MY FATHER ….. who is now in heaven

Even as a very young child, I knew for a fact that my dad was a devoted Christian; not because he regularly attended church and Bible studies, but because he read the Bible faithfully every day.  Back in Hong Kong, before we immigrated to Canada, there were always Bibles and devotional articles on his bathroom counter and beside his bed.

Although dad had never actively shared his Faith with me, we became silent partners in our daily devotions using “Closer to God”, a series by Scripture Union that Ruth introduced to our church in 2000.  Year after year, we renewed our yearly subscription together and our daily reading continued without interruption.

Even after we started worshiping in different churches, we were still connected when I channeled to him SMSL Spiritual readings such as Experiencing God, Purpose Driven Life and Alpha courses.   Due to his shaky hands, partly related to Parkinson, he cannot control his writing and needed to type out his favorite Bible verses and study notes onto index cards and note papers. Working diligently with this handicap through the typewriter, he was not deterred from underlining books and Bible the old fashion way – red, green and blue pens.

I have always been dad’s favorite shopper for clothes because I know his size and taste very well and love to lavish him with gifts for every possible reason.  After my personal experience with God in 1998, study Bibles and devotional material and gifts became part of his gift lists.  

While we moved mom into the UBC condo, we shockingly re-discover his collection of 13 Bibles, (from King James to the Message), boxes of spiritual books and materials and piles of Bible verses on cards.

I kept two of his Bibles, his favorites (gifts from me).  As I was flipping through one of them last week in search of material for my ladies’ prayer group, I discovered his notes on James 4 on prayers….

The Christian’s most powerful resource is communion with God through prayer.
The results are often greater than we thought possible.
Prayer should come first.
Since God’s power is infinite, much greater than our own.

Let us not forget ….. “Our Father, who art in heaven.” …