21/11/2024
Over the years I've tried to keep much of my personal life out of my content. While I have built and remodeled a lot of things, this project has more meaning then most will ever know.
Today would have been my dad's 70th birthday. Unfortunately, his life was cut short around Christmas last year when God called him home after a 2 year battle with stage 4 pancreatic cancer. Coincidentally, today is also World Pancreatic Cancer Day.
Luckily 3 years prior to his diagnosis, I was able to give him the garage that most Harley-Davidson enthusiasts would dream of and watching this video back and seeing the look on his face reminds me exactly why I did it.
Reflecting on the past few years, I wanted to share something...
In the past, I have seen others lose loved ones that I cared deeply about, but it never truly hit home. I usually would think, “dang that really sucks”. Feel sorry for the family and even pray for them for a few days and move on with my life, unchanged by that experience. This was different, this was my best friend, my father, and my role model. Someone I could call for advice, call for help, or just call to talk. The pain that I feel from this loss has been heavy and I know that there are a lot of others feeling that same pain. Whether it comes from the loss of a loved one or troubling experience in your life, and maybe this pain hasn’t come for you yet. But it will.
Whenever dad had a problem, he wouldn’t sit around and feel sorry for himself, he would attack it head on, get it behind him and learn from it. I heard a metaphor that hit me at the right time. There are cows and there are bison. They are close relatives and both can sense when a storm is on its way. Cows sense the storm and run away from it. As they run they get tired and when the storm catches up to them, they are in it for a longer period of time, running with it. Much like life, hard times are bound to happen, and you can’t out run them. If you try, you get tired, depressed, anxious and will be in the storm for a lot longer (maybe forever). The Bison on the other hand, in all of its strength and might, wait until the storm arrives and then take the storm head on, charging directly into its path and limiting the exposure to this tough time. Many of us are in the storm right now or have been in the past, so do you run along with it or take it head on? Dad was a bison. I am a bison.
A question that I have heard over the years that I never really had a good answer to was, “Why does God allow bad things to happen to good people?” Looking back, I realize that whether it be training for a marathon, building muscle or starting a project you've never done before, the greatest progress, success or learning comes after the hard times. Running until you think you can’t run anymore and then running more makes you a better runner. Lifting weights doesn’t build muscle, it breaks them down, the recovery and repair is where you become stronger. Tackling an unkown project is hard but through the process of research, trial and error you get to learn a new skill or trade that may have seemed impossible before. God has a hand in this and can use these hard times to make us better, and draw us closer to him, but only if we choose to allow it. As a good friend told me, “lean into the pain you are feeling and allow it to serve its purpose.” Whether you belive in a higher power or not, use the tough times to grow. Because if you don't, they can eat you alive.
So don’t be afraid to be that helping hand to someone in need, put a smile on someone’s face, heck even make them laugh, that’s what my Dad did, and that is what he would want for all of us.
Work hard, be humble, be generous and have a blessed day.
Happy Heavenly Birthday Dad!
![$30 Outdoor Bench with Back [Only 3 Tools and 30mins]](https://img2.medioq.com/v/603/271/895585706032716.jpg)
