{"id":2085,"date":"2024-06-13T08:37:25","date_gmt":"2024-06-13T12:37:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/latestnews\/?p=2085"},"modified":"2024-06-13T08:37:25","modified_gmt":"2024-06-13T12:37:25","slug":"the-faith-of-my-father-a-holiday-remembrance","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/latestnews\/2024\/06\/13\/the-faith-of-my-father-a-holiday-remembrance\/","title":{"rendered":"The Faith of My Father: A Holiday Remembrance"},"content":{"rendered":"

 <\/p>\n

\"A
The faith of my father was quiet but deeply held. Image by Daniela Dimitrova<\/a> from Pixabay<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Father\u2019s Day, which is June 16 this year, is always bittersweet for me. My father died 26 years ago, and we buried him the day before Father\u2019s Day. I cannot think about the upcoming holiday without remembering that terrible loss, but I also remember the faith of my father. His love for God defined his life in many ways.<\/p>\n

I consider myself lucky to have had him in my life. He was my father, my dad, and when I needed his powerful arms around me, my daddy. He was a strong yet gentle protector, my defender and my role model, as a father should be and as God teaches fathers to be.<\/p>\n

The faith of my father was quiet but deeply held. He took the Bible seriously and taught me to take it seriously, as well. He loved me unconditionally, had the patience of the biblical Job and rarely became angry. The only time I really incurred my dad\u2019s wrath was when I disrespected my mother.<\/p>\n

But even then, he wasn\u2019t violent. He was angry and upset and disappointed by my behavior and made it clear that I had hurt my mother, which hurt him as well. Such behavior was unacceptable, and he would not tolerate it, he said. My mother loved me, and he expected me to treat her with respect. His tone and demeanor told me he meant business.<\/p>\n

My mother could make me angry at times, but Dad could do nothing wrong in my child\u2019s eyes. I thought every man was like Dad and was convinced that my future husband would be exactly like him. Only later did I discover how wrong I was.<\/p>\n

By my teen years, I had adopted the teenage view that my parents weren\u2019t as wise and wonderful as I had previously thought. By my 20s, I held a more realistic view of them, especially after my own children were born.<\/p>\n

I also realized that a child can never peel back the layers and really know their parents\u2019 innermost secrets and thoughts. But I\u2019m convinced that living with my father and mother for 18 years life gave me insight into their character.<\/p>\n

I am convinced that their unwavering Christian faith and moral code were genuine. Their faith-based values guided me, and their unconditional love and support made me strong. They deserved every bit of love and respect that I could give them in return.<\/p>\n

Life with My Father<\/strong><\/h3>\n

There were four of us in my family. We were like many small-town, middle-class white Southerners in the 1950s, although my parents strongly disagreed with the racist views of our neighbors.<\/p>\n

Mother was a stay-at-home mom who kept house and cared for my younger sister and me, while Dad was our town\u2019s assistant postmaster. He wasn\u2019t in love with his job. He didn\u2019t even like it, but he made a good living that gave us a stable and secure lifestyle. Only later did I recognize the sacrifice he made by remaining in that job for nearly four decades.<\/p>\n

Dad never sat down and preached God and church to me, but I witnessed the faith of my father in different ways. He did read bedtime Bible stories from a large picture book when I was quite young. And he often studied his well-worn Bible, usually opening it on the kitchen table with pen in hand and note papers spread everywhere. He even began writing a book about it in later life. And he prayed quite frequently.<\/p>\n

It would be nice to have memories of heart-to-heart conversations with him about faith, but they weren\u2019t essential. He lived his Christianity, and I prefer that to words.<\/p>\n

The Faith of My Father<\/strong><\/h3>\n

My father\u2019s religious background was a mystery to me. I know his mother read the Bible every day because she was usually reading it when I arrived at her house after school, and she often talked with me about that day\u2019s scriptures. I knew even less about my paternal grandfather\u2019s religious beliefs, as he died when I was eight.<\/p>\n

Even looking at Dad\u2019s three brothers didn\u2019t tell me much about the religious training he received. Dad became a Baptist in adulthood, while one brother joined the Church of Christ, another became Presbyterian and the other, Methodist.<\/p>\n

They were solidly Christian but had differing religious views when it came to the details. Non-Christians might think the four denominations were all the same, but they really weren\u2019t.<\/p>\n

