I am grateful to my father because of all the things he gave me, i.e. a good sense of work ethics, and chastisement, the word of God, and prayer. Now as a youth I did not appreciate it at all, and actually felt like I was being mistreated. Today, I am so grateful for all the times on Wednesday nights we had to meet in the living room for bible class and prayer. One time I told my dad that I had a babysitting job, and he said cancel it because everyone was going to be present in the living room at 7 p.m. Now how could he hinder me from earning this $2.00 to be in prayer. (In the '50's' $2.00 went a long way).
My dad had long set a rule in his house he had the last word. He did! Although my father proceeded my mother in death, I appreciate all the teaching he gave us, whether it was in the house or in the cotton field. Oh yes, our dad did not send us to the field, he would take us to the field. To add insult to injury he would thumb a ride to the field, and we would thumb a ride back home. I would always pray that nobody would pick us up to go to the field, but prayed when returning home that we would not have to be on the road too long before someone would pick us up. Usually, immediately, someone would stop and give us a ride home. Oh did I tell you that there were five of us?
I hear parent says and I may have said it myself, that I am trying to give my children what I did not have, but in that process I can see and understand that we should give our children some of the things we did have, i.e. work ethics, word of God, etc.
My dad was a southern country preacher where he would go every other Sunday to a different church. One was in Sikeston, Missouri and the other one was Clarksville, Tennessee. He would leave Friday morning and return early Monday morning. No matter when he returned home we were so happy to see him as the food had always ran out and we needed more food. My dad did the grocery shopping. He would bring home big bags of flour, sugar, meal, potatoes, beans etc. but it was mother that mixed it all together and made us delicious meals. Yes, my father was the head of the household, but it was my mother that was the sunshine of our home.
I am grateful today for my father and all he taught me. I can still remember scriptures he shared with me as a child. I am who I am because of where I was when.
