2020 Daily Devotion - Day 89
Father’s Day
Do you still need to find a gift for your father this Father’s Day? Here is one. Bob Perks tells the following story about going into a restaurant many years ago:
When I first sat down, there were two men sitting together quietly. One man appeared to be in his thirties. He was dressed in some old work clothes and still wearing his baseball cap. The other man, I would guess, was about 80. He had the most incredible face. The lines and creases gave him character. His white hair was messy from wearing a stocking cap he held on top of the table. He wore one of those red plaid shirt jackets that you might see on a construction worker; heavy enough to keep you warm while you’re moving about, but not too bulky to limit your movement. But he didn’t look like he was going anywhere. Neither was this conversation.
“Boy, I really worked up a hunger today, Pop. All that shoveling and sweeping the snow will do that,” the younger man said.
“Yeah, this is somethin’,” replied the old man. Silence followed for the longest time.
Suddenly I heard the young man say, “Here they come,” as he pointed toward the doorway. He almost looked relieved. Somebody who would join in and help get this conversation going.
It appeared to me that the two people who joined them were a mother and teenage grandchild. The woman sat next to the younger man and Pop stood up to let the grandchild slide in place.
“Hello, Dad. Good to see you!” she said as she sat down.
“Yep!” the old man replied. Silence. Even longer gaps than before.
“I feel real good,” the old man said proudly.
“Oh, you look good Dad,” the younger man said. Then one by one the others agreed.
Silence.
The waitress approached and took their breakfast orders.
Grandpa excused himself. “Gotta go to the bathroom. It happens a lot when you’re old,” he said.
As soon as he was out of sight, the younger man said, “I don’t know what to say to him. We just sit here looking around. He never talks.”
“I know what you mean. What do you say?” the woman added.
Oh, no. Here I go. I can’t just sit here and listen to this. I’m going to say something, swallow hard and wait to see if they tell me it’s none of my business. “Ask him about his childhood,” I said as I continued eating.
“What? Pardon me? Were you talking to us, sir?” the woman asked.
“Yes. It’s really not my business, I know. But do you realize what he has to offer you? Can you even begin to understand what this man has seen in his lifetime? He most likely has answers to problems you haven’t even discovered as problems in your life. He’s a gold mine!” I said.
Silence again.
“Look, talk to him about his childhood. Ask him what the snows were like back then. He’ll have a million stories to share. He’s not talking because no one is asking,” I told them. Just then he came walking around the corner.
“Oh, boy. I feel much better now. You know I haven’t been goin’ good in a while,” the old man told them.
After a long silence, the young girl said, “Paw Paw, when you were a kid were the snows this bad?”
“Gees, honey. This is nothing like the snows I had when I was a kid. Did I ever tell you about the snow storm that covered my house?” he asked.
“No, Pop. I don’t think I ever heard that one myself,” said the younger man. Now for the next twenty minutes the old man was in his glory. At one point he even stood up to show them how high the one snow drifts was. Throughout the entire meal, everyone chimed in with more questions. They laughed and he lit up like he was on stage, and the play he was acting in was his life story.
Just as I was about to leave I heard the old man say, “You have no idea what this has meant to me. All these years, I never thought you were even interested in what I had to say.”
“Oh….. well, I guess we just didn’t think you wanted to talk,” the woman said.
“Well nobody bothered to ask me anything. I just figured I was boring or somethin. It’s been a tough life you know. Ever since Ma Ma died I really had nothing to say.” He paused for a moment. I could see him nervously wringing his rough life-worn hands together. “You see, her and I were like a song. I made the music and she…she was the words,” he said.
As I turned to walk away, I looked across the table. I saw the young girl wave and smile at me as she put her arm around Paw Paw’s shoulders. She didn’t have to say a word.
Source: Bob Perks © 2001. Used with permission
Exodus 20:12 NRSV
Honor your father and your mother, so that your days may be long in the land that the Lord your God is giving you.
