A Father's wisdom

Read Proverbs 4

It's been nearly ten years. It's surreal to even think it's been that long. Shelly and I went north to see my Dad who had been admitted to a hospital in Worcester, Mass.. We visited with him on a Friday afternoon, then when he started to get tired, we left the hospital and went to our motel. He was a little tired, but seemed to be doing ok. The next morning, we received the call that everyone dreads...My dad was gone. We were at Old Sturbridge Village at the time, and I remember closing my phone and heading for the car without saying a word because I knew I'd be incomprehensible. Shelly figured it out pretty quick though.

We met my mom at the hospital, prayed around the body that had so recently held my dad's spirit, then headed back to Westfield. The week was a blur. I know I sang at Dad's funeral. I remember being upset because they had an open casket viewing against his wishes and refused to go in until the casket was closed because that was something he'd been adamant about. I remember a full church at the memorial service held the Thursday after his death. And I remember my dad in my dreams. Even now, it's usually only once a week, but my dad is still there.

Above and beyond that, I remember my dad always pushing me to be wise and not foolish, to embrace wisdom. He seemed to always have a proverb to quote to me from the Bible, and always in the KJV: "Go to the ant thou sluggard! Consider her ways and be wise," or "a rod is for the back of fools," or any number of others.

My dad also taught me the value of integrity. Some people find it strange that I refuse to lie. I've even quit a job because I was asked to lie and I refused to work for an employer who would ask me to be dishonest. But every time it's suggested that I lie, I remember my dad saying: "Always tell the truth, never lie, but you don't have to volunteer information until you're asked." Usually this speech was given after I'd shared a bit of personal family information as young children are apt to do.  

I didn't always agree with my dad, but I always respected him.

Now, I have a son of my own. At times I find the wisdom my own father passed on to me coming out of my own mouth. I know that it may not take root for some years yet, but I hope that my father's wisdom will one day be of use to his grandson.

The thing about my father's wisdom is that it was his Father's wisdom. The values my dad drilled into me when I was young are the values, not of his earthly father, who was a good man in his own right, but rather the values of the Heavenly Father who laid down His wisdom in the Bible for us to read and understand. The apostle James wrote that we should pray for wisdom, and God would grant it to us in abundance so long as we trust Him to do so.

And that is what my earthly father passed along to his children. Wisdom is valuable. It is priceless. I hope I never forget the wisdom of my father. I hope that one day, my son embraces it as I have. His memory lives on.