Life Well Inspired

My dad’s faith became sight on April 27th, just a little less than two weeks ago. My mom and I said goodbye to the man who had been our protector and leader. It is bittersweet because while we’ll miss him, he has lived his whole life for the Lord and he’s in heaven pain and cancer free now.

I’ve mentioned now and again about his cancer following his heart surgery. It was a long five years for him. Even though the chemo effects were minimal compared to many stories I’ve heard and people I’ve known to go through them, he still suffered. I can’t possibly wish him still here when I know his suffering has ended and he’s healed in the best way possible.

As I have contemplated the man he was through memories, photo albums, and other people’s stories these past two weeks, I have come to realize just how much he influenced me.

His dedication to his Lord and his faith is why I love the Lord and have obeyed God’s call to share my faith and blog here at Life Well Inspired. His love for the ground, farming, and a simple holistic natural lifestyle lives on in my own love for plants and flowers, gardening, and herbs.

It all came full circle as I used my knowledge of health, wellness, nutrition, and herbs to support him through chemo and the end-of-life journey.

I live my life well inspired by the Lord because of him. His faith-filled legacy will live on.

There’s much to process still, as like any other father-daughter relationship, there are differences to reconcile. We didn’t see eye to eye on plenty of things and I have some healing to do. But at the end of the day, he was my dad, and I was his daughter.

Salvation mattered the most to him. He cared about other people’s faith and their eternal destiny. He was an empathetic man who heavily felt a burden for those he felt were not living for the Lord. It often came across as legalistic and judgemental, but it all boiled down to the fact that he worried about people’s eternal souls.

So today, I want to honor the man who lived his life for others. Who cared deeply for those around him and who loved others well, even at his own expense. He passed on an incredible work ethic and a fierce loyalty for family.

Baby Bro (who is not a baby anymore) and I had recently finished reading a children’s version of The Pilgrim’s Progress. We both found comfort in the vision of it being Dad’s(Grandpa’s) turn to cross the river to the Palace Beautiful and be welcomed by the Lord himself, just like Christian. I only wish that I could have been able to witness that precious moment he entered Heaven and his eternal rest.

I know he’s enjoying heaven and the presence of the Lord, and I also know I’ll see him again when it’s my turn to cross the river. He has simply gone where there’s no cell service.

So, I’ll carry on his legacy as I care for my family, continue to garden and learn about the amazing world of herbs and plants, and walk with the Lord myself, honoring God here. Now my writing is to glorify God and is done in memory of my dad.

So I’ll close this post with the verse we chose for the memory card:

“Seek the Lord while he may be found;
call upon him while he is near;
let the wicked forsake his way,
and the unrighteous man his thoughts;
let him return to the Lord, that he may have compassion on him,
and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.
Isaiah 55:6-7

This call is for the believer and unbeliever alike.  We can always use reminders to walk closer with the Lord.

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