O My Father

What a special day, a day to celebrate fathers.  My dad is hilarious, I love him to pieces.  He is crazy, and I'm sure I am like him more than I realize.  He is so sweet and aware of others needs, especially his home teaching families.  He is really spontaneous, and once called me and wanted to take me for ice cream, but the place closed in a few minutes.  So we made it just in time, and he was SO happy to be with me.  It was precious.

Tyson's dad is really neat.  So quiet, but very firm beliefs and selfless.  He has such a strong devotion to his family and takes good care of them.  It really meant a lot to me when right after Tyson and I were sealed, he hugged me and told me I was family now and that he loved me.

My mom's dad, Papo, is amazing.  He works really hard, but he has come to every important moment in my life.  And even though he isn't a member of my church, he is so supportive of all the things we do, like baptisms and missions.  What a great grandpa.

My dad's dad, Granddad, was kind of gruff, but I guess I hit his soft spot when I became a teenager.  He let me ride his riding lawn mower and plant pansies with him.  It was great.

And now I have Tyson as an example of a great dad.  Tyson is so caring and loves our little guys so much.  He talks to them about their lives and their futures, it is just perfect.  They adore him.

So, I am incredibly thankful for all the fathers in my life.  But most of all I am thankful for my perfect father, my Heavenly Father.  He is perfect, and kind, and listens to all my problems, no matter how trivial they are.  Even when everything seems to be going bad, He is there.  O My Father, I love that hymn, it just says it so perfectly.

O my Father, thou that dwellest
In the high and glorious place,
When shall I regain thy presence
And again behold thy face?
In thy holy habitation,
Did my spirit once reside?
In my first primeval childhood
Was I nurtured near thy side?

For a wise and glorious purpose
Thou hast placed me here on earth
And withheld the recollection
Of my former friends and birth;
Yet ofttimes a secret something
Whispered, “You’re a stranger here,”
And I felt that I had wandered
From a more exalted sphere.

I had learned to call thee Father,
Thru thy Spirit from on high,
But, until the key of knowledge
Was restored, I knew not why.
In the heav’ns are parents single?
No, the thought makes reason stare!
Truth is reason; truth eternal
Tells me I’ve a mother there.

When I leave this frail existence,
When I lay this mortal by,
Father, Mother, may I meet you
In your royal courts on high?
Then, at length, when I’ve completed
All you sent me forth to do,
With your mutual approbation
Let me come and dwell with you.

I'm so thankful for fathers!  And especially for my Heavenly Father!