A Letter to John Young (My Dad)

Dear Dad,

I am writing you this letter for a number of different reasons. This is actually the second of a number of different letters that I am writing to family and friends. The first letter was to God the Father. You can read it by clicking here. The most important reason that I am writing these letters is to personally express my thoughts about the people who mean so much to me.

Dad…I love you. I am honestly not certain if I have ever expressed that to you with those express words. I don’t think I have. It’s just not the kind of thing we’d say to each other. I think our handshakes carry with them the suggestive, subliminal undertones of such, but verbal expression along such lines has never been our thing. At least until now.

Dad, you have been amazing in your own unique way over the last several years. What you have done for Julie, in particular, in the midst of her turmoil has been wondrous. We (Julie, Jennie and myself) all see it for what it is. It’s easy to take things for granted. You might not think a lot about the work you have done, but I know I do. I think Julie and Jennie do to. That’s who you are. You have found a way, through what to some might be menial, insignificant chores, to display genuine love. Thank you!

I think I’ve told you before that my kids tend to be my people barometer. All three have the gift that their mother possesses. I think we both know that Tisha cannot be duped. Well neither can my kids, especially Aby.

When we are down there for a visit or when you are up here, I soak in your interaction with them. They don’t see you as much as they see BooBoo, but when they do, they know what they are going to get to do and they are PUMPED about it. Those are memories that I wouldn’t exchange for the world. To see them respond to you in the ways they do tells me that you have a deep sense of love within you that is particular to you. For that I am tremendously grateful.

I think both of us know that the last several years have been special for both of us as well. Your visits, phone calls and the times that we have spent together have been immensely powerful for me. What we’ve done together, whether here, there, or in between (Remember the day at Sea World?) are things I will never forget. The fact that you even went to that madhouse blew me away.

The confidence you’ve shown to have in me in various areas has been monumental in my own personal development. I haven’t always felt this way, but today I don’t need to be validated by anyone. Your confidence in me has done that nonetheless.

I recently heard an author speak about his national, best-seller The Shack. He writes about a man’s struggle with life and God. Disturbed as to why God takes on the persona of Father when so many children struggle with their earthly father figures, he said, “It’s because God knew that fathering would be so much more difficult.” By way of personal experience with my own kids, I think he was right. Looking back, I sense that fathering probably wasn’t the easiest thing for you either. So we do what we can to try to get our father’s approval. Maybe it’s baseball, hunting or whatever, but in the end it should be that unconditional love wins out.

So I close this letter with the same words I mentioned early on. I love you. Unconditionally. Thank you for responding in the ways that you have!