I have been wanting to do something to honor my parents for many months now. I want to honor them here, publicly, with a few of the many things that I love and appreciate in them. I want to tell everyone how much they mean to me and I want to share how they have impacted my life.
I love my mom and dad. I am so proud of them. I am proud to be their son. I believe we are supposed to honor our father and mother. I try to live a life that honors them, although I did not always do that.. I have many regrets of that time. I now know that my lifestyle that dishonored and hurt myself and others did not honor my parents. So, before I honor my father and mother through this blog entry I want to first start off by confessing that I am so sorry to my parents.
Mom and Dad, I am so sorry. If I could go back and change any of the bad things I have done in my life or if I could go back and change all of those things I would take the opportunity and do just that. I am very sorry and I now know that you must have been worried and concerned about me many, many times. I know the love a parent has for their child now. I know how you look forward in time and just pray that the Lord will form and shape a child's heart so that they will live a life of peace, joy, and purity. If I can now live my life to bring you any peace or honor I would like to take the opportunity to do that.
But I want you to know that you both made a difference in my life. I want you to know that the work you did in me will not end in regret. It will not end in disgrace. And it will not end in sadness. Because of your love, prayers, support, upbringing, and yes - forgiveness.. I now serve the Lord wholeheartedly. Because of you a future generation will know the Lord. Because of you my children will serve the Lord. Because of you my entire household is a lighthouse to my community. Because of you hundreds of people online have received ministry and hope in Christ. Because of you there is a "Christian Business Guy" who lives for God in the marketplace without compromise. Your pain, your tears, and your prayers have guided my little ship through the rough and hostile waters of this world and now I can guide others. I want you to know that the work you did in me will not end in regret.
I see such beauty in both of you. I see such strength. I see gifts in you. I see God in you.
To Dad:
Dad, you are a creative force, there is no situation you walk into that you will not be blessed to have many ideas of how to help out. When you walk into a business, a household, a neighborhood, or a life you come up with solutions, by the grace of God, to improve things. You are an initiator and a self-starter. Not only are you creative, you are proactive. You don't sit around and wait for someone to tell you what to do. You get going, you volunteer, you assist, you are self-motivated. You come up with ideas but you don't sit on them- you share them with people who need them and you implement them yourself also.
You are touched by things, sensitive to the important things, and a person of deep feeling and emotion. You are approachable, warm, and kind. You feel things deeply, express them openly, and are not afraid to be a gentle and compassionate person. You are stronger for this and you are relevant because of this. You are like a refuge and a shelter for others.
You are a living honor. You honor your father and mother right now because you are caring for your elderly father in his twilight years and are as gentle as a lamb with him. You repay your father as is outlined in God's word that we should do. Many people abandon their families but you have lost all things in order to care for your father and I am deeply touched and blessed by this. It has changed my life to see this and is an example to me and all future generations.
You are a driven force, a relentless energy, and a hard worker. I so appreciate people that I see in life that are hard workers. When I survey everyone I have ever worked with or worked for I have to compare them to you. You set the highest bar in work ethic and in persistence. You don't give up, you don't give in, and you put more pressure on yourself than anyone else could put on you. You are relentless and driven- you don't ask success, achievement, or good things to come find you. You scrape, claw, and chop through every obstacle to carve out the good things and the results you are looking for. You have the vision to see into the stone and bring from it a beautiful sculpture. On our farm in Oregon, which was such a total disaster when we first bought it, you worked hard and you worked with us and over the years turned that land into a beautiful place- that took a lot of faith, vision, and diligence. You have the guts to keep trying even when there are setbacks. You stumble and you get up again and your God is always with you.
God is the cord that has held our family together and you gave place to God in your generation. You set God always before us and through him we were not shaken. God protected you and saved you from disaster. God answered your prayers. God healed Roger V. of esophagal cancer and Elaine M. of an unknown and years-long mystery illness of the nervous system when you and mom audaciously prayed at our bedsides each night for them- for years. Yes, you were relentless in prayer for them and you were relentless in prayer for me. Even to this day I will call you about certain large and important accounts that we need to close for the quarter and you will pray for me. Miracles have happened in those accounts and God has blessed me through your prayers. You raised us in church, you exposed us to the things of God. There is no way of telling you how important Vacation Bible Schools, Sunday Schools, After School Bible Studies, Christian Camps, Sunday school, and Church attendance were to establish good life patterns in me and teach me about God. I could not escape from the influence of God you established in my life although I made my bed in hell for a few years. His eyes were always on me and I knew his gaze because you had taught me about him.
My love of reading started at home. I remember vividly when you read to us "The Hobbit" by JRR Tolkien when I was perhaps 11 years old. It was such a magical book and those times were magical. However all the details are not what I remember with emotion- it was the time we spent together that I remember with great feeling, meaning, and emotion.