My family of four lived in the heart of the Bible Belt, and most families in our community attended church every Sunday and Wednesday. At least they did in my world.<\/p>\n

Even the most ungodly people in town showed up in their finest clothes for Sunday morning services. By a certain age, I knew who those people were and at least some of their sins, and I marveled at their hypocrisy.<\/p>\n

As for my father, Sunday was a day for nourishing his faith and spending time with his family. We were staunch Baptists, and Dad was undoubtedly the staunchest one in the family.<\/p>\n

Even my young self knew God was very important to him. It may have been his love for God that gave me a good reason to love the Lord as well.<\/p>\n

My father wasn\u2019t a perfect man, but I never faulted him. No one is perfect, after all. My greatest complaint was his perfectionism and OCD tendencies. Once, my mother asked me to iron a shirt for him.<\/p>\n

I carefully ironed it to my satisfaction, only to hand it to Dad and be made aware of the wrinkles I missed. After being sent back to the ironing board several times, I told Dad I couldn\u2019t do any better and asked Mother to please find someone else to iron his shirt next time.<\/p>\n

Dad’s other flaws were equally minor, at least in my eyes. Rather than dwelling on them, I look at his well-lived life that centered on these qualities:<\/p>\n

    \n
  • An unwavering belief in God<\/li>\n
  • Deeply held, faith-based moral values<\/li>\n
  • Compassion and love for others<\/li>\n
  • A willingness to forgive<\/li>\n
  • Humility<\/li>\n
  • Respect<\/li>\n
  • A willingness to listen to others<\/li>\n
  • A rejection of hatred<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    In the decade of my teens, the 1960s, I learned positive lessons from his calm and reasonable reactions to the hatred that was exploding in the world around us.<\/p>\n

    I\u2019m glad he cannot see the country in which I live. The hatred that permeates 21st-century\u00a0America and the angry rantings that infuse today\u2019s political conversations would greatly disturb him.<\/p>\n

    Losing My Father<\/strong><\/h3>\n

    I don\u2019t remember my father ever being sick until he developed Parkinson\u2019s, exacerbated by Alzheimer\u2019s disease, in his 70s. By the time he reached 80, I knew the end was near, but his death still sent shockwaves through me.<\/p>\n

    A phone call in the middle of the night changed my world. He was dead. I curled up in a rocking chair and trembled for a solid hour before retreating into denial that lasted months. For the first time in my life, I needed anti-depressants.<\/p>\n

    I still miss him and always will.<\/p>\n

    As we commemorate Father\u2019s Day 2024, I will probably visit the cemetery where he and my mother are buried and remove the faded flowers from the urns on each side of their gravestone. Then, I will freshen up the gravesite and maybe say a short prayer.<\/p>\n

    A Simple Father\u2019s Day Prayer<\/strong><\/h3>\n

    Thank you, dear Lord, for giving me a special father.<\/em> Please keep him safe in your arms until I see him <\/em>again. Bless the fathers who are still with their children, and bring comfort to families who are mourning the loss of a father. <\/em><\/p>\n

    We ask that you heal children, whether young or old, who have never known a father\u2019s love. Give the men who are struggling to be good fathers the wisdom, courage and strength they need. And give their children the wisdom to recognize their efforts. Help us be faithful to you and strong in our faith. In Christ\u2019s name. Amen.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

