The Blessings of Having a Hard Headed Dad

I was thinking of the great contrast between the way my dad thought and acted and the way we moderns and postmoderns act. To him tolerance was about adjusting valve lash, not approving of sin or some preacher that finds it easier to tell funny stories, than to actually crack the Book and deliver some grass and water to the sheep.

I can tell you all thrity-five billion things wrong with Dad. Got a week? Yeah, he's a son of Adam, just like his kid. If you have two weeks you can hear about mine, but add another week to take a VERY long shower.

My dad is very hard headed. He won't give you a lot of time to spout about some opinion. Not unless you're quoting Scripture. Then he will listen and wrestle with it. And he'll tell you if you're right or wrong or if he doesn't know. He wouldn't DREAM of just nodding approval because it "touched" him.

Why isn't anyone like that anymore? Dad is likely to call you a liar, so don't lie. Try that in church sometime and see if you're still in good graces. You may be called "mean." And you certainly will NOT be asked to give the blessing--EVER. People will just barely tolerate you. (Actually, not everyone--just the vocal ones.)

Dad is lonely right now. In fact, there is a deep-seated loneliness that comes from always feeling like the one others see as odd. And many think he is. In today's terms he is. In God's terms, he's normal.

I suppose I'm odd, too. I thank my Dad for that. And I thank God for Dad. What a blessing.

God bless you, Dad. You're a tremendous blessing. I love you.

Phil Perkins.