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My Papa - Alekhya's tribute

It is with a heavy heart that I have been reflecting on the life of my Papa and all the lessons that he taught me over the years. He made it his mission to point me to Christ and to the word of God. And, by far, one of the greatest lessons he tried to instill in me was to have a heart of thankfulness and praise. ..regardless of the situation.
1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 says “Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”

And so today, I would like to tell you how thankful I am:
I’m thankful that my heavenly Father blessed me with the best earthly Father a girl could ask for….always loving, always forgiving, always kind, always compassionate…he always had my best interest at heart. The bible describes God as “the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness”. It was so easy for me to comprehend God as having these characteristics because my own dad emulated these so well to me in our relationship. If I disappointed or disobeyed him….he would make his point, give me a good talking to and then wipe the slate clean. I was immediately forgiven. There was no score keeping, there were no grudges….he just moved on and continued to love me…. I remember having moments when I found his forgiveness so hard to accept, I would wallow in guilt. As I look back, this, to me, was such a picture of what Christ has done for each of us. He sacrificed Himself for us on the cross as payment for our sins and if we accept Him into our hearts…we are forgiven. Period. End of story. We are redeemed, the slate is clean, we are welcomed into God’s family and we have a hope of eternal life in Him.
And so, today, I’m so thankful that my dad had that same hope…he is now worshipping at the feet of Christ, where there are no more tears, no more pain and no more suffering.
I’m thankful for 26 years of hugs, laughs, cries, road trips, family dinners, chemistry lessons,…and countless happy memories with my Papa
I’m thankful for his example of bravery and courage…he never hesitated to tell the truth and he never backed away from opportunities to serve others…he once saved the life of a woman who almost bled to death after a chemical explosion at his old company. He was a quiet leader and he was the leader of our family.
I’m thankful that over the past few days, God has made his presence so clear to us through the love and support of so many family and friends.
Most of all I’m thankful that I will be reunited with my dearest Papa in heaven, when the Lord decides its time for me to come home. 

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