Happy Father's Day!

Every year it is the same.  The challenge to put what is in my heart on paper or wrapped behind a bow, and be miles apart. 

A phone call, that is nice.  But it doesn't feel enough or even as if that is a "gift".

I could mention that my dad is the BEST DAD in the whole world.  But everyone says that, and even though there is much truth in those words, what would make mine anymore different?

I have mentioned all of the cherish memories of my time with my dad I treasure.  I know it never gets old for him, and how I love remembering them ... but I want this year to be something different.

I could dig out the pictures and make a memory video for him ... but I did that for Mom, how can I make my dad stand out?

What about a present to send?  Truthfully I wouldn't know what to get.  Whatever he may need, my mom gets him.  I just get lost in the shopping isles, and nothing speaks to the depth of my love for my dad.

I go through this challenge every year.  My heart is in the right place, but the action just doesn't back it up.

What surprises me about my dad is how great of a dad he is.  Hear me out, making such a statement.  I have heard the challenges and even pain that my dad went through as he grew up in his home, and enduring the dad he had.  I see my dad as an overcomer.  He not only chose not to be like his father, but take the role of father seriously and be the very dad he wanted.  He didn't hear how proud his father was of him ... but Dad, I am very proud of you!  He didn't have a father rooting him on in all his accomplishments ... but Dad, I am your biggest fan! 

As I struggle this year of what to give you, praying about it.  God gave me the very gift to give him.  I receive devotions everyday.  And this one took the feelings in my heart and put it on paper ... all I had to do was give it to you.  So with everything in me, I give you these words and a huge hug over the many miles that separate us.  Because of your love for me that you have shared with me, I am able to understand more of God's love.  You are a big part of my testimony and why I have the faith I have today.  Thank you Dad!

JUNE 13, 2014 Thank You, Dad SUZIE ELLER

"A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows, is God in his holy dwelling." Psalm 68:5 (NIV)

 

Moments after I stopped by my parents' house, my dad clutched his chest.

 

Knowing the hospital was close, my mom and I helped him to the car. I pressed hard on the gas pedal, keeping an eye on the man who reclined in the passenger seat as I raced toward the nearby emergency room.

 

The news was not good. Doctors said his heart was badly damaged, and open-heart surgery was the only option.

 

Doctors scheduled the procedure for the next day. Since I lived in another city, I drove home to gather my things before returning the next morning for a long stay.

 

The sun crept over the horizon as I drove westward to be with my parents during my dad's surgery. Visits were strictly limited, and my time with my dad was to be an hour before he would go in to the operating room.

 

When I arrived, a nurse informed me that my dad wasn't in his room.

 

I rushed up the stairs to the surgical floor waiting room. "They took him back a half hour ago, Suzie," my brother said. "It happened so quickly we just barely got to see him." I buried my head in my brother's chest and wept.

 

My dad was in surgery with his chest split open ... and I didn't get to say thank you.

 

Thank you for taking the place of our biological father who should have loved those tiny girls but for whatever reason didn't.

 

Thank you for taking two little girls who didn't have a father and making them your own.

 

Thank you for never seeing us in a different light than my brothers and sister who were born later.

 

Thank you for rejoicing that you won the prize another failed to claim.

 

When I was younger I didn't always appreciate this gift. I loved the man I called Dad, but often wondered about the other one. Did I look like him? Where was he? Did he think of me? What might it be like if I had my biological father in my life?

 

As an adult, and as a parent, I saw it differently. Being a dad isn't always tied to DNA.

 

One man was there at my conception, but another took the more difficult path. He went to work every day. He showed up at events. He disciplined and loved me, watched me graduate and marry. He took the name "Papaw" as he embraced my children.

 

I know not every woman who grew up without a biological father's love has this type of experience. But all of us can know the love of God as our heavenly Father.

 

Psalm 68:5 describes God as "a father to the fatherless." It's a theme woven throughout Scripture from beginning to end. Our God loves orphans and rescues the abandoned. This is a work close to His heart.

 

Later that evening, after Dad's surgery, I sat in the shadows with the rhythmic swish of the respirator the only sound in the room. I silently offered up gratitude.

 

First, because my dad had made it through the surgery.

 

Second, because this man partnered with God's heartbeat when he stepped in to love two little girls without a daddy.

 

I leaned over the bed and whispered the words I could no longer hold back: "Thank you, Dad."

 

And thank You, God, for loving me with a perfect Father's love.

 

Dear Lord, thank You for loving me as a Heavenly Father. Thank You for bringing people into my life who partnered with You in that love. In Jesus' Name, Amen.

Happy Father's Day, DAD!

I truly love you so very much!

Happy Father's Day My Dearheart

Our message to our girls this past year has been they don't have to spend money for a nice gift. It's a hard message to teach and learn when sales for the coolest thing are all around you, or when you hear of what so and so has bought their father, or even when you have a heart that it would just be nice to provide for Dad once, the way he has provided for you countless of times. It's just plain hard. But we went beyond the storebought gift, and created something that spoke to Duane's heart this Father's Day.

The gift that made Duane's heart overfill (please turn music off at the bottom of the blog) ...

And with a heart filled with love we all took him to the mountains for his favorite things to do...hiking with his family.

And with that Duane had the best Father's Day yet! And the girls so understand, it's giving from the heart that makes a difference. And to my Dearheart, you are such a great Daddy - because you look to the Greatest Father of them All. We love you so very much!

What Father's Day Means to Me...

Duane and I were praying over our Father's today. We expressed our gratitude for blessing us with amazing and wonderful Dads. And then memories flooded my mind...

I remember countless numbers of tickling on the family room floor.

My favorite memories are when my Dad and I would go to the dump and one time I didn't but he thought of me still and brought home a tumbleweed for me to play with. All the other times I did go we stopped off at 7-eleven to get a Slurpee.

I remember going to a police auction and my dad bidding on my baseball mitt that I still have today.

I remember helping my dad hand the Christmas lights. And during the cold, dark night sharing with him my dreams and thoughts.

I remember hiding some stray kittens from him, and after he found out, him throwing his arms in the air as he knew he couldn't say "no" to me.

I remember my dad could do everything.

I remember spending every year going camping and my dad going with me to the Ranger meetings so I could be a junior ranger. I also remember him getting "Racky Raccoon"'s footprint for me. And I remember piling his Thing with camping gear as I sat on it all, until we reached the campground.

I remember thinking my Dad was the best, and still do.

I remember my dad being my biggest fan.

I remember my dad's lasagna and tacos...and thinking there isn't a better chef then him.

I remember hiding in the kitchen closet and scaring him half to death when he got home from work.

I remember coming home and not even reaching our property and hearing rap music blasting from our home.

I remember my dad helping my friends tp my car. And then I remember tp'ing my own home for my dad's birthday.

As I think of my dad this father's day I am reminded of all the special memories my dad and I have shared I can't help but be thankful for him. My dad has touched me, has spoken into my life more than he realizes. But what my dad forgets, what my dad doesn't realize that he has given me the greatest gift. My dad gave me his name, he brought me into his home and called me his and never was I ever thought of differently. My dad had and has that much love for me. My dad is my hero for he rescued me. As my dad is in California and I in Colorado, my thoughts and prayers remain with him today, and I am reminded of how blessed I am.

Happy Father's Day Dad! I love you so very much!