He was a flawed man, but I didn’t know it. He wasn’t perfect, but I didn’t notice. In my eyes, he was perfect. He made good decisions. He gave good advice. He was an astute business man. He always did the right thing. He was a strong leader. He was a godly influence. He had his flaws, but they will remain nameless. He had to be flawed. He was human. So he had strengths and weaknesses, like everyone else. But I saw him as the man of all men. He was the one to be looked up to at all times. I never doubted his advice. I never questioned his decisions. At least, not out loud. I followed his instructions to a T. I knew that he loved me. He was my dad.

He had a sense of humor. In my mind’s eye, I can still see him throw his head back and give a big belly laugh. He was a disciplinarian. He kept his kids on the straight and narrow. He was an authoritarian. His word was law in his household. No one in the house ever doubted that. Or talked back.

He was my father. The man of all times. He was a soldier. A welder. A farmer. He was a Christian. Father. Husband. Son. Brother. Uncle. Cousin. Grandfather. Great Grandfather. He was a man of God.

He read the Bible. He had daily devotions. He spent time with God. He served God by being involved in the church. He taught Sunday School. He was on the church board. He was the church treasurer. He was the Sunday School superintendent. He read the Bible to his kids on a daily basis. He prayed for his family. But first and foremost, he was a Christian. He loved God.

He once caught a man stealing his farm tools and drove him to the police station in the middle of the night. He was a man of courage. He served four years in the Army during the Korean war. He defended our freedom and our rights. He was a man of valor.

My dad loved his job. He loved farming. It was his life. Planting. Harvesting. Raising pigs. He loved his life on the farm. He would have been content to work the land until his dying day if his health had permitted. But with age came heart issues, causing him to slow down and retire. It was a sad day for him to sell the farm equipment and lease the land to an up and coming young farmer.

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Those who fear the Lord are secure; he will be a refuge for their children. Proverbs 14:26

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After every Sunday dinner, my dad would get up from the table and kiss my mom on the cheek and thank her for a delicious meal. He was a man deeply in love with his wife. He spent the last years of his life making sure my mother was taken care of as her memory slowly faded. He waited eleven days to take his final breath once he knew she was safely secured in heaven. And then he quietly joined her.

Oh. My dad never brought flowers to my mom. He rarely bought her a Christmas gift. But he gave her his undying love and devotion. He provided a godly influence to their family. He was a faithful, loving husband.

My dad has been in heaven for eight years now. I’m sure he’s having the time of his life. I’m looking forward to the day that I join him, and then we’ll never be separated again. It will be a glorious time.

Oh. If only we had more men like my dad today. This world would be a much better place. It still wouldn’t be a perfect world, but it would be a more secure, productive and kind world. It would be centered around God, the church, a satisfying career and a loving family.

I miss my dad.