He Gave Us Fathers

It’s A Wonderful Life is my favorite movie of all time. In the scene above, George Bailey’s honeymoon has just been canceled by a run on the bank. In a moment of gathering himself, he stops and takes a look at the picture of his deceased father hanging on the wall of his office. I can only imagine what would have been going through his mind at this moment, but for some reason this particular scene has been replaying in my mind as of late.

With my Dad’s passing almost five months ago, I find myself wanting to talk to him and wishing I had gotten more advice from him while I had the opportunity. He had real character. Realizing that he isn’t around for me to talk to feels so foreign and seems to hit me as if I have been awoken suddenly from a deep sleep. The reality of it all is still so incomprehensible to me. Behold the sting of death for those that wait for it but are laid waste through the collateral damage of lost loved ones. While I still live, I am reminded to be a good father, to be a good husband, to be a good steward of what God has placed in my charge. I am reminded to be thankful.

I thank God for godly parents. I thank God that I had a good Dad. I thank God that I will see him again. I thank God that there is an example behind me and a goal before me. I thank God that He will wipe away all tears and sadness. I thank God for His Son.

Thank God!

The Greatest Man I Ever Met

I first met him when I was nine years old…..

Steve Blanton, the greatest man I have ever met, born on October 9, 1954, died in the early morning of October 24, 2009. He is survived by his wife, 6 children, 3 grandchildren, his father, two sisters, and his brother.

…..There was a brunch at church that Sunday morning just before the service began and I noticed my Mom talking to a man whom I had seen going to the church for a while but had not ever met before. They seemed to be hitting it off pretty well and I was curious about who this gentlemen might be. So I decided to go over and meet him and after talking to him for just a brief time, I immediately loved and adored him…. Steve soon became the man I would call ‘Dad’.

He carried that title for just over twenty-five years, showing me that I was his son, not his step-son. He was a man of rare loyalty, integrity, patience, perseverance, and great faith in the Lord. He loved his family. He showed me, by his example, the character of a good man. He was a Dad to me when I did not have one by taking the job when no one else wanted it. And to him it was not a job, it was a labor of love in which he delighted. I thank God for the pleasure and privilege of knowing him, being raised by him, and working with him over the years. He will always be my Dad!