Throughout my life, I have been blessed to have had several great "dad" role models. I have had two grandfathers, Papa and Papaw, who left no room for doubt about whether they loved me. I had a father who, though he is no longer here, is by my side every day. And, I have a father-in-law, who showed me what the phrase "Duty, Honor, Country" was all about! I believe that there have been no greater influences on my life, by anyone on this earth, than these men. So, what did I learn from them? I am glad you asked.
My Papa was my mother's dad. He had coal black hair and had a 1948 Jeepster that he drove. I remember thinking that I would really like to have a red Jeepster when I got big. His was filled with all sorts of tools, most of which I had no idea even what they were. However, I knew they had to be cool! It seemed to me that even though he was retired when I came along, he always had some job to do around the house or at church. I don't know if he knew it (now that I am a grandfather, I am actually sure that what he did and what he said to me, were very deliberate) but to a 5-year old boy, there is nothing that means more than for a grandfather to take him and show him how to use a tool...especially ones that required electricity, gasoline or acetylene to run! I remember to this day that after we would eat breakfast (usually biscuits, gravy, eggs and bacon; old men and young boys require lots of calories for work purposes!) we would go out to his old garage. His garage was an old dirty, musty structure, with dirt floors and cobwebs all around. It was amazing to my small self! He would then lay out a few tools and tell me to take them to the chicken coop or the garden fence or any number of locations where a minor construction project awaited us. I seriously doubt that I did anything helpful for him, but I can never thank him enough for spending those mornings with me and teaching me how to work with my hands. I can probably trace some of my love of tools and building to my Papa. By the way, he was the first person to ever "let" me use a gasoline-powered tiller! I remember thinking, when he died, that the world would never be the same...and I was right. However, I have my memories and I never see an antique Jeepster without smiling and thinking of him!
Another role model in my life was my Papaw. When I think of him, I think about the Brad Paisley song, "When I Get Where I'm Going." There is a line in that song that says, "I want to walk beside my grandaddy and match him step for step and tell him how I missed him every minute since he left!" I always tell my grandson, Mark Garrett and Luke Patton, that no matter what happens to me or to them, to always remember that they had a Papaw that loved them more than his own life. I tell them that because it is what I know about my Papaw and it has carried me through some hard days. My Papaw believed that a boy was never too young to learn how to run an outboard motor on the back of a small fishing boat. Later, I did learn that he had an ulterior motive for teaching me how to run an outboard by the time I was 5-years old! He knew I would be willing to run the motor all day and he could fish! As Mark Garrett says, "That would be pretty tricky!" He also taught me how to finish concrete, put on shingles, cut and lay building stone. I think the most valuable thing he taught me was simply that spending time with a child is really the only way to show them how much they are loved.
I met my father-in-law, Charlie Horton, in 1975, almost a year before I married his daughter. From the first time I met Charlie, he treated me like a son. He recruited me on many a crazy trip to the dump, to scavenge building material..."perfectly good lumber, after you remove the nails, cut off the rotten parts and scrape all the concrete off!" I remember the Christmas after Anita and I married, when we had no money and were going to have to borrow money for me to finish my last semester of college. He called and said if I wanted to earn a little bit of money, he could set up a couple of odd jobs. I readily agreed and he told me to come to Abilene as soon as I finished the semester. When I arrived in Abilene in mid-December, he had lined up a "couple of jobs!" Apparently in "Charlie speak" that meant as many as we could do working 12 hour days for three weeks. I never knew how much he would pay me, but we figured anything would help. However, when Anita and I got ready to go back to Arlington, Charlie gave me an envelope that had more than enough money to pay for my tuition, fees and books! I learned the value of helping someone while letting them keep their dignity. To this day, I never think about Charlie, that I am not grateful to the Lord for bringing him into my life (along with Anita, of course!)
The fourth man that molded my life was my Dad, G.C. Miller. I am amazed every day that I am still learning from the things he taught me and told me and showed me throughout my life. With Dad, he never made a big outward show that he was teaching you something, he just did it and expected it to stick. My Dad taught me that loving the Lord was more important than anything you could ever accomplish and that loving your wife and family came next. He also taught me, by years of being a living example, that because God and Christ loved the Church, we needed to love it too. The Church was the only organization that was given the charge of spreading the Gospel...and, is there anything more important? My Dad also taught me how to appreciate and care for God's creation. He always taught my brother and me to make sure when you left a deer lease or a ranch or farm, to leave it in better condition than when you arrived. However, the one thing I know from my Dad, is that there is ONE THING...to live life by looking through the eyes of eternity! For that I will be thankful every day of eternity!
This Father's Day is the first without my Dad and I cannot begin to tell you how hard that is! This Saturday, several children, grandchildren and my Mom will all go to the DFW National Cemetery, where we will see his burial place. We will laugh and tell good "Papaw" stories and yes, I will admit we will cry, but here is what my Dad would tell us. If he could, he would use the words of the angel who said to the followers of Jesus, on that resurrection morning almost 2,000 years ago, "Why do you seek the living among the dead? He is risen, he is not here!" You see, my Dad will not meet us at the cemetery on Saturday. He will be spending his first Father's Day with His Heavenly Father and with his Savior and Lord! There is one more thing he would tell all of us and all of you, "BE THERE!" When the day dawns that you and I cross over that river or if the Lord returns first, my Dad would want you to be there in heaven with him! He would ask for no better Father's Day gift!
I don't believe I could tell you anything more important...just be there! And I will see you there! If you don't see me when you first get there, just find Jesus and I will be the one holding His hand and touching His side!
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