By Andy Frizzell
A man, in his chair, with an open Bible. Every morning this is how I would find my father. When I think of my dad this is the image that comes to mind. I feel like it is the best way that I can introduce you to my father. He is a man of the Word. In my life, all of our family decisions came down to two things, prayer and the Word. As all sons and fathers do, we had our disagreements and our fights, but these always ended in two ways, prayer and the Word. My father was a constant reminder of my Father even when my life was drifting away from both.
Recently I had the opportunity to take a two-day road trip with my dad. We were moving back from California to Tennessee, and he volunteered to share the driving responsibilities and make the trip back with me. The first day was perfect; the scenery ever changing: farmland, high desert, pine forests, red rocks, plains, and big skies. We bounced from truck stop to truck stop making a quick detour onto the hallowed Route 66 for a quick cup of coffee and then back to the grind of 1-40. After stopping in Gallup for the night, we made our way, with a blown tire in Amarillo and a missed stop in Norman, back to Nashville. We drove 27 hours (with stops) without sleeping! It was quite an adventure with connection time we had sorely missed. We caught up on four years of face-to-face conversation in 2 days.
I realized on that trip how much I had missed my dad. He was older, the lines on his face deeper, different. I am a father now and needed so desperately to connect to the wisdom of my own father in rearing my sweet baby girl. There was so much we had both missed and I thanked God that He was now providing an opportunity to have more of this, more father and son time. We encouraged each other in ministry, he provided advice on fatherhood, we bonded over music old and new, and we laughed at all the old stories we tell almost every time we get together.
I was reminded on that trip exactly the legacy my father was leaving. It was a legacy of service to our Father. Just being in his presence is a reminder of being in the presence of my Savior. His patience and humility have been life-changing attributes to an impetuous and prideful son. I look now at the man I am becoming and realize just how many lessons I have learned from my father. As I grow and change and strive for a closer relationship with my Father, I hope my daughter can one day use similar words to describe the lessons she learns from her father about her Father. As I continue to grow, I hope the same can be said of me that I am a man, in his chair, with an open Bible.
