Musings on Father's Day & Family Reunion News + Sneaky Devotional

Father's Day Reflections 2016

It's 7:20a, & I'm writing this at my daughter's home in Lincoln, NE. ADVANCE DISCLAIMER:  This may be a little abstract random, reflecting my current mental state. You've been warned.

• It's a blessing to have two sons-in-law & a son who are wonderful fathers. It's a blessing to get to see them in action fairly often enough to make that call. [You can call me biased . . . I don't care . . . IMB.*] 
• DIGRESSION FOLLOWS:  I'm sipping my 2nd cup of Sumatran Reserve coffee, courtesy of my daughter Sarah & her Keurig. She knows it's my favorite Keurig-coffee product & almost always keeps a supply on hand. It ranks right up there [I'm almost loathe to admit.] with Seattle's Best Dark Roast #5. My daughters [I have two of them.] & daughter-in-law [I have one.] are cool, too. I love them all. 
• IMPORTANT REMINDER & OBVIOUS INSIGHT:  You cannot honestly celebrate Fathers' Day without acknowledging the contributions made by mothers in order to make this Hallmark day possible. I'm just sayin'. 
• QUICK ASIDE:  My son Nathan writes a wonderful blog, "Twin Cities Runner." His most recent post focused as much on his experience thus far this summer taking care of Calvin **. My son is a very good writer. [SEE previous comments re:  bias.] I have to admit to being a little envious . . . the thought never entered my mind to take time off from work to be a stay-at-home dad & devote myself full-time to the care of my son . . . Why not? [Lois possibly wouldn't have let me?]
• REMINISCENCE #1:  Playing catch with my dad. In my last season playing Little League baseball, I played pitcher, among other positions. Our coach sent a catcher's mitt home with me with the instructions to spend time every day playing catch with my dad. [I wasn't as faithful as I should have been . . . maybe explaining why I wasn't the ace on our staff?!] We would walk a few houses down the alley to the gravel lot behind St. Paul's Lutheran Church in Concordia, MO, pace off the distance between the pitching rubber & home place, & my dad would "catch me." I still remember the pained look as some of my "fastballs" [Quotation marks denote the relative use of the term.] struck the catcher's mitt squarely in the palm instead of the web. I thought it was funny. Looking back years later, I realize that it was one of many examples of how I was a little jerk.
• REMINISCENCE #2:  We were driving back from a family vacation to Colorado, Summer of 1971. It was the first visit my brother, sister & I made to the Rockies . . . It was awesome . . . & we were suitably awed! **** Dad was driving & thought I was napping in the back seat. I heard him comment to Mom about how much I really seemed to love the mountains. That felt like a strong moment of bonding to me . . . It felt like he really understood what the experience meant to me.
• REMINISCENCE #3:  Lois & I helped my parents get packed up to move from the house on Main St. where we grew up in Concordia, MO. While we were doing "triage" on the years & years of accumulated "memories," + I found Dad sitting on the back porch steps, sorting through boxes of cancelled checks. It was a nostalgic time for him. As I stood there, he showed me a check that he wrote in 1967. It was for my first year's tuition at St. Paul's College High. It was for $400.
• REMINISCENCE #4a:  This one is bittersweet . . . After Mom had her stroke & moved into the Good Shepherd Home, Dad was left alone in the only house they over owned [on Orange St, almost directly behind & one block west of the house on Main St.]. We had seen signs of his forgetfulness, but after he was on his own, it was obvious how much Mom had been a crutch for him. Eventually, he, too ended up in the Good Shepherd Home . . . and eventually dementia overtook him . . . followed by alzeimer's. It's jarring when the strong, stalwart man who was your father becomes the frail, faltering man in a wheelchair . . . 
• REMINISCENCE #4b . . . Yet he's still your father, isn't he? We grew up in a family that wasn't particularly demonstrative when it came to expressing emotions such as love . . . not a lot of hugging . . . not a lot of verbal expressions of "I love you." ++ In those last couple years, as I witnessed my father's failing health, I think I grew to love him . . . felt more compassion for him . . . more strongly. I found myself often placing my hand on his shoulder, his back, hugging him as I told him, "Good-bye" . . .  I found myself getting emotional when I said my good-bye. [The same could be said for wishing my mom a good-bye, as well.] . . . and the words, "I love you," became easy to express.

* "It's my blog."

** Our newest reason to celebrate Fathers' Day & the blessing of 2 sons-in-law & 1 son who are wonderful fathers. Calvin *** is our 2nd grand-son & 4-months old.

*** A Lutheran baby named "Calvin." Still can't get over it. Still love him. Still chuckle about it.

**** So much, in fact, that when Dad & Mom gathered us around the dining room table the next winter & discussed where we should spend the next summer vacation, Carolyn, Mark & I all voted for the Rocky Mts again. We vacationed in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. So much for the democratic process. *****

***** I'll admit that Mackinaw Island was pretty cool.

+ In one of the closets upstairs, there were boxes that had accompanied their move from Kansas in the summer of 1954 . . . boxes never opened.
++ Maybe not uncommon in families of Northern Germanic ancestry . . . but I don't know.

Countdown Continues :: Eleven {11} Days from Today!!

The Hill Family 2016 Summer Reunion officially begins on THU 6/30 in the Twin Cities. According to my "inside" information, my wife, one of The Sisters, will be arriving there already on WED 6/29 . . . which should count for something . . . I'm not sure what.

Also, I'd like to remind familial members that I have both a "camp follower" designation, as the spouse of one of The Sisters, but also what I consider to be a "familial" designation, as I am related to the offspring of David Hill . . . who is married to Carmen . . . who is my 1st cousin . . . making their progeny my nephews AND 2nd cousins . . . This, too, should count for something . . . I'm not sure what.

"Sneaky" Sunday Devotional

Today's Scriptural Truth:  "The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by Him we cry, 'Abba, Father.'" (Romans 8:15)

Today's Devotional Thought:  According to St. Paul, whom I would say is a much more reliable source than Paul Leckband, the Almighty Creator of all things . . . including you & me, invites us to call Him . . . Daddy! 

Amazing Father . . . Amazing grace!
Today's Prayer Thoughts:

• Give thanks that the Almighty Creator of the Universe invites us to call Him "Daddy."
• Ask God to open the heart of those who may not yet know Jesus as the Son of God, sent by the Father to be our Lord & Savior.
• Thank God for godly father's.
• Ask Him to bless children with godly fathers & grand-fathers.
• Ask Him to especially bless those women who are forced to raise their children in the absence of a father.