The third Sunday in June is a special day set aside to honor fathers. It’s a time to highlight our dads and recognize the important place they hold in our lives. Even for those of us whose dads have passed away, their influence and examples continue to be very powerful and long-lasting.
This past May marked ten years since my Dad went to be with Jesus, but I still vividly recall many of his sayings as well as his actions. He set a positive example for all of us children and left a godly legacy for us to follow. I’m very thankful for the special blessing God gave me to be his son.
One story regarding my father stands out in particular. When dad was in his mid-sixties, he was diagnosed with a form of blood cancer or leukemia. The initial discovery was made through a routine blood test, but when the doctors did some more checking to determine what was causing his problems, they also found cancer in one of his kidneys.
Within a short time, dad was scheduled for surgery and we each donated blood in case he would need it during the procedure. When the day came, he was upbeat and positive as usual as he headed in for his operation. We prayed and anxiously awaiting word from the doctor. When it was over, the surgeon assured us that all had gone well, that the cancer was contained in the one kidney and that dad should recover and live well with the remaining one.
In a few days, dad was well enough to go home and sure enough, he did just fine with a single kidney for nearly another twenty years. He continued his taxidermy work and his Sunday School teaching as well as other family activities until a brain tumor took him from us in 2009. Interestingly enough, a few years before he died, the leukemia had disappeared completely and he was declared cured.
Some time after his surgery and recovery, dad made an unusual comment. He said, “I’m thankful I had leukemia.” Since we don’t often hear someone say such a thing, we asked him what he meant. He explained that if it wasn’t for the leukemia, they never would have found the tumor in his kidney. Since this type of cancer rarely is discovered until it spreads to some other part of the body, it’s likely that it wouldn’t have been found until it was too advanced to treat.
Looking back, I too am thankful for the diagnosis dad received that caused the doctors to continue looking until they found not only the cancer in his blood, but that in his kidney as well. Even though it seemed like a curse at the time, God was at work to actually deliver a blessing.
Many times the events that happen to us may seem harsh or painful. We may whine and push back against them little knowing that all the while God is actually causing or allowing them in order to spare us additional suffering. Only in heaven will we completely understand the full range of God’s mercies toward us.
In Romans 8:28, the Apostle Paul tells us, “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose.” Note the words “all things.” God is able to weave the various events and circumstances of our lives together in such a way as to produce something of beauty and blessing for us as well as for Him. This includes even the painful and difficult events that we might otherwise perceive as curses.
As we remember our fathers this Sunday, let us praise God for the ways that He has worked and is working in their lives for their good and for His glory. And let us look for ways He may be working in our lives even when it doesn’t seem like it.
Happy Father’s Day, George