My dad was precious in the sight of God.
In my Bible reading, I was reading through Luke in chapters 11 and 12, everything I read just pointed back to my dad — one who visited people in their homes, rather than preaching to large crowds in big meetings; one who stored up treasures in heaven; one who let the lamp shine on the lampstand to all in the house and as a city on a mountain; and one who was ready for the Lord at an hour that no one expected. I feel like these are just a few aspects of how given my dad was to the Lord, and I suppose that’s why the Lord took him for Himself.
But my dad was also precious in the sight of men. I didn’t realize how many lives my dad touched. All I knew him as was my dad, who would sit around the house, taking every available open stop to set up camp to watch the news, play sudoku, and zoom into his many meetings. But even in his trivial, habitual actions, my dad cared for us in the most genuine way.
My dad drove me everywhere. Despite his busy schedule, running all over the place to take care of people and the church, he also scheduled his life around my school, my violin, and piano lessons. He’d drive 30-45 mins to Davis every week for piano lesson, wait for a good hour or more, and take me home. My dad would occasionally make us pancakes in the morning and tritip for dinner. Whenever I brought up an exam that I was stressed for, he’d tell me to take a break, go get some sun, and call on the Lord. He’d say, “Lord, this exam…” My dad might not have always remembered what grade I was in, but he always checked on my spiritual condition — asking what I was going over in the Irvine Bible studies, and what I had enjoyed at conferences and such. My dad also liked seeing me spend time with the saints, so he’d always invited me to all the Sac State and team outings. Thanks to him, I was able to get to know the saints on the team better and had fun even in the midst of a lonely freshman year of college at home. There’s so many other little things that my dad did for me and my siblings to take care of us in our body, soul, and what seems to me was on his heart the most — our spirit.
To conclude, I would just say that my Dad’s pattern is one that encourages me. I naturally take after my dad personality-wise, so seeing how he loved and served people with no love of his, but with God’s love, I pray that the Lord would duplicate Himself in me likewise.