Today, I wanted to share with you the newsletter article my Dad wrote for his church a few weeks ago. [For those who don't know, Mike is my Dad. Kathy is my mom]
I hope you experienced a wonderful Thanksgiving with your family and friends last week. We had one of those “moments” at our family Thanksgiving table. Of course, there are all kinds of “moments,” some good and others not so good. Thankfully, we had one of those good moments.
We have a large number of folks at our Thanksgiving table. We gather at Kathy’s parent’s house. That includes all of her siblings and their children and grandchildren. For the last several years I have brought my dad to share in the day. For most years, Mike, the preacher, prays the prayer. Or, sometimes it is one of our kids. We really love it when our beautiful granddaughter, Anna, leads us in one of her prayers she learns at church. We were trying to coax her to pray when the moment happened, just all of a suddern, right out of the blue, as they say.
“Our Father, who art in heaven, Hallowed by thy Name…”
My father began the Lord’s Prayer and in a few moments, the family joined in. That was our “grace” at Thanksgiving. He prayed most of it from memory, although there is so mch he does not remember. You know my father; I have spoken of his faithful Christian witness often. He is 95, has lived with Alzeimer’s for at least 15 years, and he does not always remember all his family. But he knows old songs, he knows Scripture, and he knows the prayer Jesus taught his disciples.
That was a “moment” but not the only one. We were deeply touched when a good friend shared a poem she wrote about my father. I guess facebook is a pretty neat thing after all.
Jack
Sitting in the place you now call home
What do you see?
What do you hear?
Who do you know?
Family comes, you smile.
Music plays, you dance.
Sitting in a place called church
What do you see?
What do you hear?
Who do you know?
Scripture is read, you remember.
Hymns are played, you sing.
Sitting at the Thanksgiving table
What do you see?
What do you hear?
Who do you know?
People talk, you listen.
Heads bow, you pray.
Looking at Jack
What do we see?
What do we hear?
Who do we know?
We see our Dad, our Papaw, and a Precious Child of God.
We hear voices of the past. Words of wisdom, words of prayer, words of love.
We know a man filled with the grace of God. A man who lead by example. A man called Dad, Papaw, and Precious Child of God. And God knows Jack and holds him in the palm of his hand.