You never know how you are going to respond to tragedy in your life until it strikes you.  You can imagine, you can talk a certain talk, you can even try to prepare, but you will never truly know until it happens to you.

There are several things that happened within me during the tragedy that stuck my family. One of the things that it left me with was a desire to be more transparent with those that I love.  In lieu of that, I would like to share the following with you, my church family.  Thanks for the amazing prayer and support.  I love you!

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How do you capture a half-century of memories in a short paragraph?  I guess the only way is to describe the heart of the man that was more than a Dad; he was my friend.  When I consider the sacrifices and choices that he made to directly influence my well being, I am humbled and extremely grateful.

It started when I was 6 years old.  I lost my Dad, Wayne, in an aircraft accident.  Shortly after, Uncle Dale stepped in and picked up the mantle.  I remember the first time I called him Dad; I was 7 years old.  From that point on, he was always Dad.

There are so many stories that come to mind about Dad… Learning to hunt, camping, motorcycling, my first car, picking me up from school in a step-side panel van that was so ugly that I was embarrassed to get in it, and the line he would always use every time we would come to visit, “We’ll keep the light on for you”.

Dad was a man that would find a way to make it happen.  He consistently bent over backward to ensure that I had everything I needed in life.  He became my best friend, and was even the best man at my wedding 25 years ago.  Nothing was to hard for him.  Of course Dad also had an opinion, but over the years I learned to appreciate his insight.  I look back now and can say that most of the time, he was right.

So for me, my Dad and my friend has left this world.  It’s really hard when I feel sorry for myself; I miss him and I wish that he was still here.  But there is great peace and joy when I get my perspective right.  This life is not about the here and now; it is about eternity.  Dad got it right.  He loved God and he cared about people.

Like Paul, the time of his departure is at hand. He fought a good fight, He finished his course, He kept the faith: henceforth there is laid up for him a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give him at that day. Jesus himself has wiped the tears from his eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.  How can you be sad about that?

So this isn’t goodbye, this is see you on the other side.

So, “keep the light on for me Dad”; we will see you soon.

Ken