I love my dad! He is the chillest person ever which makes for the best adventure companion ever. I can say “Let’s go do … (fill in the blank) and he is game for it. We went fishing at Brown’s Park for a Father’s Day. It had been a long time since either of us had been there, so it felt like a new adventure. I love exploring new areas and so does he, so this was a fun trip.
Driving through the Uintah Mountains was beautiful, and as usual, brought me to awe at God’s creations. Any time I am in the mountains or just about anywhere in nature, I can’t help but feel so deeply the love our Heavenly Father has for us to provide us with such beauty. He is such a selfless God.
We fished and caught a few. My dad laughed that I caught the most, but he caught the biggest, haha. We slept in his car, which was hilarious and an adventure in and of itself, our feet tucked up against the back of his car and the bump from the folded down seat resting under my rib cage all night long. I listened to him snore and toss and turn throughout the night as I fought my sleeping that wanted to slide to the bottom of the car with the slope we were sleeping on. I was grateful he was able to rest. He had been in pain for several days now from his teeth that had gotten pulled and I was worried the pain wasn’t going to let him sleep. My dad doesn’t complain much about anything other than politics, so when he made the comment that he had probably taken more pain medication in the last week than he had in the last 10 years, I knew he was really hurting.
My favorite part wasn’t the fishing, but the driving. That is our time to talk. We talked about his dad as we drove through the tiny farming town where my grandpa was born. We talked about how the towns had changed over the years, some growing and some slowly dying. We talked about forgiveness and repentance, and how there is nothing to fear in death because after it there is only a loving God who embraces us with peace and joy. We talked about how fear is Satan’s trap and how much the world works under the notion of fear. We talked about how the church, especially President Nelson, and how it is being emphasized to live with faith, knowing everything is okay in the end, because we know what is on the other side. We talked about living without regrets and letting love lead our paths. We talked about how living in love is the counter to fear, how it is courageous and strong. I told him about my recent efforts to better understand forgiveness and repentance and how I want to be able to move forward into a future marriage someday feeling resolved and able to put everything into that new relationship. We laughed about some of my recent ponderings on forgiveness and how the Lord can communicate with us in funny ways to make sure He is heard. (It’s a long story …) Through all of the talking I realized that my dad searches for the same thing I do, peace, and I think he finds it in his own way in the same place I do as well.
Forever grateful for peace in Christ, and for two Fathers who are kind and gentle and lead in love.
Happy Father’s Day, Dad!