      Father\u2019s Day, which is June 16 this year, is always bittersweet for me. My father died 26 years ago, and we buried him the day before Father\u2019s Day. I cannot think about the upcoming holiday without remembering that terrible loss, but I also remember the faith of my father. His love for God defined…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":689,"featured_media":2115,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fbia_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[681,693,690,687,684],"class_list":["post-2085","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-fathers-day-2024","tag-fathers-day-remembrance","tag-fathers-day-tribute","tag-godly-fathers","tag-importance-of-fathers"],"yoast_head":"\nThe Faith of My Father: A Holiday Remembrance<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Father\u2019s Day is always bittersweet for me.... We buried my dad the day before Father\u2019s Day, and I cannot think about the holiday without remembering that terrible loss and the faith of my father.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/latestnews\/2024\/06\/13\/the-faith-of-my-father-a-holiday-remembrance\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Faith of My Father: A Holiday Remembrance\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Father\u2019s Day is always bittersweet for me.... We buried my dad the day before Father\u2019s Day, and I cannot think about the holiday without remembering that terrible loss and the faith of my father.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/latestnews\/2024\/06\/13\/the-faith-of-my-father-a-holiday-remembrance\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Latest News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2024-06-13T12:37:25+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/wp-media.beliefnet.com\/sites\/452\/2024\/06\/Screenshot-2024-06-13-at-8.33.58\u202fAM.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"719\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"477\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Ginny Baxter\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"The Faith of My Father: A Holiday Remembrance","description":"Father\u2019s Day is always bittersweet for me.... We buried my dad the day before Father\u2019s Day, and I cannot think about the holiday without remembering that terrible loss and the faith of my father.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/latestnews\/2024\/06\/13\/the-faith-of-my-father-a-holiday-remembrance\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"The Faith of My Father: A Holiday Remembrance","og_description":"Father\u2019s Day is always bittersweet for me.... We buried my dad the day before Father\u2019s Day, and I cannot think about the holiday without remembering that terrible loss and the faith of my father.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/latestnews\/2024\/06\/13\/the-faith-of-my-father-a-holiday-remembrance\/","og_site_name":"Latest News","article_published_time":"2024-06-13T12:37:25+00:00","og_image":[{"width":719,"height":477,"url":"https:\/\/wp-media.beliefnet.com\/sites\/452\/2024\/06\/Screenshot-2024-06-13-at-8.33.58\u202fAM.png","type":"image\/png"}],"author":"Ginny Baxter","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/latestnews\/2024\/06\/13\/the-faith-of-my-father-a-holiday-remembrance\/","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/latestnews\/2024\/06\/13\/the-faith-of-my-father-a-holiday-remembrance\/","name":"The Faith of My Father: A Holiday Remembrance","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/latestnews\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/latestnews\/2024\/06\/13\/the-faith-of-my-father-a-holiday-remembrance\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/latestnews\/2024\/06\/13\/the-faith-of-my-father-a-holiday-remembrance\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/wp-media.beliefnet.com\/sites\/452\/2024\/06\/Screenshot-2024-06-13-at-8.33.58\u202fAM.png","datePublished":"2024-06-13T12:37:25+00:00","dateModified":"2024-06-13T12:37:25+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/latestnews\/#\/schema\/person\/577a2d1deda468588785cdff5af64cd7"},"description":"Father\u2019s Day is always bittersweet for me.... We buried my dad the day before Father\u2019s Day, and I cannot think about the holiday without remembering that terrible loss and the faith of my father.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/latestnews\/2024\/06\/13\/the-faith-of-my-father-a-holiday-remembrance\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/latestnews\/2024\/06\/13\/the-faith-of-my-father-a-holiday-remembrance\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/latestnews\/2024\/06\/13\/the-faith-of-my-father-a-holiday-remembrance\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/wp-media.beliefnet.com\/sites\/452\/2024\/06\/Screenshot-2024-06-13-at-8.33.58\u202fAM.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/wp-media.beliefnet.com\/sites\/452\/2024\/06\/Screenshot-2024-06-13-at-8.33.58\u202fAM.png","width":719,"height":477,"caption":"A father and daughter walk towards the water."},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/latestnews\/2024\/06\/13\/the-faith-of-my-father-a-holiday-remembrance\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/latestnews\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"The Faith of My Father: A Holiday Remembrance"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/latestnews\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/latestnews\/","name":"Latest News","description":"Online Christian news with the latest headlines relevant to Christians. New stories updated daily from a Christian perspective.","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/latestnews\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/latestnews\/#\/schema\/person\/577a2d1deda468588785cdff5af64cd7","name":"Ginny Baxter","description":"Ginny Baxter is a former journalist and public relations professional whose passion is writing. A graduate of Auburn University in Auburn, Alabama, Ginny majored in English with a focus on journalism. She later studied public relations at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville. She comes from a Christian family and has been an active church member since childhood. You can read her Patheos column Woman to Woman here.","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/latestnews\/author\/ginnybaxter\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/latestnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2085","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/latestnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/latestnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/latestnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/689"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/latestnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2085"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/latestnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2085\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2118,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/latestnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2085\/revisions\/2118"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/latestnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2115"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/latestnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2085"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/latestnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2085"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/latestnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2085"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}