"THOU SHALL SHARE LOVED ONE'S CREDO WITH OTHERS"....as long as you believe it will inspire them. :)

This evening, I was watering the climbing roses around my dad's beautiful little oak tree. The tree we planted in his memory almost 5 years ago now.

For whatever reason, tonight's thoughts of my dad left me sad....aching to have him back, to be honest....aching to have our family back...... the way it used to be..

My goodness how much changes in the span of a few years! So much!.....as it should, of course!

 But, I just remember a time when I didn't know how in the world this earth could possibly continue spinning without that man in it.

But it does.

And Thank God that it does......

 And Thank God that Joy is not lost forever.....

 And Thank God for happy memories.....

 And Thank God for laughter...

 And Thank God for good friends, great family and precious children.

Thank God for all of it.

I sat there for a few minutes, then decided to come inside and read a little bit of Dad's credo. It always makes me feel so good. It's like a visit from Dad in a weird way.

What a treasure of a piece it is to me..... It is five typed pages of Dad's thoughts, in his own words, that he formulated TWENTY years before his death.

I thought I'd share a page of this treasured piece with you. It just makes me smile. Hope some part of it makes you smile too. :)

***************(Page 4 of his creedo)****************

 He wrote:

 *I think I could, as well as anyone else could, go on forever about what I believe or disbelieve in. I think, like most people, my quest is to find what makes life worth living. When I think of God, images come to my mind more than anything else. These images are a private dimension of my life, but to omit some of these images, would be omitting my image of my God.

Thus, I believe, and put value in, and see God in, and have seen God in:

 *watching the glow on my fathers face as he preached each Sunday.

 *A cork disappearing beneath a lily pad.

 *A bride advancing towards me down the aisle 22 years ago.

 *Stiff, aching muscles the day after a game.

 *Sights and sounds of a son and daughters only minutes old.

 *My mother's smile

 *The passion of competition.

 *Bright autumn days.

 *The 1960's

 *The eyes of those I could have helped, but didn't.

 *Recurring sounds of words regrettably never spoken.

 *2325 Alma Street, Alexandria, La. (his childhood home)

 *Any sweet innocent child

 *Finding out about a great happening in a friends life.

 *Looking down from a jet at 35,000 feet.

 *That same jet landing safely.

 *My first home run.

 *My first touchdown.

 * The injury in Pittsburgh that ended my youth long dream.

 *The smiles I am sometimes able to bring forth.

 *My Sunday school class.

 *Securing a deal to open another office in another city.

 *My first car, a 1951 Chevrolet.

 *My junior year in high school ~ a picnic ~ I knew I would marry her.

 *Old pictures in old year books.

 *New pictures of our family.

 *My whole family lying on our bed talking and laughing.

 *The phone calls from my babies in college.

 *High School reunions.

 *Friends who died before our high school reunions.

 *Little old ladies and little old men.

 *The greatest tree house ever built in 1961

 *My awareness that the feelings I really have, don't come across the way I would like when I put them in typed words.

 *The numbers 11 and 43.

 *A friend trusting me with a secret.

 *Memories. Why do I get so sad when I think of the past.

 *Friends I haven't stayed in touch with. I miss them so much.

 *Playing golf with my Dad. Oh how I wish I could talk to him again.

 *Watching my best friend become a true national football star (he's talking about Terry Bradshaw.)

 *Holding my second best friend at the moment that cancer took his life.

The longer I live, the more questions I have as to why am I here and what is life really all about. I sometimes believe that I complicate those things which shouldn't be complicated. In my estimation, life shouldn't be complicated. It should be fun and full of love for other people. Forget about religions, forget about whether the Bible or the Koran is "the book", forget about whether Mohammed is the son of Ali or whether Jesus is the Son of God. Instead of getting worked up about whether Jesus was born from immaculate conception, or whether he wasn't, why can't we just live our lives like he lived His?

If I sound confused, I am. If I sound like I contradict myself, I do. If I sound like I don't really know how I believe on some things, I don't. I just want to be a more loving person. How do I get to that point? I don't know. I guess I just have to keep on getting people mad at me and then trying to save my soul. But you know what, that wouldn't be such a bad deal. While I'm out there possibly screwing up, asking all my dumb questions, trying to figure out that which is unfigurable, I still may be saved by some kind individuals who have taken me on as their project.

Amen and Amen and Amen.

Can ya see why I loved this man so much? LOVE this man still today so much? ...He is simply, the Greatest man I'll ever know.

*And that was just a tiny portion of his credo. There are many, many more parts that are so profound, so real, so true, and so very thought-provoking, but today, I felt like sharing that part.

Thanks for letting my share this with y'all.

As ever,
Teri