A Tribute to My Dad...

On this day eight years ago, my earthly father left this old world and met his Savior face to face.

At the end of this post, I have a video that was produced for the December 2007 Billy Graham Television Special in honor of Ruth Bell Graham. But it speaks to my heart for dad too.

No, he did not know the Lord as his Savior in my early years. As a matter of fact, I was 16 years old when he was saved. So, he did not serve the Lord all of his years... but what a difference Christ makes in a life.

Now, do not get me wrong. He was a good daddy. He loved his family. He was good to us. But he did not take us to church. Mom had to do that alone in those early years. He did not serve the Lord, because he did not KNOW Him.

But when he met the Savior... what a transformation that took place. I remember hearing him pray. I remember seeing him reading his bible. I remember hearing the sermon tapes that he listened to on a regular basis. I watched him grow from a baby in Christ to a mature vibrant Christian in a remarkable amount of time. It convicted me. He memorized scripture. And what a blessing to hear him pray using many scriptures to claim.

I can still see him sitting near the front of the church - lifting his hands - saying "Glory". I can still see his smile. I can still feel his rugged hands - as he would lift them to me for me to kiss :) instead of kissing him on his head.

There are days that I want to call him and talk to him. We often mention things that we know he would be saying if he were here with us. We have a storehouse full of precious memories.

But then I hear this song... and I am reminded once again of where he is and what he is experiencing. Many times he would tell us that he looked forward to leaving this old world and meeting his Lord. He would ask us, "Why would I want to stay here?" He did tell us on his 60th birthday - that if he had known that he was going to live this long - he would have taken better care of himself. :) (I will have to share about that birthday party at another time)

Truly, he would be one who would say..."You can have this old world... give me JESUS".

And how precious to know - He has Him. He is in the presence of His King. He is experiencing the real JOY of his salvation. And I will see him again one day, when I leave this old world... What a glad reunion day...

All I can say is, "GLORY!"

Fernando Ortega - "Give Me Jesus" from Adamson.TV on Vimeo.