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10 Things I Learned from My Dad
By Ken Horn | June 12, 2009
This is an expanded version of my Vantage Point column in the June 21, 2009 Father’s Day edition of TPE.
I was blessed with a great father. I had a great relationship with him. Here are 10 things I learned from him, not just by what he said, but how he lived. All I had to do was watch him.
Here we are, ready to hit the Pit River for rainbow trout. I was seven.
1. Appreciation for God’s creation. My dad taught me to appreciate everything from wildlife to majestic mountains to flowers … as creations of God.
As a child I had wonderful times of discovery when my dad would point out a deer, river otter, tree frog or any other kind of wildlife. I appreciated the creatures of nature from the start. But it took me a while to gain an appreciation for beautiful scenery.
I recall long vacation drives with my parents oohing and ahhing over the scenery. To me it was ho-hum. I was bored and wanted to get to our destination. But that changed as I got older. The magnificence of God’s large-scale creation became amazing to me. Today I love everything God created … thanks to my dad.
2. Put others first. One instruction our family heard from him often was, “Think of the neighbors.” He wanted my two sisters and me to always consider other people and never do anything to would disturb them. Even when leaving early for fishing, he made sure I closed the car door quietly so people still in bed would not hear it. Other people always came first.
3. Embrace people who are different from you. Everyone was a potential friend to Dad. He learned a lot about the outdoors from friends he had made among the Northern California Indians. Some of those friends showed him great fishing holes and helped him become a fisherman who seemed to always catch trout when no one else was catching any. Of course, he worked hard for his fish. He didn’t just fish the easy spots.
4. Take pride in your family and encourage them. He did this continually.
This is one of the things I have missed most since my dad passed on. He was interested in everything his family did, and he always seemed to be the most interested. He made me feel 10 feet tall … often.
5. Patience is a virtue. He demonstrated this his whole life. This was a difficult one for me to learn … and I’m still learning. I am not nearly as patient as Dad was, but I’m trying to get there.
6. Nobody’s perfect. I never heard my dad use a swear word. But I did see him get upset a time or two … momentarily.
When he was devoting all his energies to caring for my mother, he often reminded me of how much she had put up with earlier in their marriage. That was before I was around. When God entered his life, he became a different person.
7. The baptism in the Holy Spirit can help you do things you can’t do on your own. Dad tried many times to give up smoking … unsuccessfully. After he was filled with the Holy Spirit, he never smoked again.
8. Appreciate the experience no matter what. “We know we’re going to be successful because it’s called ‘fishing,’ not ‘catching,’ ” he would say. A day in the outdoors was great … “If we catch fish, that’s bonus.”
He could find enjoyment in just about anything.
9. Love your spouse, unconditionally. When Alzheimer’s hit my mother, Dad kept her home as long as possible, doing everything for her even though he suffered with rheumatoid arthritis. Then he stayed at her side in the nursing home. He had always dreamed of traveling when he retired. He never got to do it because of his devotion to my mother.
10. Keep it in the middle of the fairway. Once a scratch golfer, he could still beat younger golfers when he was elderly … because his drives, though short, were always where they should be. “Don’t try to impress the crowd, just be faithful.” A great lesson for life.
My dad has been gone for 17 years … and I still miss him. I am thankful for all he taught me. And I’m still trying to be like him.
Topics: Christian living, Uncategorized |
