A father’s love remembered

As children are growing up they need good fathers. I am thankful that I experienced my father’s love for me. He maintained discipline in the home and sought to instil moral principles in me. There was a small stick in the home which was used, very occasionally, to correct me when I did something wrong. The main thing was not the punishment itself, but the fact that I accepted my father’s right, as the head of the family, to discipline me.

My main memories of my father, who died nearly 40 years ago, are of his loving care and constant interest in me and my life. When I was playing in the school rugby or cricket teams he would often travel many miles to be there and watch the game. It was good to talk together later about the match and to identify the things I could do better. In this, and other ways, my father played a key role in my growth and development. He also wisely provided for my daily needs making sure that I had enough but not too much.

When my father was diagnosed with cancer it took a little time to realise that the situation was serious. He had two operations, neither of which succeeded in removing all the malignant tumours. Over the weeks that followed he gradually grew weaker as he fought a number of infections. When I visited him in hospital it was a time for me to try to help and encourage him. We were able to talk about ultimate realities and to pray together. It was a precious time.

Before his first major operation my father read the Gideons’ New Testament which was by his bedside. He read God’s answer to Paul’s prayer for healing. God did not promise Paul that he would be healed but told him, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” These words gave my father a peace and strength when, the next day, he went to the operating theatre. He didn’t know what the outcome would be, but he knew that, whatever happened, God, his heavenly Father, would be with him. Many children today have not experienced the love of an earthly father, but all of us can, in Jesus, find and know the love of a heavenly Father.