Church Of The Eyes I saw him making a u-turn, to go back to the convenience store where the clerk had given him too much change. I saw the way he talked to the state trooper, who pulled us over for speeding, and showed me how good people handle being in the wrong. I heard what he said in church, but I saw how he walked it on Monday through Saturday. Nobody was paying attention to me, just a kid, when someone baited him with gossip and I saw how he watered down the fuel without shaming the fool. I saw him give when he had it; I saw him give when he didn’t. I heard him preach Do Unto Others and I saw him Do Unto Others and I saw that he did unto better than was ever done to him…without ever keeping score. I saw him endure the under-fun stretches in the marriage, and I saw him care for her after their 50th anniversary, keeping the vow, of in sickness and health. I saw him unchanged by money. He was humble when flush, he was solid in lack. ______ _____ Long before I saw my own flaws I saw his flaws. I did what prideful children do when they try to bring their parents down to their level. A few decades out there, on my own, and I saw him with fresh eyes, with more awe than even when I was a child. It’s not easy to be good, and steady and hold onto a rare standard of character. I had fallen in only a little time; he still held his ground with twice the life. He is a man of his generation. I saw him, I saw him, I saw him, not expecting life to be easy, but glad for the chance and grateful to the Maker. I saw him do without sleep, I saw him with many pots on the stove. I saw him say no to himself and yes to my mother and yes to his kids. I saw him being a good citizen, a follow-the-ruler, a respecter of authority, a minder of his own business, a team player of America. __________ ______ I saw him pray. I saw him love, I saw him joy, I saw him peace. He is the Christian-ish Christian I will ever know. That’s not a small thing for a child to say about their parent. He earned it, in the one-day-at-a-time steadiness of his life. I saw my father living his life. And boy, I am impressed. ____ ____ This edition of Uncle P’s Bedtime Stories is brought to you by Eighty-one, which hopes this encourages all of you who are raising children to remember that children are always watching, and they learn the most from the little common moments.
Posted on: Mon, 29 Sep 2014 02:58:49 +0000
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