"Our Father in heaven..." - Happy Birthday Pappy

Those words take on a new meaning as today would have been my dad's 92nd birthday. This is our first year without him and his absence hangs in the background, an unfilled vacuum. Not overly communicative would be an understatement as my weekly phone calls to him would usually end within 10 minutes with a "Well that's about all from here.." But he was always the first one we would go to with a prayer request as he was a prayer warrior. His communication to his Heavenly Father was regular and extensive... I would say they were on a first name basis. It had always been his habit to rise early to read and pray and two distinct memories are engraved in my memory and heart to reinforce that practice. 

The first is at an early preschool age, bursting into my parents bedroom with an urgent need to see my dad on his knees by the bedside in prayer. I quickly and quietly backed out not wanting to intrude on that conversation.

The second is within the last years as I was visiting dad after mom had gone. Dad's hearing had diminished and as he still continued his practice to rise early for study and prayer, I overheard his conversation with God as I sat in the kitchen with my coffee. I felt a sudden urge to take off my shoes for surely I was standing on holy ground. 

The other day the words of the Lord's Prayer caught me off guard as I realized their new meaning. No longer was I able to ask my dad to pray for my life situations and circumstances. But it also made me realize that my father was an imperfect reflection of the love, care and concern that our Godly Father showers on us. And as I at one time went to pap, I saw the significance of my own prayers as I went to my Heavenly Father. The vacuum has been filled with something much larger than I could ever hope for or imagine.

26Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. 27And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. (Romans 8)

Poem from pappy when I left for college.