December 20, 2020 My dad gave me away at mine and Bill’s wedding.
The greatest way I can give honor to my dad today is to speak of his loving and kind ways. I remember a neighbor who came to our house almost every Friday because he knew my dad was off work on Fridays. He was an “odd bird” as some would say, but dad spent time with him. He let him help with odd jobs around the house and just made him feel accepted and loved. I am sure that Uncle Mitch knows the man of whom I am referring. As a child, these are the acts of genuine kindness that I remember.
Also, on those Fridays that he was off work. He would take my sister, Stephanie on long bike rides all over Greenhill in her baby seat. I was a teenager then, but I remember what a loving and proud dad he was, and Stephanie remembers these special adventures. These bike rides became their Friday routine. They continued until she couldn’t fit in that baby seat anymore.
Not only did Dad love and nurture us siblings, but he also helped raise grandchildren. His first grandson, Jason was the apple of his eye. I remember dad taking Jason out to the burn pile where he burned our garbage and Jason stepped on a hot, melting milk jar and burnt his big toe. I remember daddy carrying Jason into the house, telling us, “He ouched his big toe. Poor little thing!” I felt the gentleness and kindness in my dad always in everything he said and did.
As a child, I remember our well running dry almost every summer. My dad never got upset or cussed about anything bad happening. He simply sought a solution for the problem. The solution was always to send my brother, Rodney down in a bucket to dig the well deeper. God always blessed us when we found a deeper supply of water! Yes, it was inconvenient, but OH the lessons that my dad taught me in the waiting. As my pastor often says…”That’s a nugget!”
It’s in the waiting that we often see the hand of God. I saw and knew the hand of God was on me and my dad as we both fought cancer at the same time. I received a sweet message from one of the infusion nurses at CCI in Florence expressing their love and prayers through this difficult time. But I know that my dad is at peace and that he will experience NO more pain. He is eating from the Table in heaven, and nothing tastes bitter. I have experienced this perfect peace and love that God will give you during great pain and suffering. I was surrounded and overwhelmed by God’s light and love while in a coma for 6 days at the onset of APL (Acute Promyelocytic Leukemia). I will admit that at times I want to go back to that peaceful place. God spoke to my spirit while I was in the coma that I was not in heaven and that I was NOT going to die. That sustained me through the next 8 months of chemo and procedures. You see sometimes it is in the waiting. I am celebrating my healing here on earth, but my dad received his ultimate healing by going on to heaven.
I want to share with you a little more about summers on Scott hill. Since we grew up without air-conditioning, it was an anticipated and almost daily activity during the hot summer months to load up in the back of the truck; dogs too and go to the creek. Blue Water creek was a favorite. Daddy always had a bar of soap in the truck. I remember climbing up the tree by the creek and jumping in. I recall at least a couple of times being so excited about cooling off that I jumped off the tree with my glasses on. I remember my daddy getting a little upset with me about that because everyone knows that diving for a pair of eyeglasses and finding them in a muddy creek is almost impossible. BUT God is a God that hears our prayers. As a 10-year-old girl, I cried out to God and asked HIM that when we go back to swim the next day for Him to help me find my glasses. God proved himself faithful through my cousin, Barry. The first time he jumped in and dove down deep, he came back up holding my glasses! Now that will build your faith!
I remember visiting someone in the hospital one day when I was a little girl. As my dad was backing out to leave, he hit a little sports car that was not visible in his rearview mirror. He did not have to think about it or hesitate. He got out of the car and left his name and phone number on the windshield of the car. Doing the right thing was ingrained in my dad. I can stand here and say, I never remember my dad NOT doing the right thing. I never remember my dad operating in selfish ways. I never remember my dad smoking, drinking, cussing, or treating anyone with anything but love and respect. Oh that every child could say that about their dad. People that know me, know that my kind heart is an extension of both my daddy’s heart and my Heavenly Father’s heart.
I want to close with a few scriptures:
Matthew 19:19-“Honor your father and mother and love your neighbor as yourself.”
Exodus 20:12 –“Honor your father and your mother. Then you will live a long, full life in the land the LORD your God is giving you.”
Isaiah 40:31- “But they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength: they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.”
I Corinthians 13: 4-8 “Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance. ONLY LOVE will last forever!
LOVE never fails!
Written by: Teresa (Scott) Tate
TateandTateGodSpeed 