Skip to main content

Father's Day Week - Tragedy to Triumph

The week of June 9 - June 17, 1989 is a week forever etched in my story. It is where I experienced my greatest loss as well as the greatest gain in my life. Looking back even now, 34 years later, the variance of emotions from mourning to hope in the span of a few days still astounds me. But it is a story of God's grace that alone can bring tragedy to triumph. 

The circumstances surrounded 2 of the most powerful influences in my life - my father and my husband. June 9, my father was tragically killed. Although I never doubted for a moment of his love for me, my father made some devastating life choices that brought painful consequences to his family. He gave me a lifetime of fatherly advice, but set an example before me of a path I would take great strides to avoid. Choosing a lifestyle of sin and darkness can quickly escalate and overtake ones life. Priorities, habits, relationships can be left behind to follow the irresistible call of addiction. As Father's Day weekend is approaching, I am able to reflect with gratitude the treasure of knowing a father's unconditional love but mourn the losses that took his life. 

This tragedy happened just 8 days before my wedding. Ceremony plans had been months in the making and our family agreed to continue on with the event as planned. Although the tragedy of my father's death was forefront in our minds, a celebration of love gave a beautiful distraction from the grips of grief. That day, our family got a glimpse of grace. 


Another celebration takes place this weekend - our 34th wedding anniversary. A marriage, not perfect by any means, but a source of joy, commitment, faithfulness and sacrifice. My husband entered the role of my greatest influence. Once a Daddy's girl and now a wife, the difference was being led in the ways of integrity and godliness. Faith, values and integrity guided our choices as we began our new life. God knew exactly what I needed and my husband is more than I could ever have imagined. 





The fruitfulness of our marriage produced 3 sons. My view of fatherhood dramatically changed as through the years I watched my husband love our boys unconditionally. With high expectations, he modeled a life of discipline, self control, sacrifice, faith and integrity. He is leaving a godly legacy and daily projects the model of a godly father. 


Triumph comes through the process of healing. Mourning is a vital part of the process of finding peace. Many tears, anguish and hard emotions were present and often overwhelming at first. Walking through them, taking steps forward and reflecting on the hand of God leading the way, gave peace, comfort and strength. 

Tragedy will always be a part of my life story. But triumph comes when the story is told from the viewpoint of hope and comfort. 

2 Corinthians 1:3-5 is my story:

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort,  who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. 

This week still brings up an overload of memories and emotion, But hope and gratitude are what fills my heart. 




Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Thank you for sharing your commment. It is a joy and blessing to hear from you and your words are appreciated.

Popular posts from this blog

Sometimes We Score, Sometimes We Block

Our family is in the midst of little league soccer season. My youngest son is playing and his enthusiasm is contagious. He is pretty good at the sport, but what makes it so great is that he loves it! He counts the days until the next game or practice. He loves his coach and teammates. He has moved up an age level this year and the players are working more like team, passing to each other and watching out for each other during play. During the last game, my son scored two goals, they were the only goals of the game. In today's game the team scored eight goals. My son came up afterwards to me and said, "I didn't score today, but I blocked". What a powerful truth those words can hold. In life, sometimes we score, sometimes we block. Sometimes we do great things, we excel, we achieve, we meet our goal - we score! There are also times we see the needs of others, sometimes they are sad or hurting, we block their hits. We look out for them so they can score. We
17 comments
Read more

Relationships and Redemption

In every friendship or relationship, there is a common hope that they will grow and flourish. There is something inside of us that longs for a 'happy every after' story. We dream about it and work to make that happen. But in reality, relationships are a challenge. The bridging of values, lifestyles, interests and sacrificing for another are simply hard things to do! No matter how much we dream of the perfect fit, some relationships will not endure the stress.  When differences appear and tensions arise, prayer can change situations, attitudes and ourselves. For the Christian, we know God can transform, change, heal. We cannot change others, but prayer opens us the door for God to step in and answer. God desires transformation, but does not demand it. The gift of free will allows us to choose to say Yes or No to Him.  Romans 12:18 says, “If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all.” Take notice of the first two words: “If possible …” This implies that some
Post a Comment
Read more

A Blank Page - A Great Way to Fill It

A blank page - that is the first view of a new blog post. It has been a while since I have faced the blank page of my little blog! A blank page can bring a variety of emotions - emptiness, anxiety, pressure to perform or emotions such as inspiration, encouragement or simply bursting to share something. But there is always something fresh and exciting about the blank page of a New Year. Happy 2023! This is always a time in my life where inspiration and plans are formed and ready to be implemented for greater change. Aspirations may start strong, but alone do not make a difference. It takes consistency to create change. The changing or adding small habits is a key to great changes. A habit that has been beneficial in my life for many years is rising early. It began when the children were small and was the only pocket of time I had to myself. Through the years, mornings have become my favorite time of the day. Now that my husband and I are empty nesters, we go to bed early and rise early.
Post a Comment
Read more