Daily Digest #307

Fathers, do not provoke your children, lest they become discouraged. —Colossians 3:21

I can say I have a loving relationship with my father. Though he's not perfect, he has strongly instilled the importance of family in my heart. And I only realized this very recently. Maybe because of the distance we have away from each other that makes us miss one another hehehehe. I remember asking Papa last time what his best memory was in his 34 years of marriage with Mama, and he quickly responded, "our family being complete, spending time together". I was deeply moved by his reply. I looked back when I was growing up and learned how much he has sacrificed for the family, although many of us do not really realize them.

I have this memory when I was 3-4yrs old that we always went out of the city (beach, mountain) on weekends. And I remember Him letting me hold the stirring wheel while I sat on his lap back then. He also taught me Math in gradeschool, i remember so well how he wrote numbers and signs (fat and bold heheh). I remember him taking us to the pool near the house so early in the morning to swim in the newly changed (but highly chlorinated) water. I remember him guarding us till morning while we slept in the tent at our own backyard (or our grandparents' frontyard). I remember him attending a parent-teacher meeting which he rarely did, and even agreed to become the president (or vice president) of the PTA. I remember him watching me in high school when I was going through the drills for corps commander selection. I remember him teaching me how to drive a car (and I almost got us straight towards the rice field haha). I remember him picking me up at the freshmen dorm with his company van back then, and encouraged me to come with him to Bicol, which meant, I'd miss 2 or 3 days of school, which turned out really great :D My sister, who was in Vietnam that time, called and was surprised that I was home in the middle of the semester! I remember Papa teaching me how to swing a golf club in our little garden at home. I remember him trying to teach me play tennis (all my siblings can play except me) but I just couldn't hit the freakin' ball (ironically, I play tabletennis fairly well). I remember him teaching me how to cook and cut the veggies and meat. I remember our roadtrips together for hours, and didn't really care if our bums hurt (we took the motorbike). He also taught me how to ride the motorbike recently.

There's a lot more wonderful, and sad, memories, but I think I have shared enough. They may seem little to some, but reminiscing about them now makes them mean a lot more to me. I believe Papa has offered himself (time, effort, experiences) as a father, a friend and a teacher. I know my sisters and brother have their own set of memories about my father, and I'd be very much excited to hear about them.

Let us honor our fathers, not only on Father's Day, but for always. Let us honor both our parents. I always have this thought that there will come a time that my parents will not be here anymore (knock on wood), and I wish to spend as much quality time with them whenever we're together and establish any kind of communication with them everyday as much as possible. What I learned from others' stories and experiences, children tend to do this only when their parents are too old to do anything. And I do not want that with my parents. They're still young and strong, but I wish that they have more wonderful memories with us even as they grow older.

For this, let us pray. Lord, thank You for our parents. Thank You for letting us experience love and joy at home. We know our parents are not perfect, but we have faith that they are doing their utmost. Lord, we know that they have had mistakes and shortcomings, too. Please help us forgive them for any pain that they have caused in our lives, and also remember that You have allowed these things to happen for a reason. Lord, give us the strength and courage to express our gratitude to our parents who have chosen life for us, no matter how our childhood has turned out. Please bless each member of our families. We pray that we are all safe and living this day for Your purpose. Amen.