God allowed Dad to complete the project at Lynn and Paul’s, visit some of his grandchildren and great-grandchildren in the northwest, rest, travel, and have a special time with Mom. Mom and Dad were on their way home. We buried the ashes of Dad’s well-used body in Calvin Township beside Earl and Holly Pannabecker, on October 12th, but Dad is home with his Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ.
Well done, good and faithful servant, is what we imagine Dad would hear Him say. I can only imagine, like the song by Mercy Me says, seems comforting as you imagine your loved one in God’s company in heaven. I can only imagine, but for me, I would like to be able to do more than that. That’s where my faith, trust and hope in the Lord help me to be satisfied with an incomplete image for now.
Remember whose you are, Dad would say to us as kids from time to time. Usually when we were going to be away from him. When I was young I thought, okay I’m an Attwood, don’t want to be a disgrace to the good family name. But Dad was referring to 1 Corinthians 6:19, 20. “Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honour God with your body.” He was reminding us of Jesus’ sacrifice for our sins and our relationship with the heavenly Father.
Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. (Ephesians 5:1,2) Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ (1 Corinthians 11:1) These are instructions from the apostle Paul to the churches in Ephesus and Corinth.
“Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honour God with your body.”
— 1 Corinthians 6:19, 20
I don’t remember exactly when, but Dad made it clear that his desire for my life is that I would become better than him; as a husband, father, employee, everything that he was. Ya, I know, why even start trying. He set the bar way out of reach from my perspective. It is a reflection of both his heart and humble character. But as a Christ-follower I am to imitate God in my life; in the choices I make, what I think, do, and say. My dad set a great example to follow but even he isn’t the target and he didn’t pretend to be. So it remains an impossible achievement on our own, but aided by the Holy Spirit we can please God with our lives as I think Dad did.
You may have appreciated or admired Dad for something he made, said, did for you or someone else. He would want you to know that he gives God full credit for everything in his life. Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men. (Colossians 3:23)
My dad and I spent a lot of time together, working. Dad involved me in his work long before I really wanted to help. As a child, he thought 60 cents an hour might motivate me. It took a while, but our projects together did become enjoyable. Neither of us is prone to cutting corners in our tasks and we valued each other’s advice so we got along well. Dad was often at our place for the last 33 years. But, since 2017, he was over here most days as he constructed a workshop on our property. I told you that he was a poor estimator! Construction of the workshop was another project God allowed him to do.
I was looking forward to showing Dad the jobs I completed while he had been away these last six months. In a similar way, Dad lived his life looking forward to talking with his heavenly Father about their work together. Dad and I both expected to work on many more things as a team. He knew that he would never get his mental list of jobs finished, no matter how long he lived. Dad didn’t want to fade away slowly. He always said that he would rather die in the bush with a chainsaw in his hands than end up in a nursing home. He pictured himself being as active as possible, working as unto the Lord until God took him home.
And that is what he did.
