Working with Dad

A week later and thoughts of my Dad still consume my mind.. I am flooded with memories from childhood as well as of those hard weeks prior to his death. Seeing him in such pain was almost more than I could bear. I began to argue with God about the pain. Dad didn't deserve that after giving so much of himself to God’s service.. But God settled my heart by letting me know that the time of pain was so short compared to eternity. After that I was at peace even though Dad continued to hurt.

Dad suffered a stroke a number of years ago. At that time I felt like I lost him. One day he was here, loud, passionate, opinionated and the next day he was different. He couldn’t get the words out that he was thinking. He couldn’t remember what he had read. He kept saying, it’s all gone, pointing to his head.

I grieved during this time. I was accustomed to seeing him everyday at work and discussing business. I missed him so much. As time went on I began to forget what he had been like and began to see him as he was. This blog has been wonderful in reminding me of the man I knew for so many years.

I worked for Dad at Gospel Publishing for a number of years and loved it. I was passionate about the work we were doing and I discovered some of my gifts. Dad helped me get started in business for myself by financing the advertising and set up. Don’t worry, he made it all back as JS Printing became successful. We celebrated when we first printed 25 jobs in a week, then 50, then 75. He was as excited to see us succeed as we were. I am so blessed to have had his help getting started.

I grinned inside when I was able to arrive at work earlier than Dad. This was hard to do. I ‘d hear him clapping those hands as he walked down the hall and then he’d ask, “whatcha doing here so early?” and I would respond “The early bird gets the worm”. A lot of those times he would invite me to go to Ken’s (better know as Red-Neck’s) for breakfast. Sometimes I’d go just for coffee if I had already eaten. Sometimes I would feel like I couldn’t spare the time

I guess my work ethic is one of the biggest gifts Dad gave me. He had me cutting grass at 10 years old and cleaning the church when we got older. He taught me to do a job well. Later when I would stuff newspapers for his advertisement, he would come out sometimes and help me. That spoke volumes of love to me.- giving his time to help me make a little extra money.

I rarely saw Dad without a book in his hand. He taught me by example that reading was a powerful way to grow.

I am so thankful for my heritage. I am thrilled to have this blog to read and record memories.

Until next time,

Sharon