Thinking about daddy...

I was thinking about my Dad last night and how much I missed him. Daddy was easy to talk to, kind, but stern when he needed to be. He had a hard childhood, his father was verbally abusive and his Mom died when he was fifteen. 

He joined the army at 17 and went to the Philippines; for a young man it was along way from home. Daddy married my Mom when they were both 21, a year later he was sent to Korea. He did several things while there, but the one that affected him the most - was bringing back the dead soldiers from the front by train. I didn't know about that until after he died, it must have been very hard.

Daddy left the service when he came back to the states, but was called up again soon thereafter. He applied to intelligence school, was sent to language school and ended up in Germany around the time of the Hungarian Uprising. I had been born and Mom and I went to Frankfurt with him. I don't remember anything from that time, my first memory was after we came back when I was three. 

I also don't know what he did over there. Mom said he would get a call in the night and be gone for several days. She remembers waking up one morning and their apartment complex was surrounded by Army trucks. We also had to have a bag packed and food  for two days, they were inspected each week to see if it was ready. We did do some traveling and Mom and dad were avid square dancers.

After we came home in 1958, he worked for Sherwin Williams and then went to work for the post office. About that time, Mom and Dad were baptized into the Missionary Baptist Church. A couple of years later, Dad had a nervous breakdown....in spite of everything, he trusted in his Savior and loved to read the Bible. I can remember him getting up around 4:00 am to read a couple of hours before he went to work.

Daddy died on my 20th birthday, he had lived with leukemia for 20 months after being diagnosed. One thing I do know, with all my heart, is that he was ready to meet his Lord. Throughout his illness the Bible was his prime comfort. I also know, with all my heart, that I will visit with him again someday - maybe I'll find out what he did those days in Germany, when he was away from home. 

Psalm 74

1 O God, why have you rejected us forever?
    Why does your anger smolder against the sheep of your pasture?
2 Remember the nation you purchased long ago,
    the people of your inheritance, whom you redeemed—
    Mount Zion, where you dwelt.
3 Turn your steps toward these everlasting ruins,
    all this destruction the enemy has brought on the sanctuary.

4 Your foes roared in the place where you met with us;
    they set up their standards as signs.
5 They behaved like men wielding axes
    to cut through a thicket of trees.
6 They smashed all the carved paneling
    with their axes and hatchets.
7 They burned your sanctuary to the ground;
    they defiled the dwelling place of your Name.
8 They said in their hearts, “We will crush them completely!”
    They burned every place where God was worshiped in the land.

9 We are given no signs from God;
    no prophets are left,
    and none of us knows how long this will be.
10 How long will the enemy mock you, God?
    Will the foe revile your name forever?
11 Why do you hold back your hand, your right hand?
    Take it from the folds of your garment and destroy them!

12 But God is my King from long ago;
    he brings salvation on the earth.

13 It was you who split open the sea by your power;
    you broke the heads of the monster in the waters.
14 It was you who crushed the heads of Leviathan
    and gave it as food to the creatures of the desert.
15 It was you who opened up springs and streams;
    you dried up the ever-flowing rivers.
16 The day is yours, and yours also the night;
    you established the sun and moon.
17 It was you who set all the boundaries of the earth;
    you made both summer and winter.

18 Remember how the enemy has mocked you, Lord,
    how foolish people have reviled your name.
19 Do not hand over the life of your dove to wild beasts;
    do not forget the lives of your afflicted people forever.
20 Have regard for your covenant,
    because haunts of violence fill the dark places of the land.
21 Do not let the oppressed retreat in disgrace;
    may the poor and needy praise your name.
22 Rise up, O God, and defend your cause;
    remember how fools mock you all day long.
23 Do not ignore the clamor of your adversaries,
    the uproar of your enemies, which rises continually.

*This is certainly a great prayer for our nation.