A Dad’s Desires - Oaklan R Senf (1919 - 2009)
Being a father is a tough and challenging job. As an adult, I more fully appreciate my father’s crusade for my life when I was an all-knowing child and convinced my way was best. Now, being a father and grandfather, I understand and realize the competition for my kids lives from both peers and the world. The seductiveness of peer pressure and the world’s glitz endeavor to lure us away from the life that our fathers desire us to embrace. Reflecting back on how my father related to my brothers, sister and me, I realize two important aspects of his loving care.
First, my father wanted his children to be successful and provided us with experiences that would develop our character, common sense, skills, knowledge and understanding of the world in which we lived.
From my youth, I remember the numerous typical household chores, making our beds, doing the dishes, planting and weeding the garden, shoveling the show - and we had a long driveway, mowing the grass, painting inside and out, making electrical and plumbing repairs, feeding the dog, chickens, rabbits and the other animals we caught and collected. I remember building a camping trailer before they were commonplace and rebuilding an old Allis Chalmers tractor engine and transmission. I remember the yearly camping trips, fishing in lakes and rivers, catching frogs, snakes and turtles, food over an open fire, climbing trees to the top, swimming in many lakes, and exploring the forested acres surrounding our home.
These activities and experiences are valuable to our individual success journeys. My dad wanted us to:
- dream about where we wanted to go and how we would get there,
- grow to our full potential - which is a continuos process,
- be content in all our circumstances,
- be humble yet proud of our accomplishments, and
- be loved and respected by our family and friends.
Second, my father wanted his children to have a personal relationship with Christ Jesus. He learned later in life that one could not know how to love until they experienced God’s love through Jesus. I know that the success journey is less of a struggle with this relationship. I love and respect my dad and now he is where he longed to be.
