Happy Birthday, Daddy!

Today would have been my Dad's 78th birthday -- he passed away almost 8 years ago. It's always hard this time of year because I miss him SO much but there's also a strange comfort I get when I allow myself to stop & think of all the great memories I have and reflect on the man he was.

My dad was a runner. I know that doesn't sound very interesting in and of itself but it was where and how he loved to run that made him unique and brings a smile to my face. Dad was the maintenance man for our church, which was quite large both in number of members and square footage of the building. Dad paced out the sanctuary and knew just how many laps around equalled a mile. He would go into the sanctuary (not during worship services mind you), take off his shoes (I have always wanted to run barefoot!) and just run. With only the light that streamed through the stained glass windows, he would run and he would pray. Sometimes he'd be in there for hours but he never could seem to remember just how many laps he'd gone. He would be so intune with God that he'd forget to count the laps -- he just ran with God. Being a child and not a runner, I found this "ritual" to be quite silly and perhaps a bit irreverant. After all, he was running barefoot in the church building -- didn't our parents always say we should never run in church?!??!) Well, I'm no longer a child and I AM a runner so I must say, man, didn't he have it all figured out? Dad, I totally get it now!!!! How awesome to run free with your thoughts focussed on Almighty God as you reach out to Him in prayer. Did I mention that I totally get that now? :) He found a way to turn his love for running and his love for God into a way that drew him closer to God. But that's the way my dad was, everything he did, God was always the biggest part. Everything else was secondary.

I would give anything to run with my dad. Even if I had run with him as a child, I don't think I would have grasped the totality of what that would mean. Often when I run, I think of my dad and sometimes I even imagine he's right beside me. Especially when the distance is hard, it's my dad I think of. In my head, he escorted me across the finish line of the Little Rock marathon in 2008. Silly, huh?

While these are silly images I have conjured in my head to keep my dad's memory with me there is one thing that I can rely on. One day, when my life on earth is done, if the Lord find me faithful, I will get to run barefoot with my Dad in the presence of Almighty God! WOW!!! I can hardly wait!!!!!!!

Gotta run...

Lisa