… and today I am going to focus on an interesting relationship that I have with my dad… who died 33 years ago today.  What I find so interesting is that we’ve moved on from the abrupt loss of a 48 year old man and his 24 year old son and whatever unfinished business we had on May 20, 1986.

Today I celebrate the father that I had and the completed business that we enjoy as father and son who will reunite in heaven.  Our respect for each other, our deep understanding of our mutual love for our Heavenly Father, and the perfect relationship we’ll be enjoying one day is something that I draw a whole lot of joy from, without completely losing the sadness of the loss.  The sadness is marked, for me, in the fact that he and I were not able to physically enjoy the loving relationship I have with my daughters.  He’d of enjoyed the heck out of each one of them!

As I participate in bereavement groups as a part of my work responsibilities, I am able to tap into this deep relational connection I have with my dad.  While I don’t often share, when I do it usually involves a memory I enjoy, or a memory that had a profound impact on my life, or sometimes just the fact that I inherited my dad’s laugh.  When I think about it, that laugh has become a very important aspect of my life as I have adopted humor as an important part of my life mission.

Whenever people ask about the afterlife and especially about people who have had two or more marriages, I always think about the “completed” or “perfected” aspect of heaven.  Our relationships with the people in our lives will be completed or perfected so as to function as God intended them to function in the first place.  As for the awkwardness of those who have had multiple marriages like my grandma, she and Max and Carl and Mary (Carl’s first wife) are probably like square dance partners in heaven… laughing and dancing and praising the joyous presence of the One who carried jealousy, resentment, favoritism, and all other relationship destroyers to the cross.

Today I celebrate my dad… who is perfectly happy and healthy and in the presence of our Heavenly Father and Lord Jesus Christ.

For His glory,

Pastor Mike