by Kimberly Shawver

Created on: June 10, 2008   Last Updated: October 31, 2008

~ Happy Father's Day, Dad!~

~A tribute to a True Dad in every sense of the word~

If I had to describe what a true Dad means to me, it would be very simple. Why? I was fortunate enough to be blessed by God with a very wonderful Dad.

When we were babies, my brothers and I were loved and adored by Dad. You see, my Dad and Mom had wanted to have children very badly. My Dad served in World War II when he was in his twenties. He served in the Battle of the Bulge, in face to face combat. Surviving through many near death experiences, God kept him safe and brought him home. An important note here: I'm very proud of the fact that my Dad has just recently received yet another medal for his service in World War II.

Shortly after coming home from the war, my Dad and Mom fell in love and were married. Some would say that they were a little older than the "average" marriage age and they were anxious to begin their family.

Their first baby died at full term, she was their special first daughter. What an incredible loss for them! It took a long time for them to get through the initial heartbreak and I know that she still holds a special place in their hearts.

Then along came the rest of us and we were cherished. My parents are both Christians, both being raised in the church; they raised all of us in the church. As we were growing up, my Dad served as an elder for many, many years. He was very concerned for our spiritual growth and always strove to be a wonderful example for us. We were never lacking in love or attention. Sometimes we didn't agree with the type of attention that we received, especially when we were losing whatever battle we were putting up, but we knew we were loved, always.

That doesn't mean that my family didn't have hardships, believe me, we struggled with one adversity to the next, however, Dad raised us to always keep God first and God never let us down. God would get us through each adversity and continue to help us grow in our walk with Him. This is how Dad raised us. Life was definitely not perfect and living your life for God could be very difficult, yet very rewarding as well.

Dad always interacted in our lives as we were growing up; in our daily routines as well as special events. Nothing distracted him from his family. He worked and was away from us at times, but because he had to be. He had hobbies before we came along, but those were set aside so that he could focus on his family. He believed in spending quality time with his family and this is what he enjoyed. His vacation time was spent with us, normally taking a two to three week road trip each summer with us to see sights we'd never seen. We were taught how to be independent and have good morals.

He continues to love us, interact with us and is the same fine example for us in our adulthood today.

I am very spoiled to have my Dad. I look at the rest of the men and dads of today and find myself always comparing them to him. Unfortunately, they just don't seem to ever measure up. As my high standards have been instilled in me because of my Dad's example throughout the years, I will probably never meet another man that I hold in as high regard as my dad. I love you Dad.

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