I’ll Never Forget This Day…

Hi there!
Have you ever had one of those days that stand out in your memory as a day you will never forget?  Of course, significant days in your life like a birth or death, graduation or getting a new job or getting engaged- those are days you will never forget.  But I have a weird memory from July 8, 2021 that I will never forget.  

My dad used to tell my 3 brothers and I that he would leave us two things when he died: #1 The understanding and example of what it means to have a personal relationship with God and #2 The ability to work.

Most of you know that my dad died in September of last year but it was one year ago today that stands out to me.  My dad was in his 70’s and retired but not really.  He wasn’t the type that could sit at home and watch television or go play golf.  He liked to do things with the time that he had.  Last summer, we came to Oklahoma for a visit and on this day (7/8/21) at about 7am he arranged to pick me up to spend the day with him as he helped my brother with some “little tasks” at his construction company.  

Here are a few of the things we did that day:

-Picked up a 40’ Semi from the equipment yard and took it to the downtown warehouse.  (My dad knew how to drive a 18 Wheeler and if he ever got pulled over his Belize Driver’s license is what certified him to drive it :)  Not only did he know how to drive it but he also knew how to back it.  I remember him trying to put this 10’ Wide trailer in about a 11’ opening and thinking, “This isn’t going to work”.  But it did! 

-We did some reorganizing of materials at the warehouse.  I’m not sure the details of this, I just remember watching my dad zip around on a forklift and putting things up and shifting things around.  (My dad also knew how to drive a forklift :)

-We went looking for his phone.  I think my dad would lose his phone about once a day (or more. Lol) He was always in a hurry and in his haste he would sometimes set his phone down… On this particular day he had left it at a Home Depot and when we tracked it down- a cashier picked it up and kept it for him. 

-We fixed a lawn tractor tire.  This required getting a trailer and tracking down the only tire shop in town that carried this particular mower tire.  

-We loaded steel on a trailer at the equipment yard.  Of all the jobs we did that day- this is the one that stands out the most.  It was over 100 degrees at this point in the day and my dad and I are in this yard trying to balance these 15’ steel plates on the back of a trailer in such a way to make sure the load will be able to be transported properly on the trailer.  The materials weighed thousands of pounds and the area we were working in was really tight as we worked around other trucks and equipment and materials. My dad was using a special type of forklift with a chain to pick up the material and it had to be perfectly balanced to lift it off the ground.  

I remember thinking this wasn’t going to work.  

I remember thinking I was going to pass out (the sun was blazing on that day and my jeans were soaked in sweat).  

I remember thinking, “I’m on vacation- what am I doing? I don’t want to do this!” 

In the end, we loaded the materials onto the trailer and finished the job.  I couldn’t be done soon enough and when we finished the day I told my wife that was the hardest (manual labor) I had worked in a long time and I was glad it was over.

Looking back many times over the year, I think back to this day because this was the last full day that my dad and I spent on earth together.  And although I didn’t love the work, I loved who I did it with.  I wish I had another 100 degree day to spend with him.  

My dad kept his word.  He left me with the understanding and example of what it means to have a personal relationship with God AND he showed me what it looks like to work.  

Thanks for letting me share.  
Looking Up,
Pastor Treavor 

PS Don’t Miss Week 2 of our God Lies sermon series this Sunday.  The topic of this week’s message is “God won’t give you more than you can handle”.

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