One Year Later: 'Living Up To What I Have Already Attained'

Today marks one year since the passing of my father.  My faith tells me that his death wasn't the end; it was simply the moment he went home to be with the Father.  And my faith also tells me that I can anticipate a reunion with him when it's my turn to go home.

The sorrow of missing him is very real. It's painful to let go of someone you love so much. Someone who was such an influence on my youth and my adulthood. Someone who was and remains my hero.

My dad was a bonafide "man's man" in the mold of a John Wayne character...but even more. He was a leader of men, yet gregarious. Confident, yet filled with humility. Smart, but not arrogant or elitist. No respecter of a person's bank account; character was what counted to my dad.

Tough, yet not afraid or ashamed to shed tears in public when his heart was pricked; or to publicly hug us kids, tell us and the world how much he loved us and how proud he was of each of us.

He taught me how to play guitar...well, at least three chords! He taught me to throw a knuckle ball because he said throwing a curve ball would damage my elbow. He taught me how to use tools, how to plant and tend a garden, how NOT to fix a short in an electrical cord (a little inside joke there).

He was my friend, my mentor, and my "Best Man" at my wedding.

Always an encourager and supporter of my dreams and aspirations, he would candidly tell me he didn't understand anything about what I do for a living; but he knew me and he invested in me, literally. In an early business venture, he and Mom put their money into my little agency, with no clue of how the business worked. But, they believed in their oldest son.

Dad loved quippy sayings.  A few of his favorites (which I find myself using...a lot):

"Never let the facts get in the way of a good story."
"Keep it between the ditches."
"God gave everyone the same amount of hormones.  If you want to use yours to grow hair, so be it."
"There it is, bigger than De-troit."
"Your Mom is the luckiest woman in the world. With 3 billion men on the planet, she married the right one the first time."

Dad also loved music and he taught me to play guitar by ear.  He had three standard songs that always were sung at family reunions and even at his home-going celebration.  They are: "Boney Maroney," "Frauline" and "Kentucky Means Paradise."

Dad taught me how to love a woman, to love my children, to lead a family. He modeled what a man should be. I just wish I had been a better student.

As the apostle Paul writes in Philippians 3:16, my prayer is that I "live up to what I have already attained." From my father - and my Father - I have been shown much, taught much, given much.  And to paraphrase scripture, "to whom much is given, even more will be required."  I pray that I am found worthy of the being the oldest son of Walter Disney, Jr.  (1932-2009).

I love you, Dad.

(Pictured above: my father and mother, Walt & Fannie Disney, December 2008, six weeks before Dad's home-going.)