Dad would be 75 today...

I realized this day was coming about two weeks ago.  Today would have been dad's 75th birthday.  Jeff beat me to the post on this one :)!  I was speaking in Pigeon Forge this morning to a men's group but he said anything I could have said, only better. If you don't RSS his blog you ought to: http://jeffajenkins.com/blog/. Jeff is doing such a wonderful job trying to follow our father's wishes and treat others as dad would have.  I could not be more thankful in life than I am for my older brother.

I would have called dad today. Most years he would not have answered. This for years was the week he went to Belize to preach and to help set up the bigger Roebuck campaign for Spring Break.  I would have gotten his voice mail and I would have said: "Hey dad, it's Dale (I figured he would have known that but folks say Jeff and I sound so much alike), I know you're in Belize. Just wanted to tell you 'Happy Birthday' and that I love you.  I'll call you when you get back home. Hope you've had a great trip."   ...

and...

So I did.  I called his cell phone number, the same one he had for probably the last 20 years. I wasn't sure if it'd still be on or not. But it was.  And it was just like normal.  I got his voice mail.  He rarely answered his cell.  It was somewhat shocking to hear "You've reached the Sprint voicemail of" and then in his own voice, "Jerry Jenkins"... I ws good to hear his voice again.  Even if it was just him saying his own name.

I'm sure every son thinks it, but dad's voice was unique.  It has a maturity and tonal quality that was lovely to hear.  Dad would be 75 today.  He left us many things: His love for the Lord and His church, his love for fellow ministers, his energy and zest for life...and a name unblemished.  Dad would be 75 today.  A friend who runs a lecture program wrote me a few weeks ago and told me that if they'd known they would have honored him. But, he said, your dad seems so young. And he did.  I remember him telling us one time, "I can't give you much, but I can give you good genes."

Dad would be 75 today...and I miss him.