Father’s Day Memories of my Daddy
My father, who passed away 30 years ago at 63, was a quiet and thoughtful man, a person of great integrity and spiritual maturity. As Father’s Day approaches, I think of him and the life lessons he taught me through his strengths—lessons that have served me well as a person and often as a leader.
Daddy loved the Word of God. He never led us in family devotionals, much to my mother’s dismay, but he many nights he read us Bible stories at bedtime. Often when I found him deep in study in his chair, I would ask him what he was reading. He usually responded by taking me in his lap and drawing elaborate pictures or charts in his notebook to explain difficult biblical concepts to me. I not only acquired a strong theological foundation this way, but I also learned the value of noticing and using teachable moments to influence the faith of others.
- The value of teachable moments
Grace was Daddy’s favorite theological concept. Because he saw God’s gracious hand in everything, he was truly humble. Instead of taking credit for anything, he deferred it to God. When life was hard, he accepted the bad with the good as all from God. His attitude conveyed great lessons on humility and thankfulness. I wish that I always remembered them!
- The awareness of God’s constant grace
Daddy was the most honest person I have ever known. He told the truth, even to his own hurt. When a clerk gave him too much change, he voluntarily gave it back. His integrity meant that he never tried to manipulate others, but spoke truth. He taught me to mean what I say, even if it’s not popular or to my own benefit. Daddy had no place for personal or church politics; he had no guile and never tried to manipulate people. He modeled the kind of integrity that God expects of his people, and that we hope to find in our leaders.
- Honesty and integrity
Daddy served as a pilot in the Pacific during WWII. As the 70th D-Day celebration took place last week, I thought about his service. Like others of “the greatest generation,” he believed that he owed something to his country because of the freedom it provided him. He wanted to serve, volunteering right after the attack on Pearl Harbor. Although I gained a strong sense of patriotism from him, that wasn’t the greatest lesson he taught. More importantly, he modeled a sense of duty in any situation where he was given something valuable—family, God, and country. His example taught me to gratefully serve God, who has done so much for me.
- A duty to serve
Character is necessary for those who influence and lead others. My father greatly influenced me because of the person he was. His example causes me to grow as a person and a leader.
How has your father influenced you?
This article was originally posted at The Aroma of Influence on 6-10-14.
Kay Daigle
Kay is a life-long Texan whose favorites are Tex-Mex, books that feed her soul or make her think, good movies and travel to new places. Her great joy is to serve God by teaching the Bible and developing women as servant-leaders. She is the Founder and Executive Director of Beyond Ordinary Women Ministries, which provides free videos, podcasts and articles as well as low-cost Bible studies to prepare Christian women for leadership. (beyondordinarywomen.org) Kay spent ten years leading women’s ministries on church staffs, most recently at Northwest Bible Church in Dallas. Kay is the author of From Ordinary Woman to Spiritual Leader: Grow your Influence, a practical guide to help Christian women influence others by applying foundational leadership skills to their lives and ministries, and a number of Bible studies for women, some are available at bible.org and the newer ones are found at beyondordinarywomen.org. Kay earned an M.A.C.E. from Dallas Theological Seminary and a D.Min. from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary in Effective Ministries to Women. Kay’s family includes a husband, two grown children, one son-in-law, two hysterical granddaughters and a Goldendoodle.
