I am vey blessed to still have my Daddy in my life. He is 86 years old and not as spry or mentally sharp as he used to be, but he's still my Daddy! I cannot even begin to name all the things he's taught me over the years, but I've shared many of his sayings with others as the opportunity has presented itself. I pride myself in getting my 'half-full' attitude from him.
Lesson 1: to have friends, you have to be one.
Lesson 2: you have two ears and one mouth - you should do twice as much listening as you do talking.
Lesson 3: to succeed in life, you need communication and cooperation.
Lesson 4: it's better to keep your mouth shut and be thought a fool than to open it and remove all doubt..
I know there are others - patience, perseverance, kindness, compassion, giving......and the list goes on and on.
I know some would say that they had a terrible childhood. I can't say that at all. Yes - my Daddy generally worked two jobs, but we had everything we needed - food on the table, a roof over our heads, a bed to sleep in - everything we NEEDED - not everything we WANTED. There is a difference. Today's generation doesn't know the difference. It's rather sad, actually. We never felt deprived of anything when we were growing up, but today, if you don't have the latest gadget or drive the newest model of car, or wear THE right clothes, you are just so poor and destitute - you just can't go on.
It's hard to set a good example for children/others about values, priorities, morals, faith when the world is constantly telling the world the opposite. I am so thankful and blessed to have parents who taught me right from wrong, who instilled in me how much I was loved by not only them, but by my Heavenly Father, and modeled every day what it was like to be true children of God.
Thank you, Daddy (and Mama), for all you've done for me! I love you more than you will ever know!
No comments:
Post a Comment