My Father's Hands
( a tribute to my father with thanks to God)
 
Your life that was, a figment it isn’t;
with hands on my shoulders,
negotiating me through Big Central Market --
stopping at our humble version of Cold Storage,
our inner sanctum harbouring dried goods,
our watered, white-tiled flooring with tables of fresh sea-harvest, and
our open-air display of veggies in organised rows,
basket laden with materials for your wok and pots,
while your humming overhead propelled us on.
 
Your sudden autumn flight in January was:
Not a bungee jump,
neither a rushing through Thunder Mountain,
nor the descent of a hand-held glider --
more like a leaf shedding, in its fullness of time,
minus the drying, shrivelling, trampling, and raking away,
transcending mortality and adding now to the compost for your tended garden,
fuelling steadfast minds, diligent hands, love of spouse and children,
culminating heavenwards in a yielding to Higher Hands. WB
Have included two articles here as Tributes to Fathers:
A Praying Father
By Henry Bosch
 
A minister concluded his sermon one Sunday by saying, "If there's someone here who wants help in getting to kow God, and you would like me to pray for you, please raise your hand." A young man stood up and said, "Please pray for me, sir. The burden in my sin is too heavy to bear."
 
    After the service the minister talked with the man and led him to faith in Jesus. The young man had been wandering around the country for 8 years without contacting his parents, so he decided to write to them and tell them about the change in his life.
 
    Several days later, a reply came from his mother: "My dear son, you must have accepted Jesus Christ at the same hour your father went home to heaven. He had been sick for a long time, and that day he was very restless. He tossed from side to side on his bed, crying out, 'Lord, please save my poor, wandering boy.' I'm sure that one of the reasons you became a Christian was Dad's unceasing intercession."
 
    A praying father will "ask," "seek," and "knock" on behalf of his children, persistently trusting his wise heavenly Father to do what is best (Matthew 7:7-11).
 
    Let' thank God today for faithful fathers who never stop praying for their children.
 
We thank You, Lord, for fathers true
Who always spoke to us of You;
Their great concern and tender care
Assured us of their constant prayer.
 

(Source: Our Daily Bread (15/Jun/2003) © 2003 RBC Ministries. All rights reserved.)
Losing Dad
By David McCasland
Author Neil Chethik wrote a book about the way sons cope with the death of their dads. He commissioned a survey of 300 men and found that 65 percent said the death of their father affected them more than any other loss in their lives. Chethik said, "Each man, it seemed to me, experienced a significant reordering of his inner landscape."
 
    One 48-year-old minister said: "When my father died, it was as if I had lived in ... a house with a picture window looking out on a mountain range. Then one day I looked out the window, and one of the mountains was gone."
 
    When Jacob died, Joseph experienced a great loss. We read that "Joseph fell on his father's face, and wept over him, and kissed him" (Genesis 50:1). The period of ceremony, mourning, and burial lasted more than 2 months.
 
    For most of us, our fathers will die before we do. And we should feel free to grieve our loss, whether our memories are happy or painful.
 
    God promises that one day "there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying" (Revelation 21:4). Until then, tears are God's gift for the cleansing of the soul when we must cope with losing Dad.

(Source: Our Daily Bread (16/Jun/2003) © 2003 RBC Ministries. All rights reserved.)

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