7.14.22

Father’s Day was about a month ago, and on that particular day I was making a short drive from Connecticut to New Jersey. I was driving in silence and just reflecting about my dad. One of the things that struck me, as I fell victim to the east coast traffic, was that my favorite compliment anyone can give me is “you’re just like your dad”. It most often comes from one of my aunts around the holidays after I recycle one of my dad’s famous one liners. But nonetheless, it is my favorite compliment to get.

I long to be just like my dad. He has such a diverse composition of qualities which I can only explain as gifts from his Maker. My dad is loving. When I was living at home during the Covid quarantine days, I noticed how intentionally he serves my mom. Each morning, before he does anything else, he empties the dishwasher, loads it, and grinds fresh coffee beans before my mom walks downstairs as a small act of service to her. My dad is funny. He finds a new way to work in his favorite joke about only marrying my mom for the green card about once every other week, but it never seems to fail in making the entire room laugh. My dad is charismatic. My siblings and I always joke that my dad makes a new friend everywhere he goes – and believe me, it’s not because he’s out looking for another friend. People are just drawn to my dad. My dad is compassionate. There’s a picture of him giving my sister a hug after her final gymnastics competition in high school, and you can see the tears running down his cheeks. He hurt as she did. My dad is cool. He’s a Canadian who played professional hockey, can absolutely whack a golf ball, and loves Led Zeppelin – beast! My dad is patient, fierce, a hard worker, smart, and much more – truly a personality with wonderfully blended variety.

Above all else, what I admire most about my dad is how he longs to be just like his Dad. My dad has a little chair up in his home office with a small side table and a lamp next to it. As a kid, I would walk up to my dad’s office before school and I would see him sitting in his chair with his Bible open. My dad has known the only way to be more like his father in heaven is to spend time with Him, growing in His love. Every once in a while, when my dad’s office was empty, I would go sit in his chair, open his Bible, and read his little notes he would scribble in the margins of his Bible. I longed to be like my dad. I wanted to know what God was teaching him and putting on his heart. I wanted to know what made him the way he was. God has been constantly chiseling my dad into the man he is, and I wanted to know how. I wanted to know how I could be more like him.

Thanks, dad. Thanks for teaching me that if I pursue a relationship with my heavenly father, I might one day be just like you.