A couple months ago I wrote about our wonderful Mothers Glora and Noreen. This week has caused us to reflect on the blessings of our DEAR fathers.
My DEAR Dad, Verle has been battling kidney stones. NO FUN and nothing I can do but visit on the phone, send encouraging notes, prayers and TONS of LOVE.
Elder Davis’s Dad, Gordon has been struggling with age and all the things that can go with that. Again nothing Elder Davis can do but visit on the phone, send encouraging notes, prayers and TONS of LOVE.
These 2 men have been pillars in our lives. Examples of righteous manhood. Both our dads grew up on farms, learning work ethics that carried over to their careers.
My dad was a veterinarian for over 40 years. A profession he loved and was good at and now my brother Mark has taken over the clinic. He learned to be compassionate and loving as he worked with people and their treasured pets. Elder Davis’s dad worked for Boeing and retired after 38 years. Quality and attention to detail were some of the skills he learned while working on airplanes and that has been passed down to his children whom he taught the importance of doing a good job and doing it right the first time.
Both our Dads have provided stability, love and the necessities of life for their families which they love tremendously…
…especially their wives, our mothers💖. We learned early on as children we better not talk back to our Moms because our Dads would let us know that was NOT OK. One of my dad’s quotes and a favorite of mine is …
“The most important thing a father can do for his children is to love their mother” (quoted from Theodore Hesburgh, Reader’s Digest, Jan. 1963, 25; in Richard Evans’ Quote Book[1971], 11)
GRATEFUL for their example of how to treat all they meet but especially their eternal sweethearts.
It is fun to watch each generation fall in love with these great men.
We love them, their grandchildren love them and now their great-grandchildren adore them. Above is a picture of Dad Davis with some of his great grandsons who promptly got their equipment of choice when they saw him digging in the gravel so they could help!🤣. Recently, Dad Call got a visit from some princesses who were looking for their prince. When they saw great grandpa, they ran to him and hugged his knees saying they had found their prince! You can imagine how that melted his heart🥰
So THANK YOU to our Fathers❣️ You have BLESSED generations.
GRATEFUL for men who choose God, who choose family, who choose to be a part of their children’s lives and teach by example and love how to maneuver this ever changing world. We NEED you! Even at 68 we need our Fathers whether here on earth or in Heaven your lessons can guide, inspire and strengthen your family forever.
We acknowledge this is not the case for so many families. Fathers absent…Father heartbreaks for various reasons. We can’t really understand what that is like…but we know it is real…
The Lord has promised that all that is lost of worth in this life will be restored in the next. How that works I do not fully understand but I do trust the Lord when he said…
“Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid” (John 14:27).
This I know. He is a LOVING Heavenly Father and He will not leave you alone. He is there for all. He LOVES you He loves me, He wants the best for us. He can lead, guide and help you. His son, our brother, Jesus Christ has paid the price for us to repent of whatever wrongs we have done. He is the sure way back to our Heavenly home.
President Joseph F. Smith’s counsel applies today to all of us:
“You cannot be one thing and effectively teach another. You must live and study and pray for the constant companionship of the Holy Ghost. You must purify and organize your life so that your example and leadership reflect the light of the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Be a specialist yourself in the truth.”
THANK YOU to righteous men and women. Today Elder Davis and I count some of our greatest blessings to have Dads and Moms in our lives we can look up to❣️. We are better because of you❣️
We love you, We love you!
❣️Skittles Elder and Sister Davis