I remember on my 10th birthday you took me to breakfast at that place in Portland you and your dad used to go to and we spent most of the day together. I don't remember how the pancakes tasted but I remember the time with you. It is such a warm memory that reverberates through my heart and mind.
You are financially prudent. I don't know how you did it to do the things you did for our family. We were always provided for, you bought that farm on your small salary and fixed it up, you fixed up those cars, and you managed to save as well. I value your diligence and carefulness and it is a great lesson to me.
I am so blessed that you and mom have stayed married all these years. I realize how difficult marriage can be even though it is also such a blessing. Staying together and keeping at it, working together, forgiving, helping, and loving each other has been a blessing for me to see and will influence the next generation. I remember the time on a camping trip when we were all sitting around the table and you had us all sing "thank you for the nice dinner mommy" in a little fun and spontaneous tribute to mom. That was such a nice thing to do and a fun habit we did from that time on. What a great way to be appreciative of mom's work and a great way to honor her before her children. Thank you so much for that. Thank you for going on walks and bike rides with mom throughout your marriage, that is such a special time of sharing and relationship building and was always special to see. Believe it or not I got a lot of peace out of seeing that.
You are a man of integrity and truth. I saw this in the home, through your work on the job, and through your life. You are the same person in any environment, never fake, always truthful, always trustworthy, and never take advantage of anyone. You are the gold standard of integrity.
Thank you for having a job, keeping a job, staying with a job even during hard times, and showing me how to be a manager that loves his employees. You faced many trials and hard circumstances at work but you kept at it. You worked hard to overcome trials and tough circumstances and you prevailed. I know few people who have worked at one company for 28 years through thick and thin. Loyalty is something I value so tremendously now. I so honor you for your commitment to your company, even if in the end they did not return as much honor as they should have to you. You did the right thing anyway. You set the standard. You were faultless regardless of what others did. Your honor did not have conditions, your perseverance did not have limits, and your commitment did not waver. Your honor is intact and shines like untarnished gold. You impacted lives, you supported families, you helped customers, you helped employees, you taught people, you improved countless things, you supported your bosses, you innovated, you stuck with it and everyone who knows you is so proud of your perseverance, talent, hard work, and loyalty. You showed me how to be loyal, how to work hard, and how to stay with something. I remember one year when you did something nice for your employees in the warehouse and this person (a man) exclaimed, "you really DO love us don't you?" What a touching, true, and meaningful legacy just that one statement is to me.
Thank you so much for taking us on vacations. I remember going to the beach a great deal. I remember the beautiful drive to the beach weaving through the lush forested hills on the way to the Oregon Coast. I remember eating Clam Chowder and Fish & Chips at Mo's. I remember when you took me on my 11th/12th birthday deep sea fishing even though you knew you might get seasick (which you totally did!). I had such a great time and caught several fish on that trip. I remember camping with you and mom. I remember going fishing quite a bit as a young man. I remember going to Mt. Hood and going tubing down the snowy mountain which was a blast. I have many memories about our trips and they mean so much to me.
Thank you for our farm. To this day the stories I tell about our pigs "Mork and Mindy" and our goats "Sandy, Patti, and Chris" mean a lot to my kids. The stories about our creek and the wildlife we had down there fascinate my children and they want to have a farm just like that so they can too experience these things. What a great place to provide for your family and what tremendous memories! (by the way, thanks for not yelling at me when I half tore-off your giant new metal barn door with the tractor when I was backing-out, what is it with me and backing-up anyway?)
And, Dad your encounters with the Lord, how the Lord has met you and how you have known the Lord in a close and personal way have been such an inspiration for me. I am so proud of that and have benefitted to know that God is not just about Religion only but he is about having a personal relationship. Thank you so much for that.
Finally, I could say so much more but as I look at my life and see positive traits, as I look at my past and see what is good, as I look at the future and see what lies ahead I will depend on what you have taught me, I will benefit from the things within me that are from you, and I will learn from your life. I love you and am very proud of you.
To Mom:
Mom, you are bursting with gifts from God. You have always been a source of love and comfort to me and to everyone around you. You are one of the most loving people I have ever seen. You have a great deal of compassion and I am so proud of that. I know that if you only had 2 shirts and you saw someone without a shirt you would, willingly, and in fact forcefully, give that person your other shirt. If you had only 1 piece of bread, I know that you would give half of it to someone in need. You are an outward expression of the Holy Spirit of God who is loving, giving, gracious, and who does not wait for someone to ask for help. You volunteer, you ask if you can help. You want to help. You want to sacrifice. I have never met anyone like you who is so giving and such an expression of God. You are the spirit of adoption. What a shining light you are in the universe as you stretch out your hands. You are tireless, you are relentless, you are a force of nature. You never stop giving, you never stop loving, you never quit. The world and its forces may come against you, the Devil may come against you, but your God is so with you. The Bible says that "those who trust in God are like Mount Zion which can never be shaken" and I have seen that in you.
