Encouragement from a father

In sorting through files the other day I discovered a three page note from my father, written on March 1, 1969. This note, which is very special to me, is made even more so when I see the markings of smoke damage around the edges. It was among the few documents and photographs saved from a fire that destroyed my rental home when I was 26 years old.

At the time this note was written I was 16 years old, just two weeks short of my 17th birthday. Dad was in Washington, D.C., separated from his wife and six children yet again as his career in politics called him away -- this time for a bit longer than usual.

It is obvious Dad's letter is written in response to a letter he had received from me. I would love to know the content of that note. It is clear that I was experiencing some teen-age angst, as he opens one paragraph: "I think I know from memory some of the thoughts and problems that 'bug' you at this point."

Still, it is not the details of that letter exchange that matter so much today. Rather, I am reminded of the priceless blessing of growing up with godly parents -- especially a father who acknowledged that his strength, his hope -- were in the Lord.

"Talking to others your age is good," Dad wrote. "Too few adults know how to be helpful even tho they mean well."

Then he wrote: "Prayer may not seem a quick solution to questions and frustrations, but it is the very finest way -- trusting that day by day the best will be because He cares so much about you."

Despite periodic separations from my father in my childhood, and again as a young adult, I never doubted his love for me. Thanks in large part to my dad, I knew that God the Father loves me, too. So much that His plan included His Son's death in my place in order that my sins might be blotted out and I might ultimately live forever in the joy of His perfect presence.

Today my earthly father is in Heaven -- absent from the body, present with the Lord. I live with the joy of the Lord, and with the blessed assurance that we will be reunited, two children of God among those in the priesthood of believers. As my father's brother said at his graveside service: "Not goodbye, but see you soon."

In the mean time, we have Good News to share with the world!