“Blessed are the peacemakers." ~ Matthew
5:9
Stopping his car a short distance
from the house, Dave waited. It was the
perfect place for reflection as noonday shadows played in the breeze. Peaceful now, but that could change quickly. He had some unfinished business with the
father abandoned 25 years ago.
That was before Mom’s funeral, before the emptiness, before
his father began drinking heavily. Happier
days: before malicious ridicule and brutal arguments. Dave had left this now peaceful place at
sixteen; as angry and bitter as the drunk who’d beat him.
Somehow last year changed things. Dave experienced the freedom that forgiveness reveals,
invigorating a marriage destined for failure.
He’d never dreamed that relationships with his children and their
spouses could bring so much joy. Eventually
even the mistrust about his partner faded. Unfinished business with his father remained
an open sore.
The old place looked great; its yard immaculate. How could an old drunk keep it looking so good
Dave wondered? Why even bother.
It had taken courage to come this far, but unsettling hesitancy
remained. He was terrified. What would he say? What if long-buried hostility suddenly awoke
when they met?
Dave said a quick prayer as he approached the house. Reaching for the door handle, he swallowed
hard . . . turned, and retreated in
panic.
Glancing back for one last look, he saw someone rounding the
house, a broad sunhat blocking the face. Dave stopped.
A skinny little man dragging a hose watered plants next to the house and
then those closer to the tree with the tire swing. The old man limped over to the swing, running knobby
fingers over the worn tread.
As he looked up to check the fraying rope, Dave saw his
face. The face that cursed him and put
him down, that face that mocked him and called him stupid, that face . . . had soulful
tears in its eyes.
As a father now himself, Dave knew what the old man was
thinking. Seconds later he found himself
calling out, “Dad! It’s me, it’s Dave,
I’m home Dad!”
Dad looked startled at first, then overjoyed. He dropped the hose and rushed toward Dave as
fast as his wobbly legs would carry him.
“My son!” he rejoiced, tears pouring down his face.
Years of heartache erased with a single embrace. Tears flowed freely offering unspoken
confessions and refusing to spare forgiveness.
Dave was home . . . Dad was whole again!
Lord Jesus, please forgive EVERYONE in my
life today. Only through You do I have
the strength to forgive. Thank You for
loving me more than I love myself at times and for wanting my happiness even more
than I do. Amen
