porch and started up the walk to the garage, noticing my warm breath against the cold. Usually I might be grumbling about how cold it is and how I couldn't wait to get into the warm car that my sweet husband usually starts for me.
