Dear Dad,
Thank you for sharing your life with me.
You have treated me as a gift and a privilege from God.
I have survived because you brought love to me like He loved you.
I have succeeded because you valued me beyond what I deserve.
You set and kept the boundaries within which I could fight without killing, work without dying, and play without wasting away.
You taught me both a sense of bravery and a feeling of safety.
You’ve embraced me in divine patience despite my rebellion.
You’ve cradled me with heavenly persistence no matter how reckless I became.
Never did you put up with anyone ruining me, and neither did you tolerate me wrecking myself.
You connected me to a legacy and a history with your stories and instructions.
You cultivated my humility and humor in showing us how to acknowledge our limitations and laugh at ourselves.
When I strayed, you fixed it.
Whenever I failed, you forgave me.
I have come to know the protecting and providing care of the Heavenly Father because you have embodied it.
I understand and appreciate the gracious salvation of His beloved and only-begotten Son Jesus Christ because I have witnessed it at work in your commitment and counsel to me.
I can trust and take responsibility because you have devoted your sweat and blood, muscle and bone to ensure my survival.
Thank you for painstakingly imprinting your silhouette upon me to shape a space in my heart for the self-giving joy and hope of the Gospel.
May the Lord make my gratitude to you as relentless and affectionate as your goodness to me.