Father’s Day
By Steve Williams
Mitchell County
Howdy:
Father’s Day is here again. I am so thankful to still have my father around. His name is Floyd Williams, he is 88 years old and doing great at this time in his life. Each day is an adventure for him, to see what he can do and get into. This just blows me away to see how active he is at this age of his life. He is constantly on the go in the community visiting others and seeing what he can do to help others. He enjoys going to the senior center, walking, fellowship, eating with the other seniors and most of all he love’s the Bible Studies that Daniel Whetstine shares each Tuesday at the senior center.
As I look back on my life some of the greatest things I ever did in my younger life were with my dad. He would take me out selling Raleigh Products and other things. He took me squirrel hunting, and rabbit hunting. We would go fishing and he taught me how to clean them. Each year we would get calves from his uncle at a dairy and raise them from a bottle to the time you would have them butchered. It was sad to see the cows go. but that is the way you were able to eat in my days. My dad took time to teach me how to build things as small as rabbit boxes to small sheds to barns to put our tractor in. Some of the greatest times in my life as a child was when dad would take the whole family to Lake Wylie for a vacation. There would be fishing, swimming, horseshoes, and all kinds of great cooking. The great thing about these lake vacations was that I got to also share them with my wife Beverly, son Tommy, and daughters Jessica and Sharon.
My dad was a retired Army & Air Force. He loves this country and was proud to serve in its ranks. But the greatest thing that stands out to me about my dad is this. He is a Christian, and he loves serving the Lord with His life. I’ve seen my dad become stronger and stronger in his faith in Christ as he has grown older. I don’t mean to seem like I am bragging but my dad has been a blessing to many people over the years. He sat with my mom for several years at the Brian Center till she died, from 7:30 am to most nights at 8 pm when they would put her to bed. I wonder why my mom had to go there. I found out that is where God would use my dad in a great way. He would walk the halls visiting and helping other people. This was told to me by the staff members there, and also the family members who had their loved ones there. He witnessed to many people about Jesus Christ and also many came to know Jesus Christ as their personal Savior. Each Wednesday dad would push people up to the lunchroom where he would join up with the Golden Age Singers, sing to the people about God, and would share with them the love of God. Since mom’s passing, I have seen my dad even become stronger in his faith. He will share Jesus with anybody at the drop of a hat. He loves to stand in Berry Chapel, where I have the privilege of pastoring and testify about how Wonderful and Great his God Is. I’d like to thank God for the dad I have. No, he’s not perfect but there is one thing I know, and that is he loves the Lord with all his heart and without a shadow of a doubt, one day he will be in Heaven with his Lord and Savior forevermore. Dad, I Love You. Happy Father’s Day.
Word of Wisdom:
- Lives of great dad’s all remind us, that we can make our lives sublime, and, departing, leave behind us, footprints on the sands of time. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
- Great Dad’s are like eagles, and build their nest in some lofty solitude. Arthur Schopenhauer
- In reading the lives of great dads, I found that the first victory they won was over themselves. N/A
- Great dads produce families that follow in their footsteps. (most of the time) N/A
- When fathers come home after a tough day at work, they should come home to serve, like my father did, teaching lessons around the dinner table and leading the family in worship and prayer. Tony Evans
Words of Humor:
One summer evening during a violent thunderstorm a mother was tucking her small boy into bed. She was about to turn off the light when he asked with a tremor in his voice, “Mommy, will you sleep with me tonight?” The mother smiled and gave him a reassuring hug. “I can’t, dear,” she said. “I have to sleep with Daddy.”
A long silence was broken at last by his shaky little voice: “Dad’s a big sissy isn’t he.”
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Steve Williams is the pastor of Berry Chapel Baptist Church in Spruce Pine, North Carolina. You can read more good Christian news from Steve HERE.
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