My Memories Of My Father

A couple weeks ago my father, whose leukemia had been in remission, found out it was back and spreading rapidly. He died just three days later. The memories of my father are few because he was never there for me as a child, or during most of my adult life. When his preacher asked for old pictures and good memories, I had nothing to share. My father was a very selfish man in his younger days. His current family has many happy memories and pictures of him, because he finally got his life together. This death made me realize there is no promise of tomorrow. We tend to run around, focusing on what we need or desire to do, and neglect the things that should really matter. My father’s passing, made me reflect on my priorities. While contemplating

Christians like myself tend to put God last without even realizing it. I personally do not pray daily, read the Bible often enough, or always do the right thing. The Bible states, “In all thy ways acknowledge [H]im, and [H]e shall direct thy paths.” (Proverbs 3:6) I interpret this to mean, God should be in everything we do. Unfortunately, measuring up to this is not a strong point of mine. This makes me desire to put God first. I am now attending church more often and reading the Bible more frequently. If God is first, everything else will fall into place. If I were to die tomorrow, I would not want to be remembered by God as the one who put Him

Parents like myself tend to forget to take time out to play with our kids. Since the passing of my father, I have concluded, that I do not play with my children nearly enough, which makes me wonder if they are feeling the way I felt as a child. I frequently let daily activities consume me, which makes me frequently forget the importance of play. Yes, parents have a responsibility to provide physically and monetarily; however, there is much more to raising well-rounded children. Playing kickball or being goofy is a great way to spend a few minutes together. It does not take long and it builds lasting memories. We do not want our children to remember mommy or daddy always saying, “I have things to do, I cannot play.” What kind of memories would that leave the children? This is an area many fail in, myself included. After my father’s death, my family has been taking more time to play and have fun. Just yesterday, we went and played laser tag, which was relaxing, and extremely fun. My children’s faces lit up with excitement, as we arrived at Edison’s. It was one evening out of a very busy week. This meant the world to my husband, as well as my children. We will all remember this time for years to