Pray with me:
Heavenly Father, we thank You for our fathers. They have done so much in our lives and are vital to us. Cause them to know, this day, just how important they are to us. Help us to give our fathers the gift of listening to their story and their heart. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
Yours because of Him,
Pastor John R. Steward
Senior Pastor
Mount of Olives Church
Do you still need to find a gift for your father this Father’s Day? Here is one. Bob Perks tells the following story about going into a restaurant many years ago:
When I first sat down, there were two men sitting together quietly. One man appeared to be in his thirties. He was dressed in some old work clothes and still wearing his baseball cap. The other man, I would guess, was about 80. He had the most incredible face. The lines and creases gave him character. His white hair was messy from wearing a stocking cap he held on top of the table. He wore one of those red plaid shirt jackets that you might see on a construction worker; heavy enough to keep you warm while you’re moving about, but not too bulky to limit your movement. But he didn’t look like he was going anywhere. Neither was this conversation.
“Boy, I really worked up a hunger today, Pop. All that shoveling and sweeping the snow will do that,” the younger man said.
“Yeah, this is somethin’,” replied the old man. Silence followed for the longest time.
Suddenly I heard the young man say, “Here they come,” as he pointed toward the doorway. He almost looked relieved. Somebody who would join in and help get this conversation going.
It appeared to me that the two people who joined them were a mother and teenage grandchild. The woman sat next to the younger man and Pop stood up to let the grandchild slide in place.
“Hello, Dad. Good to see you!” she said as she sat down.
“Yep!” the old man replied. Silence. Even longer gaps than before.
“I feel real good,” the old man said proudly.
“Oh, you look good Dad,” the younger man said. Then one by one the others agreed.
Silence.
The waitress approached and took their breakfast orders.
Grandpa excused himself. “Gotta go to the bathroom. It happens a lot when you’re old,” he said.
As soon as he was out of sight, the younger man said, “I don’t know what to say to him. We just sit here looking around. He never talks.”
“I know what you mean. What do you say?” the woman added.
Oh, no. Here I go. I can’t just sit here and listen to this. I’m going to say something, swallow hard and wait to see if they tell me it’s none of my business. “Ask him about his childhood,” I said as I continued eating.
“What? Pardon me? Were you talking to us, sir?” the woman asked.
“Yes. It’s really not my business, I know. But do you realize what he has to offer you? Can you even begin to understand what this man has seen in his lifetime? He most likely has answers to problems you haven’t even discovered as problems in your life. He’s a gold mine!” I said.
Silence again.
“Look, talk to him about his childhood. Ask him what the snows were like back then. He’ll have a million stories to share. He’s not talking because no one is asking,” I told them. Just then he came walking around the corner.
“Oh, boy. I feel much better now. You know I haven’t been goin’ good in a while,” the old man told them.
After a long silence, the young girl said, “Paw Paw, when you were a kid were the snows this bad?”
“Gees, honey. This is nothing like the snows I had when I was a kid. Did I ever tell you about the snow storm that covered my house?” he asked.
“No, Pop. I don’t think I ever heard that one myself,” said the younger man. Now for the next twenty minutes the old man was in his glory. At one point he even stood up to show them how high the one snow drifts was. Throughout the entire meal, everyone chimed in with more questions. They laughed and he lit up like he was on stage, and the play he was acting in was his life story.
Just as I was about to leave I heard the old man say, “You have no idea what this has meant to me. All these years, I never thought you were even interested in what I had to say.”
“Oh….. well, I guess we just didn’t think you wanted to talk,” the woman said.
“Well nobody bothered to ask me anything. I just figured I was boring or somethin. It’s been a tough life you know. Ever since Ma Ma died I really had nothing to say.” He paused for a moment. I could see him nervously wringing his rough life-worn hands together. “You see, her and I were like a song. I made the music and she…she was the words,” he said.
As I turned to walk away, I looked across the table. I saw the young girl wave and smile at me as she put her arm around Paw Paw’s shoulders. She didn’t have to say a word.
Source: Bob Perks © 2001. Used with permission
Exodus 20:12 NRSV
Honor your father and your mother, so that your days may be long in the land that the Lord your God is giving you.
Pray with me:
Heavenly Father, we thank You for our fathers. They have done so much in our lives and are vital to us. Cause them to know, this day, just how important they are to us. Help us to give our fathers the gift of listening to their story and their heart. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
Yours because of Him,
Pastor John R. Steward
Senior Pastor
Mount of Olives Church
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