Happy Son's Day - To Me!
My dad died early this year. It was a surprise - not a good one. Is death ever really a good surprise?!?
I have been surprised by many things since that day. The intense hole in my head and heart. The loss of reaching out for advice or his laugh. Travelling to Boise and not seeing him. Traveling to his grave-side instead…
I have also been surprised by his legacy living in me!
This Sunday, we had a speaker come to our church. His opening story was about image-bearing - how humans uniquely bear the image of God. He shared how golf legend Phil Mickelson learned to play golf by watching his father. Phil is right-handed, but he became a left-handed golfer because he stood opposite his dad and mimicked his golf swing. Because he was standing opposite of him, he learned the mirror-image of his dad’s golf swing.
I love that picture. I love that it speaks to how I can reflect the image of God though the life of Jesus - since I am a Jesus-follower. It also was a surprise to think about the things I mirror from my dad. He didn’t get to raise me in my younger years. But he did raise me in my latter years. His life was a legacy on me, for me, and now for him.
It is a great honor when people notice my dad in me:
· in my gestures - my siblings regularly spot them in me and they love it - so do I
· my looks - he would always say "man, you are good-looking - you must get that from your dad"
· my creativity and leadership skills- my dad was an expert entrepreneur starting many successful businesses
· my empathy - he was genuinely moved by people's plights and problems, going out of his way to help people in meaningful ways
· my passion for Jesus and people -he loved Jesus, the church and people - sometimes to a fault
My dad poured his life out and a lot of it got poured into me! He wasn't perfect. He made mistakes. He had challenges and struggles. We had challenges and struggles together. But watching him work through the good parts and the other parts, impacted me and changed me.
This morning as I saw posts people were making to honor their sons on Son’s Day. As I thought about my dad and being his son, I had one of those gut-cries - the type that shake your entire body from your physical and emotional core. After that I made a different post for Son’s Day. I said “Happy Son’s Day to me. I am honored to be my Dad’s son!” And I am- profoundly so.
My dad made me braver and stronger. I think I may have made him a little braver and stronger too. We were braver and stronger together.
Pouring your life into people is worth the outlay; it is worth the risk of it being ignored or scorned, dismissed or discounted. It is also worth the risk of being impacting - or having a legacy that lives larger than you did - like my dad.
Who is mirroring you? Who are you being a mirror for?
Live out some of your legacy today - pour your life out into someone!
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