A Tribute to Dad

"The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; all who follow His precepts have good understanding. To him belongs eternal praise." (Ps. 111:10)
On October 26th, my father turned 86 years old. I was so happy to be able to be there for this special day in his life. My father has taught me so many things in life and I am truly grateful to still have the Godly influence of this man in my life.

Being a hard working dairy farmer almost all of his life, Dad taught each of his children the value of hard work. Milking the cows by hand as a young boy, and then later using an old milking machine (such as the one below) he was in the barn early in the morning and late at night--day after day, year after year--faithfully doing the work that God had called him to do. Dad also taught us to love and care for the farm animals, and to take care of the land that we owned. He was always very proud of the work that he did, and he always did his best with what he owned.

When we were kids, the milk was separated from the cream in a machine like the one below. Later on, Dad bought a large cooling tank to store the fresh milk in until the truck came to haul the milk away to the local creamery where it was processed. I remember one winter when the snowstorms were so bad that the truck could not make it through on the roads, and Dad was worried that he would have to dump the milk on the ground because he had no more storage place for it. Fortunately, the weather cleared and the truck was able to haul some of the milk away so that he didn't have to lose that revenue.

Since moving off the farm, Dad has enjoyed working in his woodshop in the basement of their house. He seems to always have some new project that he is creating, and all of us kids (and also grandkids) have been recipients of his workmanship. Thanks Dad!

Many times I have heard these words of scripture from my father's mouth, "Teach us to number our days aright, that we may gain a heart of wisdom." My father has lived many days, and I can truly say that he has a wise man, a man who loves God, and a man who is to be praised. Happy 86th Birthday, Dad, I love you!