The Big Embrace

A Father's Day reflection in memory of my dad.

Back in 1954, a young man of 20 years of age, tried his hand at writing. When he died in 2009, his family found a poem. It seemed to tell his story in the symbolism of a mountain stream. In tribute to him, they printed the poem on the back of his memorial card. That man was my dad, and the following is his writing…

Mountain Stream

By

Homer Neal, 1954

The mountain stream flowed cool and clear,

Over hills – through woods that growed on each side;

The stream seemed fearless of the dangers near,

But sagely beamed out reflections of light none of its beauty would hide.

The stream glided by green pastures, where contented cattle grazed,

It flowed beside clean fields of corn, waiting for the harvest moon;

The stream saw fields of sage-grass, where the food had once been raised,

Then viewed a vacant farmstead that age had found too soon.

It wound its way thru’ valley and woodlands,

And found a course in country and towns;

It even surged on thru’ treacherous badlands,

Then quietly emerged where wonders of nature abound.

          This Father's Day will the fourth without my dad being with us. I wish  he could be with us this Father’s Day. It's become a tradition at church, at the the end of the Father's Day service, for the men of the church (older men, younger men, teenaged guys, young boys) to all gather at the front, embrace one another, and tell one another, “ I love ya’, guy!” Dad would like that! As a matter of fact, I’m sure he would been right up there with us – right in the middle of the big embrace. In some way, maybe he is...

          On the inside cover of my dad’s Bible, he wrote the following scripture verse; “Greater is he that is in me, than he that is in the world.” We're going to  wind our way “thru valleys and woodlands.” There will be “treacherous badlands.” But, we need to hold strong to the fact that the Spirit of God is greater than anyone or anything we face in the world. And, most importantly, just like my dad did that early morning in September, 2009, there will come a day, when you and I can quietly emerge “where wonders of nature abound.”