Honor your father and mother, that your days may be long in the land that the Lord your God is giving you (Exodus 20:12).

Today is my Dad’s birthday. 

He died about five weeks ago, so this is the first birthday I will celebrate in his absence.

It is the first of many things I will do in his absence.

We’ve had a season of loss here in Michael Land. My mom died in November, and my dad in May, so I went from fully-parented to orphan in just over six months. I know I haven’t really processed it yet, but as today is his birthday, I wanted to honor him.

And I find, to my chagrin, that I’m not sure how. 

I mean, my dad would not want a big tribute. He was a private man and would never approve of me devoting a blog post to him–even one with an audience as small as mine. The whole idea that I am writing about him this morning he would find uncomfortable.

So I will not write about him. I will write about the man he inspires me to be.

My father has inspired me to be a dad

who is always there

who tells his children that he loves them

who hugs…a lot

who plays with his kids way beyond their kid-years

who is wise

who follows Christ

who leads his children in the ways of God

who comes to the end of his life knowing that he has loved and been loved.

Happy Birthday, Dad.

And Happy Monday, Beloved