Mom, you are so pretty, what a beautiful woman God has made you!
You are gentle and kind. You are an encourager, in fact you have the gift of encouragement. You are interested in what other people have to say. You are a good listener. You never put on airs, you never reject anyone, you are never afraid of associating with people who may not be perfect. I haven't met anyone who is as accepting as you, who does not reject anyone, does not judge anyone, and loves everyone. What a blessing. You are an expression of the love of God. I can imagine, when we all stand before God, that one of the many rewards you will receive from him will have to do with the love, compassion, acceptance, and sacrifice you have shown to his people and to everyone else.
I am so proud of your work in Crisis Pregnancy Centers. You value these women so much. You have so much compassion for them and want to help them. What a kind way you sacrifice in this manner. What an important and lasting thing you are doing for them. You have done this for many years and you take no money for this, receive no recognition for this, and hardly anyone knows you even do this. You quietly, humbly, and diligently serve those who are hurting, confused, and need help. I don't know what to say but thank you on their behalf, on God's behalf, and on the behalf of me and my future generations you have impacted.
You are creative and artistic. You have always been involved in making things with your hands and you couple that with your giving nature. You make things and then you give them away. You make blankets for the Crisis Pregancy Centers, you make clothes for dolls for little girls at Christmas, you make quilts for young mothers, you make clothes for people. You are a creative and relentless genius of talent but you don't sit on your talent- you use it to bless others. If even a cup of cold water given in Jesus' name to "one of these little ones" will not fail to receive a reward how about a blanket someone will use for a decade! I love you and thank you for all you have done and all you continue to do.
You never knew I was watching as you did these things for others. You never knew it would make a difference in my character and place within me God's gift of giving but it has. You have blessed many people by living through me. Me and my family have helped others because of your witness, your testimony, and the example of your life. I have a giving spirit and my children will receive this because of you. You never knew your gift would mean more than a blanket but Jesus knew it would be a single drop of water into the still and quiet waters of my young heart and those ripples will never cease to make an impact throughout my life.
Mom, you are such a good cook. I am so blessed to have lived in your household, a household that was always cooking and baking. I have so many memories of wonderful things you have made. You liked to make our favorite things. You made such great banana nut bread, zucchini bread(even though I didn't like this vegetable I loved the bread!), cinnamon rolls, candies, pies, cobblers, pancakes, and my childhood favorite: chicken and dumplings! Thank you for these great memories.
You love to bless our family and take good care of us. A mom's work is so quiet and so comprehensive that it is hard to see where the support, care, and help ends! Thank you for all of your hard work to support our family.
In my younger years I remember sitting on your lap and having you read to me. I remember the wonder of the Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis. I remember Chicken Soup with Rice. I remember being read to a lot. You taught me much and as I said about Dad above, you developed in me a wonderful love of reading and have given me such special memories. May God help me to provide these types of memories to my children as well.
I remember Field Trips with you Mom. You wanted to instill in us a love of nature and you did it. Oregon is a beautiful place and you took full advantage of that fact. You took us to the Oregon Zoo, the Forestry Center, various gardens, many parks, and innumerable other places. You helped us to learn in a hands-on way. You engaged us with nature and with our environment. You pointed out animals, flowers, trees, and plants to us. You helped us to notice nature instead of just walking by it. What a marvelous Creation God has given to us and you unlocked it for us.
Thanks for getting us involved in various activities. You got us involved with Swimming, Tennis, Tae Kwon Do, and many other activities that helped us get exposed to the things around us. I have many great memories and have benefitted from all of them.
Thanks for comforting me mom. Whether it was external circumstances, my own actions, or just the stuff that happens in life I went through plenty of hard times. You encouraged, loved, and comforted me always. You were proud of me and were my biggest cheerleader. You were excited about everything I did whether it was music, art, etc. You saw talents in me and encouraged me to pursue them.
I so appreciate the fact that I saw you read your Bible a lot when I was growing up. I have that memory and so I just knew that was important because I saw it constantly. You took the time to spend with God and so I knew how to do that. Thank you for making the time to be with him. You created a memory in me which has stayed with me and helped me to have my own time with the Lord as well. In fact I began to emulate this even when I was still a very young man.
To Dad and Mom:
I love you, I am so proud of you, thank you for supporting and loving me, and loving my wife and children. I will never fail to appreciate your work on my behalf, your love, your nurturing, your teaching, your forgiveness, and your ministry to me.
I love you,
Brian
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