My dad has been gone for twenty-two years.  One day, he was here, alive, and then he was not.
One day, he was farming, enjoying life, alive, and then he was gone.
One day, he was living day-to-day, alive, and then his days were spent.
Looking backward to the day dad left this world helps keep daily life in perspective.  God blessed me with a good dad, not perfect (of course), but good.
Dad was good in that his teachings and his dedication and his earthly teachings live on, even though he has gone home.
5 Lessons Learned from Dad—–
Lesson #1——Love God.  Make God a Priority.  He demonstrated this teaching to us by going to church with us, providing us needed time and numerous opportunities to know God.  Dad loved mom; it was apparent every day in our home, and he taught us the importance of loving the one we chose to walk with through life.
Lesson #2——Love our siblings.  We bickered (and sometimes fought) like typical brothers and sisters.  Dad did that too with his siblings, so he had experience, and dad had a set household rule….Don’t go to bed angry.  Make-up before we sleep because he knew we would need our siblings tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow and….
Lesson #3——Work Hard and Work Together   Dad was no stranger to work, and he wanted us to appreciate how the Bible describes work, that we should value a good day’s work, and then dad came up alongside of AS we worked and worked with us.  Growing up on an Indiana farm and then later a KY farm offered plenty of “working” opportunities.   I always looked up and I always saw dad….right there beside me……working with me.
Lesson #4——Play Hard and Smile Often.   Dad wore a smile.  He loved practical jokes; he loved sneaking around corners and jumping out to scare us or “pretending” to go after a TV snack, only to return with mom’s pantyhose covering his face as he leaned into the room, stayed quiet until we sensed his presence, and then enjoyed the thrill of hearing us shriek in surprise.  He never tired, nor did we, and mom played along in the fun too.
Lesson #5——Laugh Often and Laugh throughout all our Days.  My dad loved to make us smile.  He was not the writer or illustrator; yet, his daily notes left upon the counter when he went off to work, ones we found when we returned from school always brought us delight and reminded us why we loved him.   Dad loved to play, and his hobbies included spending time with his children; maybe that’s why he had a child for every day of the week.

Five lessons God taught dad that dad taught us, and five lessons that Dad shared with us before he left, before God took dad home.  The Bible clearly states that God knows our days BEFORE He writes our first day, and so, we know that God knew dad’s time was brief—-just 57 years, and we miss dad every day, even after twenty-two years.  Five lessons……….Before He Left Us. God took care of us, of our every need, and of our everything. That’s really quite a legacy for a dad to leave his family—–and I thank God every day for giving me a dad like Donnie Gene.    Thank You, God for gifting us with Donnie Gene as our dad——as my dad.   Thank You God for showing dad through Your Holy Word how to be a good dad. Thank you dad for teaching me these lessons before you left. Thank you dad for making these lessons a priority every single day in our home. I so thank God for showing dad how to be a “good dad” through God’s Word.
“Blessed be the God and Father of our LORD Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as He chose us to Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him.  In love, He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, which He freely bestowed on us in the Beloved” (Ephesians 1: 3-6).
Maybe you can identify, and your dad is wonderful (not perfect, of course, but good) &
Maybe you cannot identify because you never knew your earthly dad OR
Maybe your dad is not a godly man.
Still, there is time. Still, we can know our heavenly Father & maybe there is still time to know our earthly dad.
Maybe you are the dad (reading this blog).   
Maybe you are the “dad” raising children as both the mom and the dad as a single parent.
Whatever situation we find ourselves in today, know that God sent His beloved Son to show us the way.   Father God desires for us to know Him, to walk each day with Him, and to walk with Him into His eternal home (into heaven) with Him. God wants every person alive to become His adopted son and daughter.
That’s why our Father sent us His Son.   God wants us to know Him intimately, and so God gave us Jesus who provided us the only way to know our Father. God takes care of us, of our every need, and of our everything. God “has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ” (3). That’s really quite a legacy for our heavenly Father to leave his children—–and every day, I thank God.
Thank you Dad (Donnie Gene) for showing me Jesus.
Thank you, Father God, for gifting me with Donnie Gene as my earthly dad.
I am coming home someday, dad, and when I do, I will see you.  Maybe (dad) God took you home early so you can show me around once I also do (get home).
Our God Is So Amazingly Good To Each One of Us…….All The Time!!!