Dear Dad,
If I’m completely honest, this time last year I didn’t think you would be here to see this day. All my life, I assumed that you would live to be in your late 90s, strong and healthy as an ox, just like Grandma and Grandpa. All my dreams and assumptions about that came crashing down on a beautiful day in early September in 2018.
Instead, what I was reminded of during the hardest time in my life was that today and tomorrow are completely in God’s hands, that we have much less control than we like to think, that His grace is enough to get us through the deepest anxiety and pain, and that you are even stronger than I ever imagined.
You have always been a rock to me but now I know you are immovable. Through the hardest time in your life, you have remained steadfast, never complaining, and never losing hope. I have seen a living example of what it looks like to be anchored in your faith. I am more grateful for that than I can express.
Today, as I celebrate your birthday (thankful that I can be here in person), I realize I am a blessed man because I’ve been blessed by a man who has taught me how to be one. I know that in some ways you feel broken because you can’t stand up and walk like you used to, but know this: you’ve never stood taller than you do right now in my eyes. It is still my desire to be even half the man you are and to have the kind of influence on my sons that you have, and continue to have, on me. I love you to the moon. Happy birthday, Superman!
Your loving son,
David
