Day 23 - My Father's Legacy

As you may know, my father passed away 2 weeks ago at the age of 83. He was a brilliant man (holding several patents in the arena of air conditioning and refrigeration products) and leader (rising to the head office of a substantial public company). He leaves behind a wife of 56 years, a daughter, 3 sons and 10 grandchildren.

But, I thought I'd take a moment to share with you what I believe his greatest legacy is through the words I delivered at his funeral this past weekend ...
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In telling people of my father's passing, I found myself repeatedly referring to him as a great man.

And,following one of these conversations, I began to think about that statement more and more. I began to wonder exactly what was it that made me refer to him as great ...

Was it his Herculean work ethic ... that drove him to strive for levels of excellence beyond that which us mere mortals often settle for?

This amazing work ethic powered him to almost single-handedly plant dozens and dozens of bushes around my childhood home and renovate a condo for my growing family. It was a work ethic that inspired him to put in tireless hours on the job only to return home to lead a boy scout troop or travel 3 hours away on countless weekends to repair and renovate an apartment complex in his desire to provide as well as he could for his wife and his family. 

His work ethic truly was great. But in my heart, I knew THAT wasn't what I was referring to.

Perhaps it was his brilliance ... more specifically his "MacGyver-like" mechanical brilliance that seemingly enabled him to fix or improve just about anything with a roll of duct tape, can of WD40 and a paper clip.

His mechanical brilliance was legendary with family, friends and neighbors alike ... as he continually invested his time and talents into the lives of others by keeping dryers, pool cover motors and ice makers running ... or foraging in a junk yard and finding just the right parts to transform high school floats into animatronic masterpieces that were well ahead of their time and worthy of a Disney World parade.

His mechanical brilliance was truly great as well .. but still not what I seemed to be referring to.

Finally, in a moment of introspection, it hit me ... the one thing that seemed to stand out as a theme of his entire life ... 

It was a principle that he actively demonstrated every day ... his deep desire and commitment to leave every situation better off than when he first encountered it.

It was this principle that caused him to see every circumstance with a vision for how it could be better. Whether it was seeing how a newlywed couple would be much more comfortable in their new little home with a couple air conditioning units installed.. or after perusing a school project that I'd produced -- suggesting how it could be better. At the time, I may not have always recognized the merits of his suggestions, let alone appreciate them. 

But, in hindsight, I began to see how they were motivated by love and coming from his desire to help and improve.

And, while there are words I wish we both had said (or said more often), I can see that for my dad, Love was not about words or even feelings. No, for him, Love was an active improvement in the lives of those who were in his care or sphere of influence.

My dad was not a perfect man, but he was a truly great and honorable man. 

Ephesians 2:10 Tells us - "For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do."

My father's legacy was not that of endowments or libraries or hospital wings. Instead, he built people and things throughout his life and left a "wake of improvement" wherever he went.

He left his thumbprint on the world .. a thumbprint of works - in a way that only he could.

So while we will most certainly miss the daily presence of the husband, father, grandfather and friend that we knew, we can be comforted. For we will never have to miss the eternal effects that he had in each of our lives and in the lives of generations to come.

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As I seek to be more conscious of the legacy I'm creating throughout my daily activities, I am challenged by the example that my dad left me ... and encouraged that he probably never knew the extent of the positive effect he was having on others (as many of us might not know our own impact either).

I pray that in sharing this you are challenged and encouraged as well!

About This Chart: For those who haven't been following, I created this daily chart for the purpose of communicating and tracking some of my more important goals - publicly. You can read about it in THIS EARLIER POST.