My earliest memory of me and my dad was when I was two years old. We lived in upstate New York at the time, and my dad would drive charter bus groups down to a ski resort during the winter. One day, I was along for the ride with my daddy when nature began to call. I vaguely remember yelling for my daddy when I became stuck after falling into the large adult-size toilet. All the adults on the bus thought it was very funny.
Being a very shy little girl, my parents say that I would usually hide, hugging my daddy's leg, whenever they introduced people to me. My shyness continued while I was young, but the closer I got to high school; I began to enjoy singing and theatre. I'm sure you can image how hard it was for a shy girl to come out of her shell, so I took baby steps. My senior year, I auditioned for the school musical, and to my surprise and delight, landed the lead role of Cinderella in the Rogers and Hammerstein musical production of Cinderella! Expressing my nervousness on opening night, my dad hugged me and said, "Do your best, and just have fun!" He had given me this advice several times before, and still does, but I felt his genuine love and encouragement towards his daughter in that very moment. Whenever I wanted to pursue something which I was passionate about, he would always be there cheering me to go for it and not be afraid.
In the last couple years, my dad has become very sick. Since my grandfather, had been diagnosed with Parkinson's, and my dad seemed to have the same symptoms, my family assumed that was the case. My dad's hand tremors got worse and the doctors continued to try medication after medication. Almost a year before my wedding, my dad sat me down and gave me a letter that he had written for me in case something were to happen to him. He wanted me to read it, which was very hard for me, especially to think about losing my dad. You have to know that my dad isn't naturally very eloquent with words, but he is a great people person who is compassionate and caring. His letter was beautifully written and very touching to me.
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| by Katie Sue Hill |
I am so very thankful that God has winked in sustaining my dad's health throughout the past couple years. I look up to him so much, and couldn't imagine him not being there to walk me down the aisle on my wedding day! It has now been almost a year since I was married, and my dad has recently seen me graduate from college, his youngest child graduate from high school, and his oldest daughter get married. We continue to surrender my dad's health into God's good hands, and it's exciting to anticipate celebrating his 50th birthday this year in July, just ONE DAY before my one year wedding anniversary!!!
I love my daddy. And I thank my Abba, Father, for graciously giving me a great example of a father who loves unconditionally (Romans 8:15).
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