By Greg Miller © 2017

Like all other Mothers Days, mom’s special day in 2017 was now almost a distant memory.

Barbara had visited her late mother’s graveside. With tears flowing freely down her cheeks, Barbara spoke fondly of days gone by. “I love you, mom, and I miss you very much.” Mothers’ Day 2017 was the first special day for moms since Barbara’s mother, Bethany, had passed away six months ago.

Because she missed her mom so much, Barbara planned to visit her mother’s graveside each week. With each passing day, Barbara continued to miss her mom even more. She realized, however, that her mom would no longer experience the devastating pain of cancer. Barbara recalled the comforting words of Psalms 116:15, “Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints.”

Barbara then thought of the New Testament Scripture, Second Corinthians 5:8, “We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord.”

The passing of her mother made Barbara even more thankful that her dad, Bradford, was still alive. Barbara began calling Bradford every day. She began each phone call with “I love you, dad.”

“I love you more,” Bradford responded.

Since Bethany had passed away, Barbara was determined that Father’s Day 2017 would be the most memorable Father’s Day for Bradford. The day before Father’s Day, Barbara told her dad, “I hope tomorrow is a day you’ll always remember.”

“You can count on it!” her dad exclaimed. “You can count on it!”

Barbara and Bradford attended different churches. In honor of her dad, she decided to attend his church for the day’s activities.

As in previous years, the church honored one of the congregation’s dads as “Father of the Year.” Bradford was announced as the winner of the award for 2017.

Pastor Benjamin proudly informed attendees of Bradford’s faithfulness. “Brother Bradford has been faithful to the Lord for more than 20 years and to this church for more than a decade!” the pastor beamed.

Bradford was honored with a special plaque, which read, “To a faithful servant of the Lord, ‘Father of the Year 2017.’”

At the conclusion of the service Barbara hugged Bradford. “I love you, dad,” she said.

“But I love you more,” Bradford assured his daughter.

The father and daughter shook hands with Pastor Benjamin. “And God loves both of you the most!” the pastor declared. “God loves both of you the most! You can count on it!”

To contact the writer of this column about speaking engagements, including Christian Comedy Fundraising Outreaches, Christian Creativity Seminars and/or puppet ministry, please email [email protected], [email protected] or [email protected].

By Greg Miller  2018

 Greg is retired from the Elizabethton STAR Newspaper, after working there for almost 23 years. He now freelances for the paper. Contact email address is [email protected], also facebook.com/kidcool4jesus. Available for speaking engagements/other ministries. Jesus is Lord