In my phone book, there is a number saved as ‘First Love’. It is my dad’s. I cannot think about my dad without thinking about Indie.Arie’s Wonderful, the song she sang for Stevie Wonder (who I am totally in love with but this is about my daddy) especially the part that says:
You inspire me the way you make me feel inside is amazing
Your honesty your artistry is engaging
You are everything I hope to be
You have touched my soul I want you to know you are my hero
You got so much soul to put it plain and simple you are wonderful
The thing that I look up to my dad for the most is his strength. If there is anyone the world has not been fair to, it has to be him. I have seen my father’s dreams vanish. I have seen him at points where I could have sworn it was the end of the world. I have seen him in moments where I could have panicked and asked “what now?” but most importantly I have seen him dust himself up and move on. And if there is anything I could ever thank him for giving all of us, it is this. I have been comforted to see this same strength in my siblings. I am not saying that we are all hardcore and never feel the pains of life but I have seen my siblings go through some hard times of their own with as much cheer and strength as they can master. I have been consoled o see them blink their tears back to provide strength for a weaker person and I have seen them walk away from a loss, hurt yes, but with more determination.
A couple of years back, my father found the Lord in a new way. Yes he used to take us to church when we were younger and so we knew the importance of the salvation but his new conviction and relationship with God is humbling. It is one thing to see one of your friends get born again. It is another thing to see someone who has gone before you and seen it all surrendering to God in prayer and seeing him let go of his children and dedicating them to the Lord. This is the reason my father is always the first to know when I am about to do exams or a job interview or make an important decision. He is the one I will call on seemingly trivial issues such as, “what would you do if I dated a Muslim man?”
One thing I also know for sure is that my dad would never ever give up on me however much I messed up. My mother would despair: my dad would be disappointed but he would not cease to remind me of who I am supposed to be. I have seen him do this with my siblings and I have seen it in the way he has reached out to me when I have questioned my relevance on earth-through simple ways like calling me to remind me what the meaning of my name is. My sister has come to know that when I say, “I badly need to talk to daddy”, it means that I am at the brink of a life changing moment or I am just not feeling like myself. Because my dad not only helps find myself, he helps me find God over and over again
And yes, I am one of those girls who want to marry a man like my dad. A man my children will look up to and know that everything is going to be ok. A man who will tell my kids to believe in themselves and know that they can be whatever they want to be. A man that will remind them that even the sky is not the limit. A man whose eyes they will look into and be comforted by the strength of the people that have gone before them!
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Because i had to stick to a certain word count, i could not add that my dad is the reason why i love reading. He taught me that words(and therefore books) are very powerful.The people I admire the most in this world are people who read and buy books and nothing really gives me so much joy as buying a book or reading a good book!
