Meditation: Thanks, Mom and Dad
I will forever be grateful to my wonderful parents, Lex and Vera, for teaching me about God and His precious son Jesus. Not only did they take us to church and Bible classes, but their positive examples, through both words and actions, were constantly present. I remember many lessons I learned from them about faith and total dependence on God, but one that stands out in my mind occurred when I was eleven years old. I was young enough to be naive and insulated from the struggles of life, but old enough to comprehend reality. We lived in southern Illinois and my dad and his older brother had a very successful home improvement business. It was a great time to be alive. My family had a nice house in the country. I had a new bike, loving parents, a wonderful older sister, a new baby brother, and a dog I loved almost as much as my sister.
My parents would have many of their private talks early in the morning around the breakfast table while they thought their children were still fast asleep. Many mornings I would awaken early and just lie in bed listening to them. I never really tried to comprehend what they were saying; I just loved to hear them talk to each other. I always knew when something different was going on because there was much more conversation than normal. It seemed that Mom and Dad had been talking a lot lately, but I thought it might be because we had a new baby in the house.
It was October 1960. My dad and mom, who held my one month old baby brother, gathered my sister and me into the living room and said they had something to tell us. They shared that Dad’s business was not doing well because the local coal mines were shutting down. His business would be closing and we were going to move to Arkansas where Dad was going to work for a company where he had previously been employed. My sister and I were crushed. Our friends, our schools, our church—we’d be leaving them all! Over the next few weeks, I saw one of our cars and our house being sold. Every item of my mom’s furniture was auctioned to the highest bidder. When it was all said and done, we had a car, each other, and my parents’ trust and faith in God. We headed off to Arkansas where we would get a new start.
One of the first places we went was to church. Every time the doors were open, we were there. The next years were difficult for my parents, but my sister and I didn’t know it. Only when I became an adult with children of my own did I truly understand the great difficulties my parents had to contend with. Their love, commitment, and faith in God never wavered. During the good and the hard times, they made us feel safe and loved and gave us all they possibly could. Most of all, they instilled their love, commitment, and faith for God in us. I will forever be thankful and call my parents blessed for what they have done for me, my children, and my grandchildren.
Parents- teach your children about God and His precious Son; take your kids to church and Bible classes; teach them with words; be positive examples; and generations will be blessed by your faithfulness.............. Joshua 24:15
-Bill Dismang
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