My Papa’s Love..
As I was growing up, I remember my Papa Bert telling me about many dangers awaiting me in this world. He gave me a lot of good advice and I’m so thankful that most of the time, I heeded his warnings!
Did my Dad tell me these things to cause me pain or suffering? Did he tell me to keep me from having fun? Of course not!!! He warned me because he truly loved me and because he wanted to protect me from the dangers hidden in this world.
Once I was warned, it was entirely up to me to decide what I would do with it. Would I "hear" his warning? Or would I choose to shrug it off? The decision was totally up to me, and me alone, and so were the consequences! There was no one else to blame if I made the wrong decision.
I have to thank my Heavenly Father for giving me enough common sense to "see" that what my Papa was telling me, was for my "own" good….and that he wasn’t trying to rob me of anything. Drawing from his past experiences, my Papa knew far more about the "real" world than I did…and because I was obedient (most of the time!) I was able to save myself a lot of pain and suffering!
Fathers seldom say "I love you" though the feeling’s always there, but somehow those three little words are the hardest ones to share. fathers say "I love you" in ways that words can’t match. You can see the words "I love you" in a father’s boyish eyes when he runs home, all excited, with a poorly wrapped surprise. A father says "I love you" with his strong helping hands, with a smile when you’re in trouble, with the way he understands. He says "I love you" haltingly,
with awkward tenderness. He speaks his love unselfishly by giving all he can to make some secret dream come true,or follow through a plan.
A father’s seldom-spoken love sounds clearly through the years. Sometimes in peals of laughter, sometimes through happy tears. Perhaps they have to speak their love in a fashion all their own. Because the love that fathers feel is too big for words alone.