{"id":360,"date":"2020-06-23T03:49:06","date_gmt":"2020-06-23T03:49:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.yorkminsterpark.com\/blog\/?p=360"},"modified":"2020-06-23T03:49:06","modified_gmt":"2020-06-23T03:49:06","slug":"doubly-blessed","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.yorkminsterpark.com\/blog\/doubly-blessed\/","title":{"rendered":"Doubly Blessed"},"content":{"rendered":"
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I have been thinking a lot about my dad these days. Ten days ago I visited his grave with Steve and Cheryl and my mom to mark the eighth anniversary of his passing. Yesterday was Father\u2019s Day and today would have been his ninety-third birthday. He was born the morning after the longest day and like the midnight sun he lives on in our hearts. As I have been remembering him it hasn\u2019t been one of his memorable sermons or his leadership of the church, but some of the tender moments shared between a father and son. The following verse was prompted by a recollection of the countless times we played catch – the mere thought brought a smile to my heart. I wrote the second poem a year ago, but thought it worth sharing again. Happy Birthday Dad and Happy Father\u2019s Day too. You always were a double blessing.<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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\"\"<\/div>\n
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CATCH WITH DAD<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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I would often with dad play a game of catch<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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When throws missed the mark I\u2019d go fetch<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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the ball, as dad would lean on his cane <\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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letting me serve and not complain<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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mine was the joy, his was the pain <\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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oh I\u2019d play that game again<\/span><\/div>\n
and again.<\/div>\n
JPH 22-06-20<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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\"\" <\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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STILL I HEAR<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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I drop by dad\u2019s grave<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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and listen for the gravitas <\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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of his character <\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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that transcends the gravity <\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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of our times. <\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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He stood so tall <\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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as he leaned on his canes <\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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symbols of his courage <\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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instruments of empathy. <\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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And walking alongside <\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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in shadowy times<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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you just knew <\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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he knew <\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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and when he prayed you believed. <\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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I drop by dad\u2019s grave <\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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And touch the tomb <\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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hoping something has rubbed off <\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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and praying for more. <\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Seven years ago today we buried you Dad. <\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Still I hear your voice.<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Thank you <\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Happy Father\u2019s Day! <\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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JPH15-06-19<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I have been thinking a lot about my dad these days. Ten days ago I visited his grave with Steve and Cheryl and my mom to mark the eighth anniversary of his passing. Yesterday was Father\u2019s Day and today would have been his ninety-third birthday. He was born the morning after the longest day and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.yorkminsterpark.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/360"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.yorkminsterpark.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.yorkminsterpark.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.yorkminsterpark.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.yorkminsterpark.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=360"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.yorkminsterpark.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/360\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":363,"href":"https:\/\/www.yorkminsterpark.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/360\/revisions\/363"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.yorkminsterpark.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=360"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.yorkminsterpark.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=360"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.yorkminsterpark.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=360"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}