"Honor Your Father and Mother

...that you may live long in the Land the Lord is giving you"

Those words from the Old Testament book of Exodus 20:12 rang in my head today as my wife and I had lunch with my father in Mesquite. He lives in rural Van Zandt County, we live in a busy part of far north Garland. Sometimes we'll meet somewhere along highway 80 in Forney or Mesquite to have a bite and visit. Todays gourment lunch was Arby's.

As we chatted I thought again about what an amazing man he is. After being widowed almost 11 years ago, he sold one property, supervised the building of his current home on the lake, has stayed active in church, and even has a lady friend. God took away his love of 53 years, but he's continued an active and productive life in Wills Point, Texas. To look at the man walk and talk, you wouldn't believe he is about to turn 84. My gosh, he's got a cellphone, an HD TV, a computer, uses email and can send & receive digital pictures. Well, maybe texting on the phone can come later.

In my teens and twenties, I didn't think he was so smart. Amazing what a few more years has done to my evaluation of his IQ. Now, with children and grandchildren of my own, I cherish every word from him and every piece of advice. Our parents are a treasure of experience and wisdom--they have something we want and need. All we have to do is ask for it, and then LISTEN. To the right is how dad looked the year he married my mother.

When I counsel couples before a wedding, that's always one of the topics, their relationship with their parents. Statistically, the single most common stress or argument on wedding day is between the bride & her mother. I advise couples to just understand that it will happen, get past it as flexibly as they can, and then re-establish a good relationship with those parents. I've seen the result, years later, when folks don't take that advice and it's not pretty.

So for today, I salute my own father just for being there and being willing to share his wisdom with me. With three children, five grandchildren and five great-grandchildren he has certainly learned things along the way that can help me. I love you, Dad.

blessings,
